Written by: Aravind Mano

Victoria Junior College’s (VJC) Rachael Han Fujisawa scored a hat-trick as she led her school to a 4-0 victory over Meridian Junior College (MJC) in the 2015 A Division Girls’ Football Championship final on Friday.

The forward was also a constant menace throughout the match with her dangerous set-piece deliveries and dribbling skills, which left VJC coach Lawrence Lee singing her praises.

“I think everybody can see she’s fantastic. It’s not just about how good she is. She also followed our instructions throughout the game – there were times when we wanted her to sit back and times when we told her to take them on.

“Also, she’s good enough to entertain the crowd. That’s exactly what I wanted from her and she deserves her moment.”

Right from the kickoff, VJC’s early pressure was rewarded as they raced to a 3-0 lead inside the opening 10 minutes.

In the second minute, VJC winger Lynn Teoh calmly slotted past MJC custodian Fadhlina Faisal to open the scoring.

Just two minutes later, they were awarded a penalty for handball and Fujisawa duly dispatched the resulting spot kick.

The third goal came in the ninth minute, courtesy of Fujisawa again. From the right wing, the 17-year-old curled a perfect free-kick past the fully-stretched Fadhlina.

Lee said it was a calculated decision to attack MJC right from the first whistle, as he was aware of his team’s strengths in that area.

“Right from the kickoff, the plan was to be on them and I’m proud of [the team],” he said.

“We could see how much they wanted it from the start and that’s why they got the three goals so quickly. They took their chances well and deserved the win.”

MJC managed to create a few chances but the resolute VJC team stood firm, working tirelessly to win the ball back from their opponents. And on the few occasions a Meridian player managed to get shots on goal, VJC goalkeeper Siow Qiu Ying was alert to make several smart saves.

However, three minutes into the second half, Fujisawa completed her hat-trick and put the outcome of the game beyond any doubt.

Picking the ball up outside the penalty area, sh eunleashed an unstoppable shot past Fadhlina to make it 4-0.

The rest of the match was a comfortable affair for VJC, as they held most of the possession and strolled to the championship.

MJC coach Muhammad Hafiz conceded that the VJC players’ ability to capitalise on their chances made the difference. He also highlighted Fujisawa’s match-winning performance.

“VJC are extremely good at set pieces. They had a penalty and a freekick and they made that count,” he said.

“They had one fantastic player who almost singlehandedly won the game for her team.”

In the third / fourth playoff match, Raffles Institution (RI) earned a resounding 5-2 victory over Jurong Junior College (JJC).

The RI girls dominated from start to end and scored twice in the first half through Beatrice Yip and Simone Sim.

JJC pulled one back through Sandra Yu but Sim struck her brace before K Keerthana made it 4-1. JJC midfielder Amarthavalli reduced the deficit but Yip made sure of RI’s win in the closing stages.