Deja vu for Saints as Victoria Junior College come away with A Division boys’ football title again

SINGAPORE - Despite losing their captain Zechariah Woon to suspension before the final, Victoria Junior College (VJC) claimed the A Division boys’ football title with a 1-0 win over St Andrew’s Junior College (SAJC) at the Jalan Besar Stadium on Friday.

It was VJC’s second successive title, having beaten the same team by the same scoreline in the 2022 final.

It was also the first time they retained the National School Games title since 2002.

VJC had to make tactical tweaks to provide more defensive support in the skipper’s absence, including moving left winger Anton Goh to the defensive midfielder position. 

Coach Tan Yew Hwee said of the change: “(Zechariah) was a centre-back, and I reckoned that without him, I would need Anton to do more defensive work.

“I played Anton in midfield in the semi-finals to surprise the opponents, and he did very well. So I decided to do it again.

“In my opinion, he was the Man of the Match today.”

The switch paid off, as Victoria kept things tight at the back, limiting SAJC to a few half-chances. And Anton was satisfied with his team’s performance defensively.

Said the 17-year-old: “Our defence was solid. It’s been a problem for us this season, conceding quite a few, but I’m proud we managed to lock down defensively.”

Chances were few and far between in the first half, with the best opportunity falling to VJC winger Ryan Peh, who evaded three defenders but saw his shot deflected well wide in the 39th minute.

Despite the lack of decisive passing in the final third, the 1,200-odd supporters never stopped cheering, raising their volume whenever a clearance or tackle was made.

The intensity went up a few notches in the second half, after SAJC squandered a golden chance in the 48th minute.

Having skipped past goalkeeper Letrodo Macabenta, who was off his line, Jayden Liew sent his shot wide.

That served as a wake-up call for VJC, who opened the scoring 12 minutes later.

Ryan’s cross from the left was cleared only as far as attacking midfielder Garv Sahoo, who gave goalkeeper Joash Tan no chance with his volley into the bottom corner.  

Garv, who is in JC1, said: “It was an unreal moment. I will do anything to live it again. I couldn’t believe it. Nothing will come close to this.”

Coach Tan added: “The goal was out of the blue, it was probably impossible to save.

“He is a technically gifted player and can definitely reach greater heights with more training.”

Zechariah was pleased with the hard work his teammates put in, saying: “Everyone wanted to win, and put in their “A” game.

“It was unfortunate I wasn’t able to help the team (on the pitch), but it feels better to win again after last year.”

Tan agreed, saying: “Going back-to-back was never easy. The boys worked their socks off today.”

Although they lost, SAJC captain Isaac Lim said: “I cannot thank my teammates enough for their efforts.

“We gave our best, so no complaints.”