Story by Iman Hashim/Red Sports. Photos by Les Tan and Chua Kai Yun/Red Sports
Ayyadarshan (ACJC #14) scored the only goal of the game to help ACJC secure third place. (Photo 1 © Les Tan/Red Sports)
Jalan Besar Stadium, Tuesday, May 10, 2016 — Anglo-Chinese Junior College (ACJC) narrowly defeated Raffles Institution (RI) 1–0 to claim third place in the National A Division Boys Football Championship.
In the semi-finals, ACJC had lost to Victoria Junior College 4–5 on penalties while RI had gone down 1–6 to eventual champions Meridian Junior College.
ACJC and RI had met earlier in Round 2 of the competition, with ACJC emerging 3–1 victors then.
ACJC enjoyed the greater share of possession from the start of the game. ACJC took the initiative in attack, while RI adopted an absorb-and-attack strategy.
ACJC had their first clear sight at goal eight minutes in, with lively winger Ayyadarshan (#14) charging into the penalty box on the right. His low shot got parried away by RI custodian Zachary Wan (#1).
RI’s best chance in the opening exchanges came in the 12th minute – from a dead-ball situation on the left wing, Cristoph Chong (RI #2) hit the ball low into the penalty area, but Edward Quah (RI #13) flicked it just wide.
Right after, ACJC had a golden opportunity to break the deadlock. Kang Seong Soo (ACJC #7) crossed low from the right, and from just outside the six-yard box, captain Tan Kayshin (ACJC #10) skied the ball over.
On 18 minutes, the floodgates finally opened, albeit in scrappy fashion. From an ACJC corner which RI failed to clear, a massive scramble in the six-yard box ensued which culminated in Ayyadarshan (ACJC #14) slotting the ball into the net.
Three minutes later, a chance came begging for RI to equalise. From another set-piece, a low delivery was dummied by an RI player before captain Ashwin Unnithan’s (RI #14) shot went straight at ACJC goalkeeper Yao Zhikai (#13).
It was all ACJC from then onwards, as they threatened time after time to double their lead. 28 minutes in, Ayyadarshan (ACJC #14) delivered a delightful pass to put teammate Seong Soo (ACJC #7) through on goal, but Zachary (RI #1) was once again equal to the task.
Moments later, Chia Chong Jin (ACJC #18) played a neat one-two with Ayyadarshan (ACJC #14), before unleashing a fierce drive from outside the penalty box which was tipped over the crossbar by Zachary (RI #1).
Five minutes before the end of the half, Kayshin (ACJC #10) slipped the ball through to Seong Soo (ACJC #7) who again found himself with only the goalkeeper to beat. Alas, under pressure from an RI defender, he was hesitant in getting his shot away, which was eventually saved point-blank by RI custodian Zachary (#1).
The half-time whistle was blown with ACJC holding the slender 1–0 lead, with all to play for in the second half.
However, despite the precarious scoreline, the second half failed to excite. It increasingly became a drab encounter which saw more players falling prey to leg cramps than clear-cut chances.
Ayyadarshan (ACJC #14) continued being a thorn to his opponents, threatening again on 46 minutes with a shot from a tight angle which flew over the crossbar.
Kayshin (ACJC #10) also showed a few moments of brilliance. On 50 minutes, he dribbled past a few players, before laying it off for Devon Gammon (ACJC #8) to execute a long drive which also went over the bar.
At the 57-minute mark, Kayshin (ACJC #10) shimmied past defenders on the left flank and into the penalty area, but his shot from a tight angle went into the side-netting instead.
Just a minute later, it was Devon’s (ACJC #8) turn to go on a mazy run on the left flank, finding himself one-on-one with the RI goalkeeper. With the crowd holding its breath, he then prodded the ball agonisingly wide of the right post.
RI tried to hit on the counter in search of the elusive equaliser, but ultimately found it difficult to craft out a clear opening.
ACJC eventually held on for the narrow win to cement their bronze placing.
On his team’s performance, ACJC captain Kayshin (#10) commented, “We wasted a lot of chances, to be honest. But I think everyone enjoyed their football – we played one of the best passing games we’ve had this season. Ultimately, we came here to enjoy our football and end our season with a bang, and I think we achieved that.”
When asked if he was satisfied with the third placing, Kayshin said on behalf of his team, “That’s definitely a regret (not making it into the final), but we tried our best and we’ll come back next year even stronger.”
He added, “I want to thank all the fans who came down today, because today is actually E-learning Day for our school so we’re surprised that we had a crowd. Not forgetting our coaches, Mr Ong and Mr Arasu, they never fail to come down for every training. Ultimately, I think we had a hugely successful season and we enjoyed ourselves.”
Score By Half
ACJC vs RI
1st Half: 1–0
2nd Half: 0–0 (1–0)
Scorer
ACJC
Ayyadarshan (#14) — 1 goal
ACJC Roster
Ethan Koh (#1), Suhas Ramanan (#2), Joel Tan (#4), Justinian Macpherson (#6), Kang Seong Soo (#7), Devon Gammon (#8), Leow Chun Kiat (#9), Tan Kayshin (#10), Oon Jinkuan (#11), Tan Xinwei (#12), Yao Zhikai (#13), Ayyadarshan (#14), Ryan Chew (#15), Jonathan Chia (#16), Chia Chong Jin (#18), Loy Huijing (#19), Eldon Foo (#20), Mark Lam (#21), Loo Wee Sing (#23), Jonathan Long (#24)
RI Roster
Zachary Wan Ming Lin (#1), Christoph Chong Sheng (#2), Joel Lim Jie En (#3), Jareth Ng Jun Jie (#4), Le Hoang Hiep (#5), Cheng Wah Hay, Wilfred (#6), Ian Petrus Tan (#7), Tan Teck Ann (#8), Jonathan Chua En Zhe (#9), Alan Koh Zheng Yong (#10), Lim Jun Wen (#11), Davidson (#12), Quah Yu Xuan Edward (#13), Ashwin Unnithan (#14), Chan Mun Fai (#15), Sim Ruibin (#16), Foo Jun Kit (#17), Toh Yu Ze (#18), Tan Yu Heng Julian (#19), Chen Wei Rong Ryan (#20)
National A Division Football Championship – fixtures and results
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