"Matchpix" - August 2011

(P.S: If you access this site via "come.to/matchpix", please click the "Facebook" icon after you click "HERE" when you want to view the album as that will redirect you to the album, thank you)

• S.League Match- Balestier Khalsa 0-1 Tampines Rovers (6/8/11)
  
  
  

Ahmad Latiff (pictured above in yellow jersey) delivered the sucker punch at the last kick of the game to help Tampines Rovers beat Balestier Khalsa 1-0 at Toa Payoh Stadium.

While the Tigers had a Mark McGough's goal disallowed which they claimed the Aussie's effort had crossed the goal line before Lions defender Fahrudin Mustafic cleared for safety in the first half.

The win closed the gap to two points between Stags and leaders Home Utd.

With the horrendous light condition at Toa Payoh, compromised at 1/320 and ISO6400 is a must when F5.6 is the main theme here.

PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE REST OF THE MATCH PICTURES

•  S.League Match - Woodlands Wellington 1-5 Albirex Niigata [S] (8/8/11)
  

"Woodlands had a 3 week break. trained twice daily for two weeks, led thru a 40sec goal and then crumbled and got trashed. and he (coach Bala) still say its ok" said a friend on "twitter" after he read what I quoted Woodlands coach R Subramaniam said after his team's 5-1 defeat to the League Cup holders.

"Despite the loss, I still see some positives out from this game and compared to our last game against them, we actually made them worked hard to score all the goals tonight.

And I felt it was due to the fasting month and being our first game during this period, I think my team will adjust to the condition by the time when we play our next game." was what said by Coach Bala after the game.

By this time, it was already a well-known fact among the fraternity that I must be the only photog making a hell of noise of the poor lightning at neighbourhood grounds when one of the Rams players asked me before the game if that would be the worrying factor when snapping them later... I think it was.. :P

PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE REST OF THE MATCH PICTURES  

•  Singapore Cup Quarter-Final (2nd-Leg) Etoile FC 3-1 Gombak United

 

Gombak Utd coach Darren Stewart took full responsibility for their 3-1 loss against Etoile FC that saw them knocked out of RHB Singapore Cup.

With that win Etoile will meet Home Utd in the semi final of the premier Cup competition of local football alongside with Albirex Niigata (S) and Hougang Utd to complete the FINAL FOUR setup.

It was raining pretty heavily prior to the start and I asked the water-logged pitch was possible for the game to start.

And glad it did and so was the rain that stopped in time to see the start of the match that went without going into extra-time unless those other's second-leg matches before this.


PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE REST OF THE MATCH PICTURES

[Feature] Aiding in the revival of the Lions' fortune...

(The entry is formulated from the transcript obtained via Integrated Marketing Solutions Group -IMSG, the PR agency of Nike Singapore)

(P.S: The copyrights of the images depicted in this blog entry belong to Nike, unless stated on the images itself.)

Their exploits on the field in recent weeks would not have been gone unnoticed and possible without Nike's Tiempo Legend IV Elite.

With this latest football boots launched by the global sporting giants that are being wore lately by the triumvirate of Singapore National Football Team captain Shahril Ishak (pictured above left), veteran goal ace Aleksandar Duric (pictured above right) and "boy wonder" Hariss Harun, they had helped to propel the much beleaguered Lions back to prominence included that crucial win over Malaysia in the "Causeway Derby" that qualified them for the Asian World Cup Group Qualifiers, where they are due to meet China in days to come.

Tiempo Legend IV Elite
Being the 12th model of the "Tiempo" series launched by Nike, the series had come a long way since 1994 when the game's biggest tournament was staged in the United States that saw its first model - "Tiempo Premier" wore by eight of the 22 players on field in the final match between Italy and eventual winners, Brazil.

Hariss Harun stays faithful to Tiempo since young

Soon after that, "Tiempo" was seen as a launchpad for Nike to catapult itself to be among the leading names of the game through its various innovative and top quality products over these years. Therefore, it was not unusual to see "Tiempo Legend IV Elite" being first crafted in a small Italian town of Montebellun, long reputed for its fine shoe-making craftsmanship, in part of that process to meet up to the stringent expectations on it.

