Temasek Hall came from a goal down at half time to beat Kent Ridge Hall 2-1 and claim the Inter-Hall Games (IHG) men’s soccer championship on Feb. 9.
Both teams went into the game at the Sports and Recreation Centre determined to end their respective IHG campaigns on a high, and Kent Ridge struck the first blow in the first half with a misplaced cross that somehow evaded the Temasek goalkeeper and lobbed into the net.
With a goal to their name, the team in blue dominated proceedings for the rest of the first half, as a disarrayed Temasek struggled to respond competitively with a counter-attacking strategy.
The complexion of the match was to completely change in the second half however.
Motivated by their half time team talk, the Temasek players raised the tempo of their play after the break, and their efforts were duly rewarded through some brilliant individual technique down the right wing. Economics freshman Jacob Liaw dodged tackles from Kent Ridge defenders to send a low cross for engineering junior Chew Yew Song, who rifled the ball in with a half-volley.
Awoken by the setback, Kent Ridge piled the pressure as they sought to restore their lead, but the Temasek defence held firm despite a few scares in their penalty area.
With the Kent Ridge players pushing forward, Temasek took a shock lead through a counter-attacking move down the exposed right flank again. Substitute Khairul Amri, a political science freshman, fed a dangerous early cross into the Kent Ridge penalty box to Chew, who headed the ball past the keeper.
Temasek wasted a few glorious opportunities to extend their lead as Kent Ridge threw caution to the wind in their search for an equalizer. The men in white managed to hang on to their slim lead however, and the final whistle sparked off jubilant celebrations amongst the Temasek supporters.
Speaking after the match, Temasek captain Ong Wei De said that his team experienced a “sticky situation” after conceding the first goal.
“We were very panicky and did not know what to do,” said the fourth-year engineering undergraduate. “But we eventually stuck with our plan, which was to wait for them (Kent Ridge) to make the move and counter.”
Vice-captain Mohamed Yasin said that Temasek was “destined” to win the competition. Brimming with delight, the engineering sophomore singled out praise for striker Chew, who “terrorized” the Kent Ridge defenders with his clinical finishing.
“I thought it was our destiny to win the IHG. We kept our chins up after the initial goal, maintained our style of play and eventually responded the way we should have,” said Yasin.
Kent Ridge captain Goh Cheng Kang admitted that the defeat was a cruel blow to his teammates. Holding back his emotions, the fourth-year business student said that wind conditions during the game had played their part in shaping the final outcome.
“The team did themselves proud today, but sometimes, soccer is a cruel game,” said a dejected Goh.
“I do not think we were outplayed as we dominated the game from the start, but after half time the wind was against our favour.”
Goh refused to attribute the loss to self-destruction amongst his players however, and maintained that “the foundations” remained strong within the team.
“We have made it to the finals three times in the last four years and despite this, we will live to fight on,” he said.
“Soccer is like this, sometimes it takes a moment of brilliance to score whereas a miscommunication will cost you the game. But credit to Temasek for playing probably the best game they could play.”
Describing his performance as an “emotional one”, Man-of-the-match Chew said he never let his head drop when his team was trailing.
“I never thought we would lose this match. Not even when we were down early on,” he said.
“The feeling was surreal, as if I was in a dream after netting the goals.”
Temasek’s win puts them within touching distance of arch-rivals Eusoff Hall in the race for the overall IHG championship. |
