BoLASEPaKO.com - A Blog on Singapore Football

SGPL - Home United 2-1 Young Lions 060419 What a joy! The Young Lions did not make it that easy for Home United to claim all three points in the latter's 2-1 win over the former at the Bishan Stadium. Izzdin Shafiq and Adam Swandi scored for Home, Joshua Pereira cancelled out Izzdin's opener a minute later to claim YL's only goal of the match in eighth minute. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE MATCH PICTURES SGPL - Balestier Khalsa 0-1 Young Lions 030519 Dejected ... Managed to get the camera in order in time, first attempt after a long while without using a monopod (as advised by a venerable photographer) and using the setting at "K 5000", I had my first night outing of the year. Young Lions revenged for the humiliating loss in their season opener by defeated Balestier Khalsa 1-0 at Bishan Stadium. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE MATCH PICTURES Merlion Cup 2019 Press Conference 150519 This Merlion Cup trophy was the

Maybe we will not say it now but who knows twenty years down the road, we would proudly declare: "The era under Raddy Avramovic was the greatest ever in Singapore football!", I am sure there are some people who read the words earlier would recommend me to see a psychiatrist now. How on earth would that be possible when that period while the Serbian was the coach of the Singapore national team was considered by many as a watershed in the local football despite successfully guided the Lions to three Asean titles in 2004, 2007, 2012 and accoladed himself as the "Coach of the Year" by Asean Football Federation back in 2013. 20 years later we would thank Raddy for his work done for us  Ironically, it was because of those honours gathered during that period that when people start to reminisce about the "glorious" past and those records would speak for themselves and some would say "yes, those were the days..." and start to talk about those nosta

Friendly - Balestier Khalsa 5-1 Admiralty CSC 120119 Pre-season friendlies are usually staged on afternoon Balestier Khalsa beat Admiralty CSC 5-1 at the Toa Payoh Stadium, this match was the first of the three scheduled by the Tigers, as published on their social media platforms. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE MATCH PICTURES AIA Community Shield - ANS 0-0 HUFC (HU win on PK) 230219 HU's Abdil Qaiyyim clears the danger in the box Home United claimed the first major honour of local football by winning the AIA Community Shield on penalties and broke the domination of Albirex Niigata (Singapore) for the last three years. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE MATCH PICTURES SGPL - Hougang Utd 1-5 Tampines Rovers 030319 Something tussling at the edge of the box Honestly, not a result that most were looking forward to especially how Hougang United was hyped up before the start of the season with some notable signings to change their fortune in

Back in March 1996, after a few pre-season friendly matches saw huge crowds turned up in thousands at stadiums like Bedok, Woodlands and Tampines to catch S.League teams like Geylang United and Woodlands Wellington in action, safety and security concerns were raised and highlighted in the newspapers. According to The New Paper (TNP), approximately 7,500 fans packed the Bedok Stadium to witness a star-studded Geylang United skippered by Fandi Ahmad taking on Johor SEDC on the 12th of March. When was the last time we had sights like this? (credit: NLB archive) Headlined "Safety, security action" on one of the back pages of its 14th of March edition, the tabloid included a picture of a scene that had never since reoccurred at games in recent years - a sardine-packed crowd congested the main stand of the Bedok Stadium to see the aforementioned match. SAFETY CONCERN  Geylang star defender Kadir Yahaya was quoted in the same article saying: "Although the turnout was

The building up to the new season hardly inspired and everything just looks like damp squib that no one seems to be looking forward to the 2019 campaign. JUST SOME LAME EXCUSES BY SOME  Is it because of the continuing domination by a mainly youth-based Albirex Niigata (Singapore) in recent years which is being used as an excuse by some to extend their boycott by not coming to games with a number of them are making hell lot of noise on the lack of glamour in the league? But when these people choose to stay away and let the terraces become a white elephant, how are we going to convince players of certain quality to come and play in our league? It is just that some out there chosen to be blinded by what they heard and read based on "first impression last"? Our clubs were overwhelmed by the clubs across the bridge in preseason Or is it nothing newsworthy of late to generate awareness to fire people's imagination? Somehow or rather, the recent domination of the Wh

I don't feel sorry or have kind words to say about the recent ground sharing move that will see only four (local) venues being used for the upcoming Singapore Premier League (SGPL) season. Why should I or rather we feel sorry to see clubs uprooted from their "roots" to find themselves sharing grounds with their contemporaries in a struggling league system plagued with so many woes that don't seems to have any remedy formula to cure them all? Toa Payoh Stadium will not be used in the 2019 SGPL season When our own professional football league was launched in 1996, one of the key emphasizes is community outreach by having clubs based strategically around the island in order to see themselves fused into the vicinities they were based. But two decades down the road since it started, it seems to me that most clubs are still aliens to where they are based and we hardly see the bonding between the clubs and residents (not fans) like how I asked a co-worker of mine i

I thought one of the good initiatives of the rebranded Singapore Premier League (SGPL) is to allow fans to buy their match tickets online, which is a laudable move as it is a practice in tandem with many other sporting events held in Singapore. However, I wish to highlight matters pertaining to those tickets, which are now printed on better quality material, bought on match days at the game venues. After a few rounds of matches, it is regrettable tickets purchased over the counter not longer detailed those match information except these words, as shown in the picture below. The "22/7/18" match saw Albirex Niigata (S) clinched the SGPL title No one seems to be able to give an answer when I asked causally why the changes were made. As one may never know these ticket stubs, which were usually discarded by many after games, may be an important testament to something significant that happened during that particular match. I, myself, still have those match ticket stu

