Story by Lim Yong Teck/Red Sports. Photos by Lim Yong Teck and Lee Jian Wei/Red Sports

Jatinder Singh Kler (#14) of Raffles Institution dribbles against Anglo-Chinese Junior College. (Photo © Lee Jian Wei/Red Sports)

Muhammad Nur Syafiq (#14) of Raffles Institution dribbles against Anglo-Chinese Junior College. (Photo 1 © Lee Jian Wei/Red Sports)

Seng Kang Sports and Recreation Centre, Thursday, May 7, 2015 — Powerhouses Raffles Institution (RI) defended their title with a 4–0 triumph over Anglo-Chinese Junior College (ACJC) in the final of the National A Division Hockey Championship.

The victory gives RI their fourth title in five years; Victoria Junior College stopped their title streak in 2013.

“After VJC won the title in 2013, we had to work really hard to come back, so I’m very happy for the boys,” said RI coach Mohamed Ali, who began coaching the boys’ team six years ago.

He added, “I am quite fortunate to have this batch of players who are very disciplined and hardworking, and they have the desire to really train hard. It all boils down to the training we had, and today, they kept to the game plan and things were going well for them.”

Ali also credited ACJC for their efforts in the game.

He said, “They were down 0–3 and they had to push their players forward and I thought they did well against our boys. Kudos to them.”

The defending champions established their superiority right from the start, controlling the pace of the game and forcing ACJC to play a defensive game in the opening half.

Within the first five minutes, Muhammad Nur Syafiq (#14) managed to penetrate the defence and dished the ball to Adam Aniq (#16) for RI’s first goal.

RI did not back off on their offensive aggression and followed quickly with another goal from Ryan Jay Naidu (#13), off a rebound from Muhammad Nur Syafiq’s (#14) missed attempt, to take a 2–0 lead in the opening half.

In the second half, ACJC earned a rare penalty after RI’s Umaidurai Eashwar (#17) was called for a pushing foul on Darren Mok (#4), but RI custodian Ashwin Unnithan (#22) easily denied the point-blank attempt.

On the ensuing possession, RI extended their lead through their third goal from Gurveer Singh (#10), who fired it from the outside the penalty circle.

With the clock ticking down, led by Darren Mok (#4) and Gerald Goh (#10), ACJC increased their offensive intensity and pushed back, keeping the ball in RI’s half for the remaining period.

Despite their efforts, a crucial defensive breakdown late in the half allowed Haseef Yunos (#5) to fire home the game’s final goal.

Scoring by Half
RI vs ACJC
1st half: 2–0
2nd half: 2–0 (4–0)

Scorers
RI
Mohamed Haseef B Mohamed Yunos (#5) – 1 goal
Gurveer Singh Bhandal (#10) – 1 goal
Ryan Jay Naidu (#13) – 1 goal
Adam Aniq B Amir (#16) – 1 goal

RI Roster
Leonard Chua Zhong Qi (#1), Jatinder Singh Kler (#4), Mohamed Haseef B Mohamed Yunos (#5), Nilesh Khetan (#6), Thomas Benjamin Lawrence (#7), Lee Yong Qin (#8), Ho Yeung Jek (#9), Gurveer Singh Bhandal (#10), Ong Ming En, Darryl (#11), Ritesh Kumar (#12), Ryan Jay Naidu (#13), Muhammad Nur Syafiq B Effendi (#14), Adam Aniq B Amir (#16), Umaidurai Eashwar (#17), Abdul Rahul S/O Fuad Mohan (#18), Salman S/O Yusuf Shahiwala (#19), Mohamed Akmal B Mohamed Zain (#20), Asaad Khalique (#21), Ashwin Unnithan (#22), Pua Min Xin (#24)

ACJC Roster
Lee Kai Xuan (#1), Mohd Abdullah Bin Tariq (#3), Mok Kai Wen Darren (#4), Lim Feng Sheng Ryan (#5), Krisrofer Wong Teng Kirk (#8), Karan Sarat (#9), Goh Wencong Gerald (#10), Chew Hui Jun (#11), Yang Kai Ze (#12), Lim De (#15), Ervin Tan En Ming (#16), Yeow Ming Zheng, Mark (#19), Toh Ker Wei (#21), Tan Chin Hoong (#22), Matthew Low Chuan-Yang (#27), Teoh Tai Ker (#28)

More photos next page