"The new Tiempo offers a respect for the heritage of the boot, and what we wanted the Tiempo to represent. That is, a style of shoemaking, a snug fit, design that is understated not flamboyant.

It’s about refinement and simplicity; it’s about respect for the athlete, not flashy design or features. It’s a timeless piece of craftsmanship." Dave Daly, Nike's Global Footwear Director, Football

The end product of a masterpiece - Tiempo Legend IV Elite

Indeed with those words of Daly, the end product of this masterpiece is the result after a manufacturing process that involved 128 steps with a total of 80 different components plus 56.50 meters of Flywire technology thread (that helps to minimize weight and maximize support in Nike footwear) and 4,751 stitches go into each boot.

In short, the boots are designed to provide great fit and touch and is the lightest "Tiempo" model ever.

New Environmentally-Friendly Club Kits and Lifestyle Range for top European clubs sides
Equally essential in every footballer's gear is the jersey he is wearing.

Since last year, Nike improvised its "Dri-Fit" fabric that actively regulate the players' body temperatures on the pitch to keep them dry and cool at all times through use of this unique technology that draws sweat away from the player's body through the material where it can evaporate.

The current Singapore national team jersey is environmental friendly

This fabric also claimed another distinction for using recycled plastic water bottles in its fabrication process of these jerseys in effort to be more environmental friendly.

It is the same kind of material used in the Lions' current jersey which is also in those jerseys of that of Manchester United, Barcelona and Arsenal too.

Beside the match day kits, Nike has launched a unique line of training and lifestyle clothing (pictured above with Manchester United's Rio Ferdinand in a jacket) for both players and fans to wear on and off pitch.

T90 Seitiro ball
No Singaporean fan would forget that moment when Duric's flick header that set up that Shi Jiayi's equalizer against Malaysia and silenced majority of the 80,000 crowds at Bukit Jalil Stadium thus landed the Lions at where they are now.

The match ball that night was "T90 Seitiro".

Continuing to bring new innovations to football, the T90 Seitiro features NIKE RaDaR technology, which means Rapid Decision and Response. As a lab and field-tested standard of visual performance Nike RaDaR technology allows players to see the ball better and capitalize on split second scoring and passing opportunities.

Tested and validated on pitch by some of the world's best players including Wayne Rooney, Andrés Iniesta and Wesley Sneijder the T90 Seitiro ball's casing color, graphic design and contrast creates an optimal visual signal on the pitch, allowing for players to rapidly and intuitively spot the ball anywhere on the pitch.

The T90 Seitiro's touch, aerodynamic stability and Nike RaDaR technology make it the best ball on the planet.

Partners hand in hand
As the Lions are due to play their opening group qualifier match against China this coming Friday (2nd of September), it's without any doubt that Nike will continue in its role to help the revival of Singapore football.

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[Instant Reaction] Thailand 0-0 Singapore - Hope no one is injury, please

Screen-grab of the livestreaming of the match

As what Thailand's German coach Winfried Schaefer said before the game "Result doesn't matter" and so both his team and Singapore fought to a goal-less encounter in front a near empty gigantic Rajamangala Stadium.

Singapore coach Raddy Avramovic surprised many by naming just recovered Fahrudin Mustafic in the starting eleven for this Bangkok friendly.

Nonetheless, the Stags utility man was featured for the first 45 minutes before made way for Shukor Zailan before the start of the second half.

While skipper Shahril Ishak was unfortunately to have his effort judged offside in the 54th minute, the hosts were guilty for not making full use of their chances created in the second half and could only kick themselves for making life a bit easier for Lionel Lewis, who also came on in the second half, at goal.

The game looked pretty scrappy for large part of it, but the key now is avoid unnecessary injury and get things into the groove... Good Luck!

We need a "BIRCH" or "LOW" for our new CEO?

I think it would be interesting to use the following as an example since we are presently on the look out for a new "S.League CEO".

I'm not sure if recent announcement by the league authority that they are on a look out for a new man in charge of the league did actually set a buzz in the local football community, which is of late swayed with number of things that taken place of late such as the joint FAS-FAM MOU and the Lions' making it to group stages qualifiers of the World Cup.

