We were already winners. Having reached the finals, we had accomplished more than any other batch under our couach, going the distance without any DSAs or appeals through soccer. Even if we lost the finals and finished second, we had earned the respect of our opponents and placed RJC back on the soccer map. We had proven our critics wrong and had progressed onto the finals despite their scepticism. Even if we lost, we would still be applauded by our supporters, and our efforts would undoubtedly be remembered by some.
But we hadn't come so far, given up so much, only to stumble now. While some might have settled for a second placed finish at the start of the season, or even when elimination seemed all too real, now that we had made it all the way to the finals, losing was not an option.
The 2007 A Division Finals was special because it would be the last time it was held at the old National Stadium. Ours was one of the last matches ever to be played at the National Stadium before it was scheduled to be torn down and revamped. History has a quiet way of building events up to climaxes. MJC, whose soccer team was their pride and glory, would be sending the whole school down to support. RJC, where soccer was just another CCA who were having their finals in a week that would see us in 10 different finals. The stage had been set for this clash between titans. It was a rematch of our hot-blooded group stage clash, except this time we were both 'all-in'. Winner takes all.
In an attempt to avoid being overawed by the occasion, our coach scheduled a bus ride down to the National Stadium for us to get used to the dimensions. My initial reaction was pure astonishment at the sheer size of the National Stadium as viewed from the pitch. Just standing on the track and looking at the empty stands, I could almost imagine the stadium full of supporters and hear the echo of cheers. It was the National Stadium. Where Singapore beat Indonesia to clinch the Tiger Cup earlier in the year. The immensity of the occasion hit me and I was glad for the opportunity to get over my intial shock.
The National Stadium pitch was in impeccable condition, and by far the best non-synthetic pitch I've every played on. The grass was smooth and the field was completely even, which would certainly be an advantage to our passing game. However, the size of the National Stadium pitch exceeded that of JJC's synthetic pitch by almost 10 metres, and we would have to quickly adjust to the increased distance. While JJC's pitch was considered small by any standard, and our own field larger than average, the National Stadium pitch was gigantic. The game would certainly be a very open one with lots of room to run.
As the rest of the team took a slow jog around the stadium and did some ballwork on the off the field, I was reduced to the status of spectator. As I mentioned previously, I had twisted my knee during the semi-finals, and upon returning home, I discovered that I couldn't put any weight on my left knee. A trip to Dr. Low, who every J2 with the exception of Darrell has visited at some point or another, confirmed a sprain of my knee ligament. I had 5 days to recover, and on Saturday I was in crutches. It was a personal miracle that when I returned for another consultation on Wednesday, I was given the green light to play, subject to my own estimation of my match fitness.
As the finals drew closer, we started to feel the jitters. It became harder to go to sleep at night, or to pay attention during lessons. Making matters worse was the fact that the GP/KI Common Tests 2 were scheduled the day before our finals, and as important as our finals was to us, our coach had always emphasised the academic part of 'student-thlete' over the sports bit.
The day of the our finals coincided with the Badminton Boys' and Girls' Finals, the Bowling Girls' Finals as well as the Hockey Boys' Finals. Of the 4, only the Hockey finals was a direct clash with our own, meaning that support would be split between the National Stadium and Delta Complex. Despite this taxing schedule, the Badminton Boys team promised to come down and support our match after they clinched their own title, a generous gesture indeed.
When we got to the National Stadium, the 3rd-4th placing match between SAJC and VJC was underway. We walked the corridor underneat the stands, and into a dressing room. While it was not exactly posh like the ones Premiership clubs had, it was a nice touch and added to the air of authenticity. We chilled out in the dressing room until the start of the second half, where we changed into our white jersey and green shorts for our warmup. We would later change back to our green jersey before the match started. The warmup was a little awkward as there was precious little space for us to do our drills, and we had to improvise alot. However, I don't think anyone put too much thought into the warmup, and our minds were more focused on the match to come.
During our stretching, the usual voices added the usual comments. Cunzhi, with his calm demeanour and reminders. Eugene, with his customary tough love. Bowen with his traditional optimism. It would have seemed like just another game if not for the fact that this was likely to be our last stretching warmup as a team. Sitting in a circle, I took the opportunity to look at each and every one of my teammates, focusing on their faces to remind myself that when I stepped onto the pitch, I was playing for each and every one of them.
Soon after we changed to our green jerseys, it was time to get onto the pitch for our last warmup. Barely any time had elasped before we were called in for the huddle. This was it. Everything we had trained so hard for, and with the supporters cheering in the background, the tension was thick in the air. There would be no holding back this time, everyone would be going all out.
This was the finals.
The starting lineup for the finals: Timon, Junliang, Eugene, Cunzhi, Zenzel, Yijing, Martin, Hashir, Woohan, Sean and Chaolun.
Timon had been outstanding throughout the season, and his form had really peaked during our last two matches against JJC and VJC. His performances kept us in tight matches, and vindicated every ounce of faith we had placed in his two hands.
The back 4 remained the same, and had been ever since Zenzel had recovered from his ankle injury. The partnership of Cunzhi and Eugene, with Cunzhi as last man and Eugene as stopper had proven successful during the 2006 campaign, and had proven so during our season as well. With Cunzhi behind him as the last line of defense, Eugene was able to confidently step up and provide a one-man wall in the centre of defense. It was as strong a back four as one could possibly hope for, with each player not only strong defensivley, but able to distribute as well.
Yijing and Woohan had proven themselves two of the most dangerous wingers in the entire competition. As different as their styles were, with Yijing depending on his skill and Woohan exploiting his pace, they were both highly effective.
