BoLASEPaKO.com - A Blog on Singapore Football

An end of an era, as Indra retires It was only a brief one-liner in a recent article that confirmed the retirement of another former Singapore captain - Indra Sahdan Daud, from professional football. The 35-year-old former goal poacher is probably one of the few players I witnessed the rise to prominence till the day that pair of boots were hung. Indra first came to my notice when he alongside with some of his peers (i.e.: Ahmad Latiff, Yazid Yasin, etc.) starred in the Lion City Cup at the old Jalan Besar Stadium in 1995 and led the team to victory that year. Two years later, I was there at the old National Stadium to see the then up-and-coming making his international debut against Kuwait (26 April 1997) when he came on a substitute and thrilled the crowds with his pace that rejuvenated life back to a dull game. Indra played for Sengkang in 2009 "UNBUYABLE" AND "UNCOACHABLE" Since then, it was no looking back with him went on to build a legacy

First and foremost, I would like to extend my congratulations to Warriors FC in clinching the S.League title (which they last won in 2009 when they were still known as SAFFC). Secondly, I would like to pay my compliments to Brunei DPMM for being the pace-setters for large part of the campaign that pushed the benchmark to see another nail-biting ending. End of an Era Lastly, it is for Aleksandar Duric for being such a wonderful ambassador to the local game since making his debut with Tanjong Pagar United back in 1999. Much had been said about the former Olympian's journey to this part of the world that I shan't dwell and recap that. To me, it's a great honour to know him personally and he's always have the smile on his face whenever we met. Presented a BOCAP to the legend before the match "My man!" he would always said when I would be within his sight with my camera sling around my neck. Throughout my snapping experience in local matches, h

Snap from Jurong East earlier It is down to the final fixtures of the season before we will know if Warriors, since 2009 when they were still known as SAFFC, or Brunei DPMM, joining the ranks alongside with another foreign side - Etoile FC, are to be crowned the new Great Eastern Yeo's S.League champions this coming Friday. The upcoming coronation will effectively signal the end of reigning champions Tampines Rovers' stranglehold of the title, which they held for the last three years. Ironically, the Stags will be the stumbling block for the oil-rich sultanate's only professional football club this Friday before the fate is to be decided if the latter can check-in 15-kilogram trophy over the airport counter. Meanwhile, victory by both Tampines and Warriors, who will face Albirex Niigata (Singapore), on Friday will ensure the league trophy remains within the Republic boundary. DPMM coach Steve Kean (file picture) The scenario is made possible after Albirex fa

(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 Bianconeri" in Singapore No Carlos Tevez after all ... Juventus are in Singapore for their final leg of the #juvetour and be playing the very first match stage in the new National Stadium. There was a stadium tour earlier of the day before the Singapore Selection had their training on the new surface. The "Grand Old Lady" of Italian football held their one-and-only public training session on the following day (15/8) in front of their adoring supporters. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE PICTURES Football Returns to Kallang... (16/8/2014) The sandy surface was the main talking point The much-awaited football match to be play in the new National Stadium took place on 16th of August when the Singapore Selection took on

Agu Casmir (left) scored the first goal Tampines Rovers' hopes of retaining the S . League title suffered a massive setback with a 2-0 defeat in the titanic clash against fellow title contender Warriors FC at the Jalan Besar Stadium. Prior to this rain delayed fixture, the Stags were given two opportunities to dethrone league leaders Brunei DPMM from the summit in the recent days, but defeat at home to Tanjong Pagar United that was followed by a draw away against Albirex Niigata (Singapore) had set this "do-or-die" battle for the reigning champions. This televised match was delayed for close to two hours due to the activation of the Lightning Warning System (LWS) because of the downpour around the scheduled kick-off time. Tribute to late Lee Kok Seng The match eventually got off approximately fifteen minutes past nine when the sky cleared up for the match that was preceded by a minute of silence tribute to late Lee Kok Seng, the former national skipper who pas

Teams marching out ... (c) 2014 Ko Po Hui It was a night that things did not go according to the script with Warriors FC found themselves knocked out of the only tournament they have yet to win since they were known as Singapore Armed Forces Football Club (SAFFC) in local football fraternity. A solitary strike in the extra time from former national striker Firduas Idros was deemed enough to see Tanjong Pagar United to the semi final phrase for another juicy encounter against Hougang United awaiting them. For this match, Warriors coach Alex Weaver fielded a much superior-looking side as compared to the team he had against Geylang International that caused quite a stir in the running up to this Queenstown tie. Having rested the majority of his key players during the 4-0 thrashing by the Eagles , the Englishman penciled the likes of Daniel Bennett, Shi Jiayi, Hafiz Rahim, Marin Vidosevic, etc. back to the starting eleven. In the first half, it was the Warriors who were

(This entry is formulated based on the media release issued by the Football Association of Singapore) It can't be more bizarre than this when a media release (dated 11th of January 2014) issued by the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) announced the Courts Young Lions (CYL) will embark on a Turkish pre-season tour for their S.League preparation. Led by coach Aide Iskandar, who led the Cubs to a SEA Games bronze medal last December , the contingent will be taking on opponents, including Azerbaijan Under-21s, Denmark Under-21s and Czech Republic side Slavia Prague in Antalya. El-Masri (no32) re-signed for CYL The said release also confirmed the re-signing of one-time Canadian U23 international Sherif El-Masri and recruitment of Jordan Webb (from Home United) to the developmental squad with both of them, reported to be on the radar of the Foreign Talent Scheme (FTS) , joining the month long tour. “Such a training camp matches the FAS Strategic Plan’s objective to expo

