‘Spidey’ to the rescue as two-goal hero Gabriel Ng helps SJI win third straight C Div title

SINGAPORE – A Spider-Man mask came off at Our Tampines Hub on Aug 21, and underneath it was the boy who helped St Joseph’s Institution (SJI) to their third consecutive C Division boys’ football title.

Aptly donning the superhero’s face cover as SJI posed with their medals was Gabriel Ng, who had just scored a double in their 3-0 win over St Gabriel’s Secondary School in the National School Games final.

The 14-year-old, who wanted to celebrate with the mask as he and his classmates had painted it in class the previous day, also scored during SJI’s 1-0 extra-time win over Montfort Secondary in the 2025 final.

At the final whistle, a sea of green and white in the stands broke into the Viking Row – the Norwegians’ famous celebration at the 2026 World Cup – as SJI supporters marked the school’s third straight title in style.

“We finished so much better this year,” said Gabriel. “We got a goal in the first half and had more security coming into the second.

“I was begging my coach to let me stay on so I could get my hat-trick, but I’m still happy with a brace.”

Gabriel, who has racked up 11 goals this season, is part of a lethal front three alongside Tan Sheng De and captain Zayden Ng, who has 10 goals.

The trio helped SJI score 44 goals in eight games in the lead-up to the final, which included a win by the same scoreline over St Gabriel’s in the preliminary round on July 24.

Top scorer and vice-captain Sheng De, who has 17 goals, including one in the final, said: “This season has been a great season, I think we worked really hard, and we really put our hearts into this.

“Today was a bit frustrating because I feel like we had a lot of chances but we just didn’t finish. Both teams played well, but in the end, I think we were just the team that tried harder.”

Reflecting on the team’s three-peat, SJI co-teacher in charge of football Mohamad Syaifudin said: “It was a nice effort from the boys, I think it’s a nice finish after a long season.

“It’s always (about) maintaining the high standards, so the challenge is always to ensure the new batches that come in every year maintain that high standard set by our previous teams, and thankfully the boys displayed that and we are proud of them.”

While SJI dominated early proceedings, they were unable to create any clear chances initially.

Their fullbacks combined to create the first meaningful chance in the 25th minute when left-back Elijah Oh’s cross found Ian Hasif Irwan unmarked in the box, but the right-back’s header went just wide.

But SJI were not to be denied three minutes later. A corner from Sho Tay Takayama found Gabriel, who arrowed his header into the far corner of the net, sending their supporters into a frenzy.

There was nearly an instant response by St Gabriel’s from the restart.

A through ball found Nur Farhat Fairoz bearing down on goal, but the right-winger’s lobbed effort sailed just wide of SJI goalkeeper Joash Teo’s post.

SJI then doubled their lead in the 37th minute through Sheng De, who slotted into the bottom corner after a mix-up in the box.

St Gabriel’s midfielder Limbu Tanchhok nearly reduced the deficit in the 43rd minute as his shot from 20m out forced Joash to tip the ball over the bar.

But the game was put to bed nine minutes later when both scorers combined to make it 3-0.

A through ball by Sheng De found Gabriel, who calmly rolled the ball into the far corner.

Gabriel nearly got his hat-trick two minutes later, but saw his shot rattle off the upright, with St Gabriel’s custodian Arshavin Afiq Fanddy rooted to the spot.

Despite the defeat, St Gabriel’s assistant coach Andre Loh said he felt proud of his boys.

He said: “We tried to hold off a really strong team as much as possible, but unfortunately we conceded late in the first half, and after that we had to chase the game, leaving numbers behind and conceding again... But I couldn’t be more proud because they gave it their best.”

St Gabriel’s captain Daryl Seak added: “Feels good to be second place, but I think we could have done better in terms of taking our chances and not losing the ball too much... Overall, I think our team did well getting to the final because nobody thought we could go this far, but we proved everybody wrong.”