They were playing not only to defend the school's reputation as a girls' football powerhouse, but they were also eager to avenge their 1-3 defeat by the same opponents in the group stage of the Schools National C Division competition.

And Bowen Secondary School accomplished both in spectacular fashion as they thrashed Greenview Secondary 5-1 yesterday to win the C Division title at Serangoon Stadium. The victory marks their third consecutive C Division crown, and their fourth overall.

Yeong Sheau Shyan, Bowen's head coach, was pleased how her young charges have improved as the season progressed. She said: "We were a little soft against Greenview in the group stage. The girls were pulling out of challenges and falling over.

"After that match, we pushed them to be mentally tougher. We also did extra training on the physical aspects to cope with the pushing and grabbing during matches."

The victory was a relief for Yeong after Bowen's shock defeat in the B Division girls final by Queensway Secondary in April.

She said: "We felt like the underdogs this year. After losing the B Division title, I thought it would trigger a downward spiral.

"Also, the C Division team have been training together for just two months, as some of my players were away in June, representing the country at the Asian Football Confederation Under-14 championships."

Bowen were quick off the blocks, going three goals up within 10 minutes, courtesy of forward Nur Syakirah (first minute), defender Mira Ruzana (third) and midfielder Dinah Sajidah (ninth).

Midfielder Nur Afiqah reduced the deficit for Greenview with a spectacular effort from outside the penalty box in the closing minutes of the first-half. However, a Nikki Nur Jannah brace after the break wrapped up the rout for Bowen.

Greenview skipper Afiqah was disappointed with the defeat, explaining that her team "were not used to playing on Serangoon Stadium's artificial pitch" when their past matches were played on natural grass. "It felt so close yet so far," she added.