Four titles on the trot for Meridian JC footballers

SINGAPORE — As he stepped onto the Jalan Besar Stadium pitch yesterday, Justin Hui knew his team would be counting on him in their hunt for a fourth consecutive title at the Singapore School Sports Council Football National ‘A’ Division Boys Final.

A former player with S.League team Garena Young Lions and the former captain of the National Football Academy (NFA) Under-18s, the 19-year-old Meridian Junior College (MJC) midfielder was expected to deliver in their encounter against rivals Victoria Junior College (VJC) yesterday.

Hui did not disappoint the MJC supporters among the 1,000-strong crowd, as he scored a clinical hat-trick to inspire his side to a 3-1 win, and their fourth title on the trot. It was also MJC’s ninth overall Boys ‘A’ Division championship trophy.

Speaking after the game, a beaming Hui said it was an “amazing” feeling scoring a hat-trick in a final.

“It’s wonderful to be able to score just one goal in a final, but to score a hat-trick which helps the school win the final, that’s just amazing,” said Hui.

“We expected a tough match against VJC and that’s what we got, but our team and the school have a winning mentality, and that’s what helped us win the game in the end.”

As their rivals celebrated their victory, VJC were left wondering what could have been had they not been reduced to 10 men early in the second half after Marcus Tang was sent off for a second bookable offence.

Both teams were evenly matched in a goalless first half, with neither side able to create any clear-cut goalscoring opportunities.

Following Tang’s dismissal, MJC’s numerical advantage saw Hui capitalising on a defensive mix-up in VJC’s box to earn a penalty in the 59th minute, which he duly despatched.

VJC rallied admirably, and they were rewarded just four minutes later when Nicholas Chan reacted to a loose ball in the MJC box to stab home from close range and bring his team level.

But MJC’s Hui struck again in the 65th minute, as the Hougang United Prime League player broke free down the right flank before dribbling past his marker to chip the ball over the goalkeeper.

He completed his hat-trick three minutes later, firing home from close range after being teed up by striker Royston Tan.

While admitting that Tang’s dismissal was the turning point of the game, VJC coach Tan Yew Hwee refused to blame his player for the loss.

“I’m not faulting any of the players for the defeat ... in fact, it’s perhaps my fault for not taking him (Tang) out during half-time, or we’d still be playing with 11 men,” said the 48-year-old.

“It was never going to be easy to play with one man down, and our players were probably not experienced enough to know how to handle the situation as well, so the sending-off definitely had a huge outcome on the game.

“But this is part and parcel of life and football. We just have to move on and learn from this loss and I’m proud of my players for giving their all and playing according to instructions.”

MJC head coach Fabio Da Silva agreed that the sending off was a key moment of the match, but also pinpointed the timing of Hui’s second goal as crucial to their victory.

“I was disappointed with the equaliser because I felt we weren’t focused and our defence was all over the place (for the goal),” said Da Silva.

“Sometimes after a team with 10 men equalises, they will then just sit back, defend and we may not be able to get the goals ... I’ve seen this story many times in football, so it was important for us to take the lead back again quickly.

“Once we got it to 3-1, it was more comfortable for us and all we needed to do was to remain mentally focused and see the game out.

“Overall though, it was a very good final played against very strong opponents, and I have to congratulate my team on their success because they’ve worked very hard for it.”