BoLASEPaKO.com - A Blog on Singapore Football

He was shouting at the top of his voice whenever his team failed to string up some decent passes and would gesticulating frantically at any moment his team gave the ball away cheaply in the match. However, at the end of the day what really matters to Coach Marko Kraljevic is the first three full points safety in the bag for his Balestier Khalsa side who prior to this match was the only team in the Great Eastern Yeo's S.League without a victory to their name. Miroslav Kristic (extremely right) opened the account of the night When asked after the two-nil win over the cellar-dwellers Garena Young Lions at their Toa Payoh base if his side would have scored a few more to make the win a more comfortable one given how the possession was dominated by their opponents, the former midfielder opined it's about the number of goals scored that win the games not the numbers of passes and possession hold by a team. Said the Croatian coach:"Young Lions kept the possession in the

Unfancied Balestier scored their first win of the year Not only Balestier Khalsa got their first victory of the year last evening at the AFC Cup by causing an upset by defeated Hong Kong powerhouses Kitchee SC at the Jalan Besar Stadium, the win also placed them at the top of the Group F table after Kaya FC of the Philippines beat Maldives' New Radiant with the same scoreline Against the run of play with the visitors dominated much of the possession, Balestier took the lead in the 31st minute when Zulkiffli Hassim made no mistake from a cross floated in from the right from Fadhil Noh. "I am not surprise as I had a feeling that I will score," said Zulkiffli on the solitary goal he scored that gifted the Tigers their first competitive win of this season. "And I am happy that we won this game with this goal." "Zul" was on his way out of JBS before sharing his thoughts "I think tonight we played very compact and defended well against Kit

Coach Sundram (right) looked away as Tigers celebrate For some reasons, there is a saying - not to be on the losing side of the final home match of your season, even at the expenses of a close friend of yours and the 4-3 win by Balestier Khalsa over title-contenders Tampines Rovers proven the theory. Prior to the match at the Toa Payoh Stadium, the home ground of the Tigers, things were looking up for the visiting Stags who were looking nothing less than maximum points to narrow the gap between league leaders Brunei DPMM and themselves, especially when the men from the sultanate were upset by Geylang International two days ago. Pacheco was having a bad day in office However, Tigers’ coach Marko Kraljevic had to put aside any thoughts of cordialness for that ninety minutes and had his counterpart and close friend V Sundram Moorthy left the ground on a heavy heart when the former national striker is to resume his role as one of the assistants to national coach Bernd Stange fo

Albirex won the Cup for the second time It was thought the match would proceed into extra time after Fumiya Fogure levelled the scores in 75th minute to place Albirex Niigata (Singapore) on equal terms with Balestier Khalsa with minutes ticking away in The New Paper League Cup Final. But Kento Nagasaki's 90th minute strike ensured everyone at the Jalan Besar Stadium could head out for their supper on time after the Japanese side claimed their second win of this trophy which they last won back in 2011. "I am not worry to see the game head into extra time, as I have confidence on my team to get the goals within the full 90 minutes." said Albirex's coach Tatsuyuki Okuyama after the match. Jubilation after Albirex equalized On the contrary to the lacklustre display in their last match against Geylang International that clinched them the final berth, the White Swans did turn up for the occasion against Balestier by dominated much of the possession right from

Kristic (center) got a hat-trick This could be the only trophy not within the reach of the most successful club in the S.League anytime soon, given the kind of display the Warriors dished out hours earlier. The local scene got back to action after the SEA Games recess with The New Paper League Cup kicked start last evening with Alex Weaver led his troops to Toa Payoh to face their fellow AFC Cup representatives - Balestier Khalsa whom themselves were former winners of the Cup back in 2013. Nico Velez (10) closed down by Ho Wai Loon Ironically, the Cup, which is title-sponsored by a local newspaper of the same name this season, has never been won by any of those powerhouses of local football with the Warriors (when they were still known as SAFFC) came close in 2009 as runners-up to Brunei DPMM who are the most successful side in the tournament with three victories under their belt. Due to the ongoing Ramadan period, all fixtures in this tournament are scheduled for 8.30pm