(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) Prime League - Balestier Khalsa 1-3 Tanjong Pagar Utd 20/4/13 The visitors walked away with a 3-1 win over the hosts whom being the defending champions have not able to get off to a good start in their title defending campaign. Under the scorching encounter saw a rather evenly-matched first 45, before the floodgates opened in the second half to see the Jaguars wrapped up all three points, although a free-for-all in the same half saw them reduced to ten men. Glad the lightning was alright, despite the movement of the clouds that resulted the forming of shaded, thus caused the frequent changes in the camera setting. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE MATCH PICTURES AFC Cup Warriors 0-2 Semen Padang 24/4/2013 Coupled Tampines Rover's los

The second goal of the game was scored in the 61st minute Coupled Tampines Rover's loss a day earlier in Vietnam, the 2-0 defeat suffered in the hands of Sumatran club Semen Padang by defending Singapore Cup holders Warriors in the AFC Cup Group E fixture had confirmed the exit of both Singapore clubs from the continental second-tier club tournament. With those results confirmed, it means for the second time in tournament history (Geylang United in 2010) will not see any participating club from the Republic qualified to the second phase of this tournament with Geylang United and Home United being the semi-finalists in the founding year back in 2004. When asked if the result meant Singapore clubs and the rest of the regional clubs are way apart, Warriors coach V Selvaraj felt otherwise. Sufian Anuar mistimed his header for this chance in the first half During the post-match media briefing, the former Singapore striker said: “I felt that our local clubs are good enough

Having listened to what Warriors coach V Selvaraj said after his side's 1-0 win over the under-strength Churchill Brothers of India in this do-or-die AFC Cup decider, I was wondering if I was at the same game as he was at Jalan Besar. Yes, the fact was that I tweeted before the game that the ball was at the eighth-time S.League champions' court to see if they are able to salvage their tattered continental campaign, but for those 363 at the ground watching this dead-pan fixture, I wonder if they felt the same I did after the game. Someone said this statement "No matter how good you played, how bad you played, the important thing is you win the game.", and for that I think that theory was well applied to the hosts' victory this evening. And for the first time ever, I appreciated the activation of the Lightning Warning System (LWS) at halftime to allow the cushioning of the impact of that dreadful first-half display from both sides. The Warriors got off to

Stuck in South East Asia? "...However, there remains much hard work ahead and we will continue to strive towards our goals, work on other areas in which we are lacking, and bring Singapore football to the next level." said FAS President Mr Zainudin Nordin in a media statement , that lauded the achievements by the team and various individuals from victorious Suzuki Cup winning side in the inaugural AFF Awards 2013. In the ceremony held yesterday in Kuantan, the capital of the Malaysian state of Pahang that saw former Lions' coach Raddy Avramovic and Shahril Ishak clinched the "Coach of the Year (Men's Team)" and "Player of the Year (Men)" awards respectively with the likes of Fahrudin Mustafic and Baihakki Khaizan named alongside with Shahril in the "AFF's First XI". While the crowning glory was to appreciate the efforts shown by the national team in the biennial regional tournament with the bragging rights to be called the “

(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) Prime League: Woodlands Wellington 1-2 Home Utd 09-03-13 "Ooops" I would say the white outfit by Woodlands did make the shooting and focusing easier for my basic lenses in the dim floodlights. The dark background during the night time also help in getting the focusing fast, if both sides are to deck in light-colored jersey and of course the lighting environment is the key as well The result of this match came days after the sides' senior squads clashed days ago at Bishan Stadium. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE MATCH PICTURES AFC Cup - Warriors FC 2-4 Kitchee SC 12/3/2013 The horrendous performance by Warriors FC was absolutely unacceptable for a side that once broke the ceilings to play in the elite ACL. Some soul sear

Jordi's (18) goal led the Kitchee's revival It was by no mean an easy task for the most decorated S.League club who are enduring their worst start of the campaign in recent years (without a single point at all fronts prior to this match). Some patchy plays by the Warriors in the first half had the crowds at the ground hardly convinced they were the likely ones to score (which they did) and witnessed Tatsuro Inui's curler from outside gave them the lead in the 23rd minute with Erwan Gunawan followed in later to double the scorelines in the 29th minute. As such, they took a 2-0 lead before the interval against a much-dominant Kitchee SC from Hong Kong in their AFC Cup Group E encounter at Jalan Besar Stadium. Just as it thought that the eighth-time S.League champions could have found their way back to their winning ways, tragedy struck right immediately after the game restarted in the second half when the reigning Hong Kong league champions pulled one back in less t

Kunihiro Yamashita (left) opened the account for Stags A wet surface greeted the two teams and crowds at the Jalan Besar Stadium for the season curtain-raiser - the Great Eastern Charity Shield match between Tampines Rovers and Warriors FC. The defending league champions got their act together in less than 20 minutes to snatch a two-goal lead through their new Japanese import Kunihiro Yamashita in the sixth minute with Lions striker Khairul Amri signalled his return to the Stags seven minutes later to double the tally. (L-R) Shimpei Sakurada and Khairul Amri in action Decked in their new dark-coloured home outfit, it did look as if the team formerly known as SAFFC looked pretty gloomy with their inability to ruffle the feathers of their arch-rivals in the domestic scene with the likes of another new addition to the Tampines backline Shaiful Esah guarding the doors in a four-man  defence setup that departed from their usual three at the back. It was only a much better