A driven pass from his captain left him one-on-one with the opposing goalkeeper.

As he leaned back and slammed the ball into the corner of the net, the crowd at the Singapore Sports School erupted into cheers.

With just 41 seconds left on the clock, Shawn Ng's goal turned out to be the game winner, enabling his team, Mogui, to eke out a 4-3 win over Xian Da Nan Hai (XDNH) in the men's open final of the National Canoe Polo Championships.

While he should have been celebrating in triumph, it was actually relief that the 28-year old felt yesterday.

Said Ng: "Before the winning goal, I was the one who caused the opponent's equaliser (to make it 3-3).

"There was a bit of miscommunication. I thought I made a pass to my team-mate, but it ended up with the opponent who eventually scored.

"When I scored the winning goal, I felt more relieved than anything because it gave us a one-goal lead."

Mogui had led throughout the match thanks to goals from their captain Poh Yu Xuan, Ken Tan and Ng, although their advantage was threatened on multiple occasions by XDNH's Thng Kang Jun, who notched a hat-trick of goals.

It was the first time Mogui had won the annual event, which saw participation from some 230 athletes from 25 teams.

The women's final was dominated by the Singapore Canoe Polo 1 (SGCP 1) who beat Espada 8-2.

Tan Li Ling, vice-captain of SGCP 1, said: "The game went well. It all started with the warm-up and our morale was very high.

"With each goal, it boosted our morale even more and we just kept going."