SJI Erase 2024 Pain To Be A Div Champs

Last year's loss in final spurs football team to maiden title with extra-time winner

- Melvyn Teoh

A session on how to bounce back from setbacks proved to be an ideal tonic for St Joseph's Institution (SJI) ahead of the National School Games A Division boys' football final on May 22.

With their 2-1 loss to Victoria Junior College (VJC) in the 2024 final still fresh in the memory, they wanted to be mentally well prepared in the title-decider against Nanyang Junior College at Jalan Besar Stadium.

SJI, who took the lead through midfielder Darius Lim in the 18th minute, were pegged back just six minutes later as Nanyang equalised through winger Atheeq Mahbub and took the game to extra time.

But if they panicked, they did not show it as SJI kept their nerves to win 2-1, with centre-back Hugo Gauthier scoring the winner with six minutes left in extra time to lift their first title.

SJI's football co-teacher-in-charge Syaifudin Ahmad admitted that the 2024 final loss was "always at the back of the mind".

He said: "It was a wonderful end to what was a very long and arduous National School Games season.