Nonetheless, I think as someone who is concerning about the future of Singapore football (even though, someone actually claimed I'm a 'killer' of it) I would like to share my thoughts here by using a case study not related to football from the past to the search for the new League boss.

With the title suggested "We need a "BIRCH" or "LOW" for our new CEO?" had therefore bring us to the main characters of this entry - JWW Birch and Hugh Low.

The two gentlemen in BOLD were instrumental in the British Residential System during the Colonial times in the 19th century.

JWW BIRCH

A skectch of JWW Birch (obtained via Resam Melayu )

Birch was first appointed as the "Resident" to the state of Perak in 1874 following the "Pangkor Treaty".

Despite being the administrative old hand for having served Ceylon prior to his appointment to his new role, Birch was portrayed as a "impatient man, insensitive to local cultures and wanted to have things changed quickly"

Which was because of his impatient and lack of tact over several issues that that eventually led to his assassination by a native chief in November 1875.

Sir Hugh Low

Portrait of Hugh Low (obtained via Wikipedia)

Hugh Low became the fourth "Resident" of Perak and is widely acknowledged as the first successful British colonial administrator in this part of the world.

Many factors attributed the success of Low, for one thing he was a tactful person and emphasised on the "consultative" way to work with the native chief and the ruler of the state which eventually won him the trust from them.

Therefore, during his term in office Low was eventually phrased out some of the old practices that were hogging the development of the state, and by the time he retired from office in 1889 he transformed Perak from a state of anarchy to a model to be emulated by the rest of Malay States under this "Residential System".

(P.S: I will not dwell on what was written above-mentioned, as it's not the objective of this entry and I will express no opinions on those incidents either and what written above are formulated based on what I read from sources available source1, sourece2, source3, source4, source5)

CONCLUSION
As we can see from the brief insights on both characters that Birch is seen as someone who was impatient and gung-ho man to impose his thoughts without taking consideration of those he worked with, whereas Low was more of an accommodating person and ready to listen and work out a solution to every problem he was facing.

Without going into further details of what are the problems we are facing nowadays which we are so familiar with, I would liken the present situation in local football that bears some resemblance of that faced by both Birch and Low in the late 19th century.

That's why I believe (and HOPE) with the wisdom of the selection panel, they would have taken into account all the factors that are deemed critical in getting the RIGHT person to run the show.

Would they want someone like Birch whose abrasive style of wanting to impose changes quickly to rid those nagging problems in a huff OR are we, the fans, willing to brace for another few more years before we see the harvesting of the crops if someone like Low is the patient cultivator?

Singapore Cup - Emerging of the "FINAL FOUR"

Wasn't able to attend any of the Singapore Cup matches over the few days until today due to work commitments and ultimately saw the lack of update of the blog until this.

As the result of the concluding matches played over the past few days saw the emerging of the "FINAL FOUR" for one of the holy grails in Singapore football.

ALBIREX NIIGATA (SINGAPORE)
The reigning League Cup winners are the on the course of gunning their second title of the season after eliminated SAFFC on penalties after a 2-2 draw on aggregate at the Jalan Besar Stadium.

(Picture above) Koichi Sugiyama is the most successful coach to date of the White Swans since they joined the league in 2004

HOME UNITED
I was actually at the "next door" when the second leg of the Home United-Tampines Rovers quarter-finals took place at the Bishan Stadium.

Unfortunately, I was not able to have a clear view from where I was and had to depend on the "tweets" updating to keep my abreast on what going on and finally saw the Protectors triumphed over their fellow title-contenders on penalties as well on the same night like Albirex did.

Some coaches were asking why Home United's Firdaus Idros was not selected for the Lions

HOUGANG UNITED
The Cheetahs survived a scare at the Jalan Besar when they found themselves against a resilient Okkthar United who were keen to overcome that 3-0 deficit incurred in the first-leg at Hougang Stadium.

Just like at the Cheetahs' lair, the Burmese side was backed by a voracious fans' supporters that was not often seen in local league match that one "tweet" update remarked the Hougang Hools were drowned out by these expat supporters.