Am I glad the season is over! It must be one of the most dreadful seasons since my involvement when I breathed a sigh of relief after Albirex Niigata (Singapore) was finally awarded the trophy  that accoladed them as the inaugural champions of the revamped professional league aka Great Eastern-Hyundai Singapore Premier League (SGPL), despite the confirmation months earlier after their draw against Balestier Khalsa at Toa Payoh to close the 2018 season. Albirex Niigata (Singapore) established a dynasty in local football In an attempt to distance itself from the S.League which was associated with much of the flaws of the old regime, the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) announced the rebranding of the Republic's only professional sporting league as SGPL in a glittering setting at the Singapore Sports Hub (SSH) amid much skepticism from the ground . SUPERFICIAL CHANGES? Perhaps the only difference between the SGPL and the S.League is the change in the name and the

Playing on an artificial surface  ... provides for more optimal deployment of resources” and “also frees up the other stadiums to be adapted for greater community use These words replied by the stadium landlord Sport Singapore (except for Our Tampines Hub which is owned by People’s Association) to the queries from The Straits Times, as quoted in an article by The Monitor , on the day the news broke out should be enough to explain the reasons behind the ground sharing decision which caused a ruckus in the scene of late. NOT SORRY AT ALL ... The fact is when those "evacuated" clubs, while at their allocated grounds, aren't doing enough to pack the stands at their home games (let's face it), there is no case for them to argue when the authority wants their stadiums to be more prioritised for community use. After all, the idea of ground sharing is not new when it was already mooted years ago  before the materialising of it next season. However, the issue we s

Singapore Cup - Balestier Khalsa 2-2 DPMM 031018 Most of the shots like this was snapped where the lights were the brightest  Although Balestier Khalsa Football Club drew 2-2 with DPMM FC, the Tigers were knocked out of the RHB Singapore Cup after losing 4-2 on aggregate to the Bruneians. Poor lightnings at the stadium made the shooting experience an arduous task. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE MATCH PICTURES #ThankYouFara - 071018 Fahrudin Mustafic marked the end of his glittering career at OTH Our Tampines Hub witnessed the end of a great footballing career as Tampines Rovers Football Club skipper Fahrudin Mustafic retires from professional football with a testimonial match featuring some of the luminaries in local football in his honour. Thank you very much, Fara. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE MATCH PICTURES Friendly - S'pore Selection 0-1 Australia U19 151018 The Young Socceroos played their last warm-up at Bishan before leavi

More changes are being made to the Singapore Selection in the upcoming Sultan of Selangor's Cup tournament at the end of the month. After their last week's victory over Ceres-Negros in the AFC Cup tournament , Home United will have to omit their representation from the annual showdown in Shah Alam in order to concentrate their continental match against North Korea's 4.25 SC on the 21st of August at the Jalan Besar Stadium. Both Izzdin Shafiq (13) and Shahril Ishak (17) have to withdraw from the Shah Alam trip The Singapore Selection will be helmed by Balestier Khalsa's Marko Kraljevic instead of Protectors' tactician Aidil Sharin, as reported by Fox Sports Asia . ALL JAPANESE IMPORTS IN SINGAPORE SELECTION On top of that, the likes of Tampines Rovers' Syazwan Buhari, Hafiz Sujad, Warriors FC's Emmeric Ong and Albirex Niigata (Singapore)'s Wataru Murofushi are some of those named as the replacement for Home United absentees in the 21-man squad

Shahril Ishak roams into the box One snap (above) of Home United's Shahril Ishak like this in their recent Great Eastern Hyundai Singapore Premier League (SGPL) game against Hougang United should raise a concern about our chance in this year's AFF Suzuki Cup and the panic button should be pressed by now. WHY? First of all, take a look at this picture and what did you see? We have a free-roaming Shahril with his eyes on the ball making his way into the box in this attacking move. Any sane mind would be asking how could a veteran striker like him be given such a luxury of space by a backline? That was probably why Hougang's caretaker coach Clement Teo, seen in the background of this snap, gestured either to his back line to "watch out for Shahril!" or asked, " why no one is marking Shahril?" Eventually, both Justin Hui and Adam Mitter (who was released during the recent transfer window) arrived in time to keep the ex-JDT II skipper at bay.

SGPL - Home Utd 1-0 Hougang Utd 010718 I think panic button should be pressed by now With this Great Eastern-Hyundai Singapore Premier League fixture between Home United Football Club and Hougang United Football Club (HGFC) together with the one I saw a day earlier, I would say if we are to depend entirely on this league as our main source for the team playing in the AFF Suzuki Cup, the panic button should be pressed by now. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE MATCH PICTURES Friendly - Ex Internationals vs SCRC 180718 Former Lions skipper Razali Saad (left) in action This friendly match between Ex International Legends and SCRC from SMRT was played at the Jalan Besar Stadium. The former is preparing for the upcoming The Sultan of Selangor's Cup in late August while the latter is gearing up for the GSFL season. Additional photos from Mr Yusof Ibrahim. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE MATCH PICTURES ICCSG2018 - Atlético Madrid 1-1 Arsenal (AM