Hashir and myself were back together in the centre of midfield, with me playing a more defensive role and Hashir the more attacking one. It was the same midfield partnership that we had started out with in J1, and the fact that we had come full circle was not lost on either of us. Hashir had not exactly been playing well, or at least not up to his usual high standards in the last few matches, but he was everywhere in the finals.
Sean had earned his spot on the starting lineup by nature of his excellent form. At one point, we thought we had lost him because he had family commitments to juggle along with training, but his form returned just at the right moment. He was fighting for individual honours as well, as another goal would see him tied for top and the Golden Boot award.
Chaolun had the most important role in our team. He had the unenviable task of man-marking the MJC captain. While it might seem strange to ask a striker to man-mark a defender, the MJC captain, a National player, was the heart of the entire MJC team. He took all the set pieces, goal-kicks included, and was the driving force behind the entire team. We hoped that Chaolun's height and his suprising speed would allow him to match the MJC no. 8 physically. Our strategy was to shackle him completely, and to prevent him from even getting into the game. We were essentially going to play 4-4-1, against what we hoped was 3-5-1. Unorthodox certainly, but at the JC standard, an effective strategy.
As we got ready for the kickoff, we lined-up in the tunnel, side by side with MJC as the PA system announced the starting lineups for both teams. It felt surreal, as though we were in in a professional match, with the tunnel and the announcer. As wonderful as it felt soaking up the atmosphere, we were focused on the task at hand. I had perhaps the most motivation to give my all in the first half, as our coach had told me he only intended to play me for a maximum of one half before bringing on Bowen.
It was a nervy start for both teams, with both teams tentative in their play. However, with the large pitch, the wingers on both sides were soon finding plenty of space on the flanks. MJC had come with clear strategy: they were attacking heavily on our right side, and they kept forcing their play to the left where their speedy winger was enjoying some success. On our side, Woohan was having his way with the MJC left back on the right flank, and only excellent defending from the MJC centre backs kept our forwards from being on the receiving end of his crosses. However, the pick of the bunch had to be Yijing. Playing against his ex-clubmate, he was practically toying with the right back. Turning him inside and out with his trickery, he came the closest to unlocking the MJC defense. His cross-cum-shot to the far post was narrowly missed the far post, and Woohan was a split-second late in getting on the end of another of Yijing's crosses and opening the scoring. Yijing would later win Man of the Match honours for the finals, and deservedly so, and would prove himself to be someone to watch for next season.
The first half was a close affair, and ended honours even. During the half-time talk, our coach asked us to close our eyes and just listen. While this was totally reminiscent of the movie 'Miracle', it was nevertheless impactful. I don't know how to describe it, I could hear the voices of the RJC supporters from the stands, I could hear the heavy breathing of the players around you, and we just soaked that moment in. It was at that moment that for the first time I believed that we would win the championship. As naive as it sounds, the confidence in my coach and the people really just seeped into me. In that moment, I somehow just knew we were going to win.
We started the second half excellently, and I recall giving a blind pass to Hashir who had tons of real estate in front of him. We created chances and we defended with our lives. However, the game really swung in our favour when Bowen and Bong were substituted for myself and Woohan. We had done our jobs, and now it was time to pass the baton on to others to finish the work we had begun.
The goal was a thing of beauty, and in fact somewhat similar to the one Bowen scored against MJC in our first encounter. It involved the same three players, Bowen, Bong and Chaolun. A nice long ball down the line by Zenzel saw Bong play a neat 1-2 with Bowen, and Bong's low cross was flicked by Chaolun staight into Bowen's pass, who carrying the weight of the dreams of each and everyone of us, calmly slotted the ball pass the keeper and into the bottom left hand corner.
The crowd went mad. For the first time, we celebrated a goal thoroughly, with Bowen running to the sidelines pointing his finger at the crowd and at us in triumph. And for once, our coach didn't appear to mind. Bowen, whose form had deserted him at the start of the season, scored the most important goal of the entire season, taking his tally up to 5 to tie with Sean as our top scorers.
It was an amazing feeling, to be ahead in a finals. I remember the reaction on the bench, just pure jubliation. I remember pumping my fist and egging the crowd on, though rather needlessly as pandemonium had long erupted in the stands. Now, all we had to do was to hold on to our precious lead.
Holding on to a one goal lead is about the hardest thing to do in soccer. There is a tendency for the team ahead to sit back and defend which more often than not, proves fatal. Protecting a lead can sometimes cause you to lose it, as you are no longer able to keep possession of the ball in the opponent's half, and sooner or later, the odds work in favour of your opponents. We had only let in 5 goals the entire season. One from SRJC, one to ACJC, an own goal by Eugene for MJC, a token goal to JJC and a goal to VJC. Now, only the clock and our own resolve stood between us and the title.
Everytime one of our players got the ball, we would be begging them to drive the ball to a corner and to hold the ball there. Everytime we chanced an attack and loss possession instead we would curse the players involved. Nothing is worst than sitting on the bench and trying to mentally will time to accelerate. Every near miss by MJC set our hearts to our stomachs, while every clearance met with a sigh of relief. We were shouting at Hashir and Yijing for much of the last 20 minutes, encouraging them to persevere through the exhaustion. Hashir finally succumbed to cramps and had to be replaced by Si-En, who made a cameo appearance in the finals.
Finally, it was over. We had done it, we had won the match by a single goal. For Chaolun, he had erased any demons that might have haunted him after his semi-finals penalty miss. For Cunzhi, he had captained a championship winning side, and he could not have been prouder of us. For our coach, it was his very first A Division title. For me... It was simply a miracle.
We had done the implausible even though the odds were stacked against us. By lifting the National Schools Soccer A Division Championship trophy, we had conquered our very own third mountain and accomplished the goals we had set. The journey that we had begun almost 19 months ago was now complete.
This... is our miracle.
The end.
