BoLASEPaKO.COM - A Blog on Singapore Football

 Shopee Cup - Lion City Sailors 0-0 Buriram United 230125 Buriram United's penalty claim was brushed aside The goal-less draw between the powerhouses of both Singapore and Thailand saw the former represented by Lion City Sailors being eliminated from the Asean Club Championship aka Shopee Cup (for sponsorship reason) CLICK HERE TO SEE PICTURES ➤ LION CITY SAILORS VS BURIRAM UNITED Singapore Cup - Balestier Khalsa 1-2 BG Pathum United 020325 Balestier Khalsa's Kodai Tanaka (extreme right) being hold back Ace striker Kodai Tanaka's botched attempt from the spot near towards the end had Balestier Khalsa licking their wounds in this Singapore Cup defeat against 10-man BG Pathum United at Bishan instead. CLICK HERE TO SEE PICTURES ➤ BALESTIER KHALSA VS BG PATHUM UNITED #ACLTwo - Lion City Sailors 1-1 Sanfrecce Hiroshima (agg:4-1) 130325 Lion City Sailors celebrate after their opener against Sanfrecce Hiroshima at JBS Lion City Sailors became the third Singaporean club to feature...

Friendly - Balestier Khalsa 4-1 Tanjong Pagar United 010224 Ignatius “Iggy” Ang of Balestier (front) tried to get past his marker I am not sure how these ongoing friendlies are going to help the new national coach Tsutomu Ogura to have a better understanding of the players available at his disposal in his preparation for the upcoming WCQ match against China when clubs are trying out some raw youngsters during these matches as well? PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE MATCH PICTURES Lions' 1st Training Session under Coach Ogura - 110324 Coach Ogura (right) having a chat with his assistant Nazri Nasir I made a big mistake by being stubborn in my settings and took it for granted that I could fix some of the problems through editing those shots took at night at Kallang Football Hub :( PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE PICTURES WCQ - Singapore 2-2 China 210324 A packed goal mouth in the Singapore-China match The Lions kickstarted Coach Tsutomu Ogura's reign with an emp...

Many motorists would be forgiven if that unassuming small stadium located next to the huge SAFRA clubhouse failed to grab their attention when they drove past it after entering Toa Payoh from the westbound Pan Island Expressway (PIE). OFTEN FORGOTTEN OBSCURITY After all, the awkward positioning of that above-mentioned brutalist arena along the busy Lorong 6 stretch does no favour to help any random visitor to have a clear visible sight of it when there is a car park in front of it. The brutalist facade of Toa Payoh Stadium Nonetheless, the 3,800-capacity Toa Payoh Stadium has a special place in local sporting folklore for being part of the then newly erected Toa Payoh Sports Complex which served as a venue for competition and training of the 1973 SEAP Games - the first major sporting event hosted by the then newly-independent Republic of Singapore. PELE VISITED TOA PAYOH STADIUM IN 1974 It was also this stadium that etched its presence in Singapore football when the legendary Pele c...

SGPL - Balestier Khalsa 4-2 Young Lions 120723 Emmeric Ong (striped jersey) of Balestier Khalsa shared a light moment It was a "mere formality" to see this outcome day in and day out, and we wouldn't know when this would end. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE MATCH PICTURES Tiger Cup match between THFC and LCS of SFOF23 (25-260723) England skipper Harry Kane at National Stadium Here are the snaps taken during the "Tiger Cup" match of the Singapore Festival of Football Driven by CDG Zig (SFOF23) between Tottenham Hotspur and Lion City Sailors on 26/7 at National Stadium and the day before when Spurs held their open training session at National Stadium. Nope, Harry Kane did not play his match for Spurs in Singapore. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE MATCH PICTURES SFOF23/SCST2023 - Liverpool 4-0 Leicester City 300723 Liverpool skipper Virgil Van Dijk plotting his next move Liverpool got down to work straight away with a 4-0 win over former EPL side...