Hougang will face a rematch with Albirex in semi-finals

ETOILE FC
Gombak United coach Darren Stewart took full responsibility for their 3-1 second-leg loss against Etoile FC that saw them knocked out of RHB Singapore Cup which he felt that the game plan for this wet surface encounter against the defending champions were not executed.

With that win Etoile will meet Home Utd in the semi final of the premier Cup competition of local football alongside with Albirex Niigata (S) and Hougang Utd to complete the FINAL FOUR setup.

Although the French paid a price for having saw a few of their key players ruled out for the semi-final due to suspension, which coach Guglielmo Arena is confident that with the squad he has it's not an issue to dwell on.

Kevin Lefranc's 10th minute strike opened the account for the French.

Still pending for Hariss and Safuwan

The fate of both Hariss Harun and Safuwan Baharudin (pictured below) to join the national team for the upcoming World Cup group stages qualifiers is still hung in a balance, despite having their names on the 24-men squad list released by the Football Association of Singapore this evening.

Would Sufawan having the last laugh?

"We are still hopeful that both Hariss and Safuwan would get the relevant clearance over their NS liability, which we will get a clearer picture in days to come." according to the FAS official this blog spoken to pertaining the duo's status.

Other than two youngsters that gave a good account of themselves in the recent "Causeway Derby", there aren't many changes made by coach Raddy Avramovic in his selection other than inclusion of Geylang United's Sevki Sha'ban and Hafiz Rahim.

Izwan Mahbud in action against the Malaysians

With Lionel Lewis back in action for Home United last night against Tampines Rovers in the Singapore Cup, it would pose another happy headache for coach Raddy on whom would be his starting custodian with Courts Young Lions's Izwan Mahbud's (pictured bove) credible performance at Bukit Jalil had gathered a few laurels from the pundits.

Daniel Bennett is set to join the "century" club

SAFFC's defender Daniel Bennett (pictured above) is set to be the next "centurion" as he will be joining the 25-men squad heading to Bangkok for a friendly match against Thailand on the 24th of August before proceed to Kunming to face China on the 2nd of September.

Apparently, some of the players were not aware of the news when being told like in the case of Gombak United's defender Hamqaamal Shah (pictured below), but is thrilled to be part of the contingent .

Hamqaamal Shah (white jersey number 4) in action for Gombak United

"When I get to know I'm in the team, I'm delighted to have the opportunity to represent my country again.

"While I did not play in the matches against the Malaysians, I will still work hard and earn for a place on the first team and I hope the team will qualify to the fourth round which I believe we can do it." said the twice-capped defender.

"With the team, coaches, officials and not forgetting our FANS we have for the team. We'll do very best for the country." promised the 25 year-old.

The squad list as follow:

Popular Name	Position	Club	Caps	Goals
Hariss Harun	MF	Courts Young Lions	19	0
Izwan Mahbud	GK	Courts Young Lions	3	0
Ruzaini Zainal	MF	Courts Young Lions	2	0
Afiq Yunos	DF	Courts Young Lions	2	0
Safuwan Baharudin	DF	Courts Young Lions	7	0
Zulfahmi Arifin	MF	Courts Young Lions
Shahdan Sulaiman	MF	Courts Young Lions	5	0
Hafiz Rahim	FW	Geylang United FC
Sevki Sha'ban	DF	Geylang United FC	4	0
Hamqaamal Shah	DF	Gombak United FC	2	0
Ismail Yunos	DF	Gombak United FC	15	0
Juma'at Jantan	DF	Home United FC	21	0
Lionel Lewis	GK	Home United FC	68	0
Isa Halim	MF	Home United FC	33	0
Qiu Li	FW	Home United FC	8	1
Shi Jiayi	MF	Home United FC	51	7
Shahril Ishak	MF	Medan Chiefs FC	85	5
Daniel Bennett	DF	SAF FC	99	6
Fazrul Nawaz	FW	SAF FC	46	4
Shaiful Esah	DF	SAF FC	12	0
Aleksandar Duric	FW	Tampines Rovers FC	35	18
Mustafic Fahrudin	MF	Tampines Rovers FC	57	7
Shukor Zailan	MF	Tampines Rovers FC	2	0
Delwinder Singh	DF	Tanjong Pagar United FC
Ridhuan Barudin	GK	Tanjong Pagar United FC

Should it be more apt to use 2004 clip than 1994 clip? [edited]

I was watching the National Day rally that ended moments ago and thought would like to add my less-than-a-dime thought having saw a clip of the 1994 Malaysia Cup Final win over Pahang by the Singapore team.

