Sports School win C Division title for the double
Their first XI featured seven Secondary 1 students who were playing in their first Schools National C Division football final.
They also had to endure a nerve-racking penalty shoot-out victory over St Patrick's School in Tuesday's semi-finals which finished 2-2 after extra-time.
It was a test of character for the Singapore Sports School (SSP) and they passed it with flying colours yesterday when they beat a spirited Queensway Secondary School 2-1 and win their first C Division title since 2011.
SSP coach Shahrin Shari was delighted that his charges did not buckle under pressure at Our Tampines Hub.
"Most of the boys have not played on this platform before, so my advice to them was to just focus on their usual approach to the game," he said.
"I'm glad that we won and also with the way we won it."
In a match of two 30-minute halves, SSP dominated and led at the stroke of half-time through Adam Reefdy Hasyim's long-distance effort.
Adam, 14, then turned from hero to villain when he conceded a 38th-minute penalty which was tucked home by Queensway's Farid Jafiri.
He had skipper Amir Syafiz Abdul Rashid to thank for saving his blushes when the forward scored the winning goal in the 45th minute.
Said Adam: "I didn't expect to score, but I was given the opportunity and I just took it. I am very proud of the team today but the opponents gave us a good fight."
Man-of-the-Match Amir said: "I feel relieved and happy to win at the same time because the B Division team did well."
The win completed an SSP double. Their B Division seniors were champions in April after beating Meridian Secondary School 2-0 in the final.
Earlier yesterday, Serangoon Gardens Secondary beat St Patrick's 3-2 to finish third in the C Division. - LESTER WONG
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now