 SGPL - Lion City Sailors 3-1 Tanjong Pagar United 240223 Both Sailors and Jags anticipating a ball into the box Lion City Sailors opened their Singapore Premier League campaign with a sweet victory over Tanjong Pagar United in their homecoming at the Bishan Stadium. Japanese ace striker Kodai Tanaka marked his Sailors' debut with a brace from close range in second half. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE OF THE MATCH PICTURES SGPL - Balestier Khalsa 2-3 Hougang United 260223 Balestier Khalsa's Ryoya Taniguchi (red shirt) surrounded by Hougang United players Hougang United claimed all three points at Bishan Stadium by beating Balestier Khalsa 3-2 in a scrappy encounter which is otherwise known as the "pinball" derby. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE MATCH PICTURES SGPL - Geylang International 2-1 Hougang United 050323 Hougang United's players look on as Geylang International celebrate With Vincent Bezecourt's double in the second half, Geylang Internation...

Good day to all, It is the time of the year again when I will share my annual review. For this time round, I will just focus on the following topics, as listed following in the BOLD text:- Privatisation , Young Lions, and Balestier Khalsa . PRIVATISATION  One of the things I realised is with the move to privatise the Singapore Premier League in the progress, I certainly hope the decision-makers do not rush to complete the process. The public must be informed of the "privatisation" progress After all, we have seen the example of how the S.League was established in which the pioneering eight clubs were not given ample time to lay a strong foundation on and off the field, and some eventually paid the price for it. The Singapore Premier League is best to be seen as a cosmetic move to rebrand the so-called professional football league whose shortcomings are still obvious. This is why the process of privatisation should be placed on a gradual and consistent basis to make sure ...

 Standard Chartered Singapore Trophy Events 260422 Former Liverpool midfielder Jason McAteer (right) with a fan Nineteenth-time English league champions Liverpool will take on fellow Premier League side Crystal Palace in the Standard Chartered Singapore Trophy 2022. A press conference was held at Gardens by the Bay to announce the match will be played on 15th July at the National Stadium. The confirmation of this fixture will see the Reds and the Eagles being the first European top-flight clubs to play in Singapore since 2019. Besides attending the press conference in the morning, both Jason McAteer (ex Liverpool) and Andre Moritz (former Crystal Palace and now Hougang United) made their presence in the afternoon at Serangoon Stadium for the football clinic. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE PICTURES SGPL - Tanjong Pagar United 4-2 Tampines Rovers 280522 Reo Nishiguchi of TPUFC celebrates after scoring After a six-goal thriller in the first half that saw them take a two-goa...

Rizal is now part of Tanjong Pagar United's coaching panel Rizal Rahman is the reason why I decided to take up football photography. I still remember that day we met for the first time face to face at a fast food outlet near the National Stadium when he asked if I have pictures from his playing days. Which, unfortunately, I had none as I had yet to start taking match photos back then and I could sense the disappointment which I thought was probably a good time to venture into something that was alien to me. The following repurposed content is the feature on the former Balestier Khalsa goalkeeper which was first published on 23rd April 2009 in a Q&A format. Additional details were added to this blog post recently to give an update on the ex-national youth goalkeeper. FROM THE VOID DECKS Like many Singapore boys, Rizal started playing football in void decks of HDB (Housing Development Board) residential blocks. As the primary school where he studied did not have a football team, ...

 SGPL - Balestier Khalsa 2-2 Tampines Rovers 260222 Aerial duel at Tigers-Stags game Balestier Khalsa came back from behind to salvage a draw with goals from Shuhei Hoshino and Ensar Brunčević in the second half. The Stags took a two-goal lead in the first half through Boris Kopitović and Taufik Suparno. The match also saw the return of Balestier's head coach Akbar Nawas to the local top flight after five years when he, ironically, stepped down from the Tampines Rovers' hot seat in 2017. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE PICTURES SGPL - Tanjong Pagar United 2-2 Hougang United 060322 Jags' 'keeper Zharfan ensured safety Shodai Nishikawa's 88th minute diving header salvaged a 2-2 for Tanjong Pagar United after they earlier surrendered the lead to Hougang United's two quick goals in 77' & 79'. Khairul Nizam opened the account in the 72nd minute for Jags. Tanjong Pagar United reclaimed the pacesetter role barely one day after their co-tenants Alb...