The Prime Minister was quoting someone who shared with that moment as a 17 year-old by saying that "The most memorable moment during the whole Malaysia Cup, to me, was not the players, instead, the integrity of the fans, to come together as one, and only in this competition where we see strangers become good friends and buddies become families," (as mentioned on this report).

Okay, while it was a fact back then everything came to a standstill and everyone was gluing to the live telecasting on their television, but I thought the clip below would be a better choice to illustrate that point.

After all, that illustrated point took place right at home in 2004.



- Kallang Roar, Kallang Wave... how I miss you both...

Gathered some thoughts from the blog's FB page and my FB feedback follow the posting up of the entry last night.

"Everything that happened in 1994 was indeed sweet memory.. The whole season was magical. Matches after matches... We'd march down to the National Stadium to roar as a nation. 2004 was also memorable...but It was just a one off excitement isn't it.."

"as usual, too much coverage/exposure given to Malaysia Cup days over the 'more successful' years afterwards..."

[Media Information] Changes in the 2011 Great Eastern-YEO’S S-League and RHB Singapore Cup fixtures

(Media Information from the Football Association of Singapore)

SAFFC hold the record number of win of the S.League title

SINGAPORE, 11 August 2011: Due to the closure of several stadiums for the upcoming Presidential Elections and also to facilitate our National Team's preparations for the upcoming 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™ Asian Qualifiers, Third Round matches this year, the following 2011 Great Eastern-YEO’S S.League and Singapore Cup matches have been rescheduled or moved to a new venue.


The changes are as follow:

