VJC girls, RI boys sweep to victories

Hockey powerhouses continued their dominance in the Schools National A Division finals at Sengkang Hockey Stadium yesterday.

The Victoria Junior College (VJC) girls' team sealed a 12th consecutive title with a 5-1 win over Raffles Institution (RI), who were playing in their first final in nine years.

The RI boys earned their 10th title in 12 years with a 6-0 win over Anglo-Chinese Junior College (ACJC), who reached their first final since 1991.

While the outcome of the two finals was not in question, there was drama in the girls' final, as RI's Rebecca Kang - who scored her side's only goal - suffered a deep cut just above her right eye after being hit by the ball.

Although her wound was stitched, the incident in the second half left her team-mates shaken, and they conceded two goals via short corners after Rebecca's injury.

However, they rarely looked capable of toppling VJC, who dominated in attack with systematic and skilful tactics.

Captain Syasya Rifqah, 18, who scored four goals, said: "In previous matches we were having a lot of jitters and weren't comfortable yet. We wanted to reach our peak in the final and I think we achieved that."

In the boys' final, RI were hungry to reclaim the title they had lost last year to VJC. All six of their goals were, impressively, scored in open play.

Said captain Ahmad Ashraf, 17: "After we lost the title last year even though we had the lead, we were devastated. This year we became more responsible as leaders, rallying and encouraging the team at every training."

This article was first published on May 27, 2014.
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