Jet-lagged Liyana Indah Rickit captains Meridian to three-peat in B Division Girls' football
However, the determined 15-year-old captain refused to be denied, leading Meridian Secondary School to a decisive 3-0 victory against the CBP W3 combined team at Jalan Besar Stadium, and even scored the final goal herself to seal the win.
Her coach Fadio da Silva was full of praise for the dedicated captain after Meridian won their third straight National School Games (NSG) B Division title.
'She's a very important player. She came back yesterday morning from overseas. She's still jet-lagged, but she still wanted to come and play. It's not easy, so I really (have to) salute Liyana,' said the 51-year-old.
'Her leadership, her personality is very good. She's very committed.'
Secondary 4 student Liyana, who scored all four goals in their 4-3 win over Queensway Secondary in the 2024 final, was glad to have the chance to mark her final outing for the school.
'I just want to win with my team. We worked very hard for this. I really am thankful that I have this opportunity to lead all my amazing teammates.'
Liyana Indah Rickit (in red) played the full game despite being jet-lagged.
ST PHOTO: BRIAN TEO
An early blitz proved to be the difference in the final, with Nayli Elvira putting Meridian 2-0 up, her second goal an audacious lob over goalkeeper Claire Mok after a long pass from Liyana.
'I feel proud that I get to score early in the first half,' said Nayli, 15. 'It brings our spirits and confidence up so we can relax and control the game from there.'
When asked about her finish for the second goal, she said: 'I saw the space behind the keeper so I just decided to chip (the ball) over.'
Liyana Indah Rickit (left) and Nayli Elvira (right) combined for Meridian's second goal.
ST PHOTO: BRIAN TEO
Her electric pace and hard running earned acclaim from Da Silva, who described Nayli as the 'best player on the pitch'.
He added: 'She's very fast and we have players that can make long passes to her. We know that she always has the opportunity to make the runs and face the goal. We did exactly that and we were able to score the goals in the first half.
'That's (our) way,' he said about his team's fast and aggressive start. 'We always try and get as (many) chances in the first half.'
Liyana scored just before the half-hour mark as Meridian saw out the win, despite playing with one fewer player after one of the players was injured.
'I just tried to encourage them, to push to the end because it's our last game. If one got tired or went down then we would cover for that person,' said Liyana.
For CBP W3, a combined team from Methodist Girls' School, Westwood Secondary School and Boon Lay Secondary School, luck played a role in their first appearance in an NSG final since their formation.
There was nothing to separate them with Tampines Secondary School after the round-robin stage and CBP W3 won the final berth via a draw of lots.
'We thought it would not be possible. It was really a scare for us,' said captain Tessa Chang on their road to the final. 'There's always things you can't control.'
Despite the defeat, she was still immensely proud of her team. 'I don't think we were just a bunch of players that were suddenly put together. We became a family and treated each other like family.'
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