Balestier Khalsa's maiden Asian venture is laudable By all accounts, it is nothing glamorous about when your team are anchored at the foot of the group with only three points from five matches played and zero chance to make it to the next phrase. However, observers shall not pick on Balestier Khalsa for what they accomplished till this stage. After all, it's considered a massive achievement for a club of this magnitude to compete at this level on a shoestring, as compared to the other Singapore representative, Warriors FC who are playing their fourth AFC Cup tournament with a much bigger war chest. But coming to the closing stage of the group stages with one more game to go, the defending S . League champions found themselves languishing at the bottom of Group E with a duck to account for, as compared to the Tigers who secured a win over Kingfisher East Bengal at home. Alex Weaver struggled to compete on the continent front  Many observers pointed out much have

Jonathan Xu (13) opened the account of the evening By all standards, it wasn't the best display of football in the evening that saw the match delayed by half an hour due to the activation of the Lightning Warning System (LWS), still gloss shall not be taken away that saw a more significant occurrence that took place on the field. When referee Kao Jung-fang blown to signal the end of the AFC Cup Group F match between Balestier Khalsa and Kingfisher East Bengal, history was made with the hosting Tigers registered their first points in their maiden continental tournament after upset the Kolkata-based club 2-1 at the Jalan Besar Stadium. After the heartbreaking defeat to Johor Darul Takzim last week , Balestier seems to have put things behind them and took their chances well as early as in the sixth minute when defender Jonathan Xu triggered scoreboard with a screamer from outside. It was the Toa Payoh-based club that dominated the game for the next half an hour and saw them

Disbelief for Balestier for the late goal conceded  Even after they were gutted by a heartbreaking 1-0 defeat against defending MSL champions Johor Darul Takzim (JDT) in last evening's AFC Cup Group F encounter, Balestier Khalsa coach Marko Kraljevic is pleased with the performance put up by his team. After all, the Johoreans were a much superior side that boast the likes of Malaysian internationals Safee Sali, Amri Yahyah and etc. on their payroll, but it was the show of sheer character with fighting spirit of the unheralded Singaporean side that won the hearts of those who watched them lost the game in dying moments in the encounter. Jonathan Xu (13) is playing his second AFC Cup tournament Poh Yifeng ( center ) ready to strike an attempt With the clock ticking away in seconds after the fourth official indicated four minutes of injury time, a lapse in concentration in the back of Balestier wall allowed a slip in that was latched on perfectly by Asraruddin Putra

Coach Kraljevic speaking to the media (credit: Playmaker ) After their first pre-season friendly match against the visiting Johor Darul Takzim II (JDT II) that ended in a two-all draw at the Toa Payoh Stadium, Balestier Khalsa's Croatian coach Marko Kraljevic breathe a sign of relief when he addressed the media pack after the match. Said the Singapore permanent resident:"This is the only second time we used the pitch after it was closed for maintenance and I am feeling okay and relief after able to do so after a month, "I thought we started promising for the first twenty minutes before things don't turn out well for us, overall I think we did well but we just need some time to adjust, since our foreign players only arrived last week." summarized by Coach Kraljevic on his thoughts on sharing the spoils with the Malaysia Premier League side that is led by Goran Paulic, his former teammate at the Toa Payoh-based club during the days of the semi-professiona

Balestier's latest move caused many jaws to drop Having hyped up the fraternity with their out-of-the-box online recruitment process , S . League club Balestier Khalsa had identified a number of those who came forward to register their interest in pursuing a professional football career by interviewing some of those who had been shortlisted. "We had identified a list of players from those who applied and interviewed some of them," said Mr Cheng Tim Nee, the club general manager who confirmed this information with this blogger over a series of text exchanges. However, as mentioned by club chairman Mr S Thavaneson in the papers  it's not because the club is facing a shortage of players for the coming season that will see the Tigers represent the Republic in the AFC Cup as the reigning Singapore Cup winners, but it's more about viewing it as a long-term program for the club. Poh Yifeng (foreground) gets a chance to play in Asia this year As such, it

(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) Thank You Aleks 31/10/2014 Aleks watching the video tribute It was an emotional evening when the time has come to call it a day for Aleksandar Duric and thanks for being the perfect model since I took up football photography. A tribute prior to the kick-off and after the 2-1 win over Brunei DPMM FC had the big man in tears as we saw the last of him in action on a football field. Thank You, Aleks. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE MATCH PICTURES Singapore Cup Final: Balestier Khalsa 3-1 Home United 7/11/2014 Hoist the Cup, Tigers! As what Balestier Khalsa Football Club's chairman Mr S Thavaneson said this is "significant victory" for the club for being one of the founding members of the league. And more significantly, the