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Republic Polytechnic’s team has made history this year, bagging one of the top three awards in its first year playing host to the POL-ITE Soccer Games. This achievement sets a new record for the team, after its previous 4th placing in the Inter Varsity Polytechnic Games SR Nathan Challenge cup trophy 2008/09. This achievement and improvement is all the more remarkable considering that the team, known as the Huskies, was only set up in 2005. This team, that
strongly believes that hard work is the key to their success, has certainly proven its worth this year.
The tournament started with Republic Polytechnic (RP) playing against Singapore Polytechnic. The goal opener from Republic Polytechnic, Grabriel Quak, is currently playing for the Young Lions Team, and assisted in allowing a good head start of 2-0, which was then followed by another goal from Madhu Mohana, a fellow Young Lions-player. This victory was especially exhilarating, considering Singapore Polytechnic’s triumph over Republic Polytechnic due to a goal in the last few minutes of their 2007 game. This win earned the home-team a good 3 point start-off.
The second game had the Huskies coming face-to-face with players from Temasek Polytechnic. With Temasek Poly leading at first, the crowd gave a wild standing ovation to the equalizer of the scores. This game ended with Temasek Polytechnic winning, thus leading to a constant 3 points at the end of two games in the tournament.
The third game was against the all-time giants, Nanyang Polytechnic. This institution, which is well-known for its ability to produce quality players such as Singapore’s former captain Indra Sahdan Daud,
proved as tough competitors for the home-team. The game, which reached a tie
before half-time, was not one of the Huskies’ luckiest matches. With more than three of the starting team players badly injured, the game ended with a tie between the two teams. After three tight matches and two more to go, the Huskies had earned 4 points for their team.
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Ngee Ann Polytechnic was their next competitor, the team that had lost to RP the previous year. RP had to start off without its regulars, who could only root for their team from the stands. One of the highlights of the game was during a goal scored by Amos Vikram, which put the home team in the lead. This caused much disappointment and frustration from the other team, which led to a player being sent off by the referee, giving the home team a one-man advantage. By the end of the game, RP had won not only the game, but also a confirmed spot in the top 3 positions with a total of 7 points.
The ITE combined squad was the last hurdle to cross, to determine their overall performance. It was a tight match that went scoreless for 75mins. Just before the full time whistle, ITE scored the winning goal, allowing them to face Temasek Polytechnic in the gold medal match. This left RP with a well-earned bronze medal.
This experience has definitely brought the RP Male Soccer Team closer together. They attribute their success to their hard work, team spirit and school pride,
which have brought them this far. The team’s next target would be to excel in the IVP Games, for the SR Nathan Cup Challenge trophy 2009/10 in early January.
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