Story By Cara Wong/Red Sports. Photos by Stefanus Ian/Red Sports.

Jerall Yu (RVHS #11) guarding the ball during a NYSI JC League match between Raffles Institution and River Valley High School. (Photo 1 © Stefanus Ian/Red Sports)

Jerall Yu (RVHS #11) guarding the ball during a NYSI JC League match between Raffles Institution and River Valley High School. (Photo 1 © Stefanus Ian/Red Sports)

The Cage at Turf City, Wednesday, January 31, 2018 — River Valley High School (RVHS) battled hard against Raffles Institution (RI) in the inaugural National Youth Sports Institute (NYSI) Junior College Football League to take a 2-1 halftime lead before inclement weather forced the second half to be continued another day.

This marks a turnaround for RVHS, who lost 3-0 to Serangoon Junior College in their first game of the league.

The team went on a strong offensive at the start and the first goal of the day was scored by Hubert Choo (RVHS #9) 25 minutes into the game. The left-back reacted to a loose ball from a corner kick and volleyed a high ball straight into the net over the RI defenders and goalkeeper.

Minutes later, his teammate Jeremy Koh (RVHS #8) scored another one for the team. The striker came in from the right, zipping the ball past RI defenders and keeper and straight into the goal. This made up for his disallowed goal earlier in the game, which was ruled offside.

“The first one was a big pity, it’s pretty rare that I get goal-scoring opportunities like that as I usually play centre midfield, so as a striker today when I missed it, it was just too bad,” said Jeremy.

“One of the balls by the right back pushed through the defence line; I just happened to be there at the right time to slot it into the opponent’s goal, so really I’m pretty lucky,” he added.

However, RI made a strong comeback after his goal and Edmund Zhang (RI) placed a low ball neatly past the RVHS keeper in the 35th minute.

RI teacher-in-charge Lawrence Sunderaj was not fussed about the results.

“Because it’s not a very high stakes competition, so the boys can work on their game, without feeling a lot of pressure,” said Mr Sunderaj. He noted that the competition also allowed him to play many more players.

“The support of the competition has been quite good in terms of the organisation. There’s even first aid provided, so we’re very grateful for this,” he added.

For RVHS teacher-in-charge Indra Ho, the new league helps alleviate logistic woes as, without it, the team would have to organise their own friendlies instead, he noted.

“Every friendly and every match is a good time to work on team shape and team movement. They’re also excited, as students, that they can play against other JCs and see where they stand,” said Mr Ho.

The league, which kicked off on January 16 and will last until March, is meant to provide junior college student-athletes more competitive matches and act as a pre-season tune up for the A Division. The next match will be on February 2, between Tampines Junior College and Innova Junior College.

Score
RVHS vs RI
Halftime: 2-1

Scorers

RVHS
Jeremy Koh (#8) — 1 goal
Hubert Choo (#9) — 1 goal

RI
Edmund Zhang — 1 goal

More photos next page

RVHS Roster
Jerall Yu (#11), Lim Guan Jung (#7), Tan Wei Jun (#14), Chang Ji-Xuan (#13), Chiew Yi Xiang (#22), Chen Zuo Hui (#24), Gerald Teo (#16), Matthew Lim (#21), Hubert Choo (#9), Nathan Teo (#5), Lim Sui Kiat (#3), Sim Zi Yang (#2), Jeremy Koh (#8), Wesley Ng (#6), Lim Swee Ken (#15), Lim Jun Ren (#17), Isaac Tan (#12), Ter Sheng Jia (#1), Tan Jia Hao (#25), Loo Jia Wei (#14), Tan Xuan Zheng (#4), Nicholas Goh

RI Roster
Lee Yong Tian, Ryan Lim, Jeffery Xie, Reuben Christopher Suherman, Edmund Zhang, Kelvin Li, Anders Ong, Thomas Jun Ando, Lee Keeron, Piers Chen, Ethan Lim, Emir Haady Bin Abdul Lathiff, Elliot Ong, Byun Hyun Bin, Peh E-Shaun, Ryan D’Angelo Raymond, Bill Xiao, Lee Xuan Yi, Ho Han Yu, Sng Ding, Ethan Jian-Hui Maniam, Ze Wei Tan