Great Eastern- YEO’S S.League/ RHB Singapore Cup
Match No	Match	Original Venue	New Venue	Original Date	New Date	Kick Off
SC10	Singapore Armed Forces FC vs Albirex Niigata FC	Choa Chu Kang	NA	15-Aug	14-Aug	08:00:00 PM
SC16	Albirex Niigata FC vs Singapore Armed Forces FC	Jurong East	Jalan Besar	21-Aug	18-Aug	08:00:00 PM
SC15	Etoile FC vs Gombak United FC	Queenstown	Jalan Besar	20-Aug	NA	08:00:00 PM
91	Etoile FC vs Albirex Niigata FC	Queenstown	NA	10-Oct	7-Sep	7.30pm
126	Home United FC vs Courts Young Lions	Bishan	NA	22-Aug	28-Sep	7.30pm
169	Tanjong Pagar United FC vs Courts Young Lions	Clementi	NA	5-Oct	3-Oct	7.30pm
173	Woodlands Wellington FC vs Etoile FC	Woodlands	NA	3-Oct	4-Oct	7.30pm
174	Albirex Niigata FC vs Geylang United FC	Jurong East	NA	6-Oct	5-Oct	7.30pm
127	Hougang United FC vs Tanjong Pagar United FC	Hougang	NA	28-Aug	6-Oct	7.30pm
145	Balestier Khalsa FC vs Courts Young Lions	Toa Payoh	NA	25-Aug	6-Oct	7.30pm
68	Etoile FC vs Geylang United FC	Queenstown	NA	1-Sep	10-Oct	7.30pm
165	Home United FC vs Woodlands Wellington FC	Bishan	NA	28-Sep	24-Oct	7.30pm
189	Hougang United FC vs Albirex Niigata FC	Hougang	NA	27-Oct	24-Oct	7.30pm
67	Singapore Armed Forces FC vs Courts Young Lions	Choa Chu Kang	NA	28-Aug	25-Oct	7.30pm
190	Geylang United FC vs Tampines Rovers FC	Bedok	NA	27-Oct	25-Oct	7.30pm
188	Gombak United FC vs Tanjong Pagar United FC	Jurong West	NA	25-Oct	27-Oct	7.30pm
149	Albirex Niigata FC vs Tampines Rovers FC	Jurong East	NA	26-Aug	29-Oct	7.30pm
147	Geylang United FC vs Singapore Armed Forces FC	Bedok	NA	24-Aug	31-Oct	7.30pm
187	Balestier Khalsa FC vs Woodlands Wellington FC	Toa Payoh	NA	24-Oct	31-Oct	7.30pm
135	Gombak United FC vs Tampines Rovers FC	Jurong West	NA	23-Aug	1-Nov	7.30pm
148	Hougang United FC vs Home United FC	Hougang	NA	25-Aug	1-Nov	7.30pm
146	Tanjong Pagar United FC vs Woodlands Wellington FC	Clementi	NA	22-Aug	3-Nov	7.30pm
150	Gombak United FC vs Etoile FC	Jurong West	Jalan Besar	27-Aug	4-Nov	7.30pm
SC Finals	TBC	Jalan Besar	NA	5-Nov	19-Nov	7.30pm
172	Tampines Rovers FC vs Home United FC	Tampines	NA	4-Oct	23-Nov	7.30pm
170	Gombak United FC vs Singapore Armed Forces FC	Jurong West	NA	5-Oct	24-Nov	7.30pm
157	Albirex Niigata FC vs Etoile FC	Jurong East	Jalan Besar	7-Sep	25-Nov	7.30pm
198	Tanjong Pagar United FC vs Hougang United FC	Clementi	NA	3-Nov	26-Nov	7.30pm
195	Tampines Rovers FC vs Balestier Khalsa FC	Tampines	NA	1-Nov	27-Nov	7.30pm
196	Home United FC vs Geylang United FC	Bishan	NA	2-Nov	27-Nov	7.30pm
193	Etoile FC vs Courts Young Lions	Queenstown	NA	25-Oct	28-Nov	7.30pm
197	Albirex Niigata FC vs Singapore Armed Forces FC	Jurong East	NA	31-Oct	28-Nov	7.30pm
194	Woodlands Wellington FC vs Gombak United FC	Woodlands	NA	4-Nov	28-Nov	7.30pm

Please kindly note that with these changes, the Great Eastern-YEO’S S.League 2011 season will end on 28 November 2011.

CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT
FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION OF SINGAPORE
11 AUG 2011

everything is PRIORITY, the league is getting the LEAST PRIORITY!

Who wouldn't want to see Singapore football prosper unless he/she doesn't give a damn.

Whilst we are experiencing that bit of little "renaissance" taking place since 28th July, let just not get too carry away and it's time to get real.

I am kind of agree with what former Straits Times' Sports Editor Godfrey Robert said in his column in his recent column published in The New Paper.

The League title race is expected to stretch due to the rescheduling of fixtures

The veteran journalist suggested that more emphasis should be place on the S.League and added disruption to the league fixtures should be at its minimum.

His concern is not without any valid reason.

Since with the upcoming World Cup qualifiers and the pending Presidential elections, the league is set to brace itself another round of league rescheduling.

And heaven knows if the league fixtures would be completed in time as scheduled on early November, especially when there are talks of having the season be end at later part of that month.

The consequence of having the season end on a later date would present another set of problems be faced by the league authority and the clubs during the closing stages of the fixtures.

"Now the clubs will be wondering when the season going to end, as it could lead to a few issues such as extend the players' contracts, the lodging of those foreign players." said a friend from the fraternity whom I spoke with as he shares his thoughts on the issue.

"What do you mean the stay is extend?"

While those above-mentioned views may be seen as 'closing stage problems', another acquaintance from the scene opined on issues that could be facing all during the "post season".

"The players will face a shorter resting time during off season, on top of that the maintenance of the fields will also be facing the squeeze because of the prolonged season.

"Coupled with other issues such as the beep test and scouting for new players, etc., the problems would just carry forward to the next season!" he added.

Grievances mentioned aren't anything new actually and honestly speaking these issues aren't likely to resolve any time soon (if so, it would have done so long time if not for procrastination, right?)

Said the earlier friend that:"We must have a backup plan and also should have a number of international matches, regardless of our World Cup Qualifier results, scheduled according to the original schedule list handed out early this season."

"Think about it, if we were knocked out earlier by Malaysia, at least these (international) friendlies would get us well prepare for tournaments such as SEA Games, AFF Championship and good showing in those friendly matches would help to boast our FIFA ranking, why not?" he reasoned by stated our Lions' recent ranking jumped eleven places to 131.

Lions' FIFA ranking jumped to 131 after beating Malaysia weeks ago

"After all, if schedules, barring those unforeseen circumstances like the recent general elections, were followed according to plan, the clubs would at least have an idea what to plan for in a systematic manner, yet it seems to me that while everything is PRIORITY, the league is getting the LEAST PRIORITY!"

"So without a strong league, what are we talking about building a stronger national team?" he concluded.

Indeed, how well a national team performs also have to depend on the how strong its domestic league is and here we are not just talking about the standard of play but also how well the league system is in place to ensure the smooth functioning of it.

"Matchpix" - July 2011

(P.S: If you access this site via "come.to/matchpix", please click the "Facebook" icon after you click "HERE" when you want to view the album as that will redirect you to the album, thank you)

I'm not sure if this is going to work and sustainable, but this should be the best way to get those pictures I taken to be tabulated in an orderly manner so as to allow users to access them easily (which I hope so).

Or if anyone has a better solution to put everything in order, please feel free to email me at kopohui@bolasepako.com to tell me more about it, thanks.

For the month of July, here are the Facebook Albums of shots I taken...

• Prime League Match - Home United 6-0 Hougang United (9/7/11)

Shooting under natural rays (the SUN) depend on the position of it as well (one must be ready to stand the scorching heat).

My personal preference is that I would try not to adjust my settings during shooting assignment (unless necessary), which it why I thought the best option then was to be under the sun in order to have "consistence lightning" throughout the first half, before moved to a shaded location in the second half (by then most of the field was in shade).

The match saw the defending Prime League champions Home United defeated Hougang United 6-0 at the Bishan Stadium.

PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE REST OF THE MATCH PICTURES

• S.League Match - SAFFC 0-1 Hougang United (10/7/11)

Captured the facial emotion of players is something really depend on your skill (I'm still try to grab it) and a bit of luck as well (as depicted above a disappointing looking Kari of SAFFC while waiting for a corner to be taken).

The lightning at Choa Chu Kang Stadium can be tricky in a sense that it would made some pictures looked "misty" and which is why some of the pictures in the FB album of the match above needed to be toned to weed out the "mist-look" by playing around with the exposure and colours of those pictures.

The match saw an upset by Hougang United over the hosts with Carlos Delgado's free-kick in the first half.

PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE REST OF THE MATCH PICTURES

• Countdown to "Causeway Derby" (Training)
  
  
  

In my first and only visit to the centralized training prior to the "Causeway Derby" match against Malaysia in World Cup Qualifier.

PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE REST OF THE PICTURES FROM THE SESSION.

• International Friendly: Singapore 3-2 中华台北 18/7/11
  
  
  

The final tuning up for the "Causeway Derby" as the Lions took on Chinese Taipei which they won it unconvincingly with myself messed up my camera setting that frequent use of graphic editing software was needed to rescue some of the photos.

PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE REST OF THE MATCH PICTURES

• WCQ2014: Day before the "Causeway Derby" 22/7/11

It was a hectic day that on 22nd July that after the pre-match press conference at the Amara Hotel in Tanjong Pagar followed by a quick lunch at Lavender before heading home to upload the pictures and write-up and called it a day following the 15-minutes session prior to Lions' closed-door session at JBS.

PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE REST OF THE DAY'S PICTURES

• WCQ2014: The "Causeway Derby" First Leg - Singapore 5-3 Malaysia
  
  
  

Tough assignment indeed as the atmosphere at the game was electrifying but unfortunately while both sides shown their awesome striking prowess, it can't deny the fact the defence need some brushing up in this game of two halves.

PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE REST OF THE MATCH PICTURES