BoLASEPaKO•COM - A Blog on Singapore Football

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 match ended 1-1 ( picture source ) Balestier Khalsa's coach Marko Kraljevic did not hide his disappointment for not having his playmaker Park Kang Jin on the field earlier. "I'm not happy because I missed my playmaker (Park)," said Coach Kraljevic in his post match media briefing. "He suffered some knocks in our last game against (Courts) Young Lions, we did try to get him ready for tonight and he had taken painkillers yesterday, but he is still not fit which I think he should ok for the next two, three days." updated the Croatian coach on the 25-year-old's condition. The absence of the Korean midfielder was clearly in evidence in the Tigers' one-all draw with Woodlands Wellington at the Jalan Besar Stadium with their marquee signing Goran Ljubojevic left largely isolated upfront unable to get the much-needed service to work his wonder in the box. Hanafi still has a long way to go (file picture) By deploying former Youth Olympics ...

Agony for Shariff Samat "The penalty was the turning point of the game and we should have won the game in the first half." said Woodlands Wellington coach Salim Moin after his team crashed out of the Starhub League Cup with a 1-0 loss at home to defending holders DPMM in the semi-final. Indeed, should that spot kick converted by Korean import Moon Soon Ho in the 28th minute, the dimension of the match would have changed, especially the visitors were deemed the less unlikely side to make it to the Saturday's final to face Balestier Khalsa for their poor form in the league of late. Nonetheless, cup game is always different breed as compared to the league match with wins at all for the former setting and eventually saw a well-taken free kick in the second half by Hendra Azam in the 50th minute to seal the game. DPMM celebrated after took the lead As such, a costly error by Moon in the first half proved to be a fatal one which seems to have some damages done to...

(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...

Did not have a good feeling when I packed my stuff and headed north when I saw the gloomy sky above me. It confirmed my fear when the train was on its way to Marsiling station when it passed by Woodlands Stadium that had its Lightning Warning System (LWS) activated during the downpour that took place earlier. Rams' head coach Salim Moin took charge of this match Upon reaching the ground, I overheard the relevant officials remarked that the Prime League match between Woodlands Wellington and Home United "would kick off at 6pm" (instead of the stipulated 5pm). The match eventually kicked off at approximately 6:15pm following the deactivation of the LWS (which I guess flexibility should be applied here rather than sticking close to the guidelines since it's weekend after all). Brief Scribe of the Match (Woodlands Wellington 1-2 Home United) The hosting Rams got themselves into the act by dominating much of the first half with their possessive play in thei...

Not being able to see games of late due to work and fatigue that creeped into my body system. Of course, the dreaded Lightning Warning System (LWS) that saw the last two games (sources: 1 , 2 ) I attended being patronized by it for some “good necessary intentions” despite the hassle, could be such a phobia to turn up at games too. Following some astonishing results that hogged the talking point among the fraternity, I thought it would be a good idea to see how Woodlands Wellington would fare in their away encounter at Bishan Stadium, home ground of Home United who aren't exactly enjoying their best start of the year with a draw (against DPMM) following by a heart-breaking loss last week to Albirex Niigata (Singapore). Especially, this came after the bold claim by Rams coach Salim Moin that his team have the capability to finish among the top three of the league during their pre-season introductory meet-up with the media. Although the former national midfielder was quick t...

(This entry is formulated based on the transcript of the media information issued by the Football Association of Singapore ) Zulkiffli Hassim (in red) will be suspended for five matches SINGAPORE, 10 APRIL 2012 – Balestier Khalsa FC striker Zulkiffli Hassim has been slapped with a five-match ban in the S.League and a suspended fine of S$1,000, after the player pleaded guilty to the charges laid out against him during a disciplinary hearing held at the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) headquarters at Jalan Besar Stadium this evening. On 18th March 2012 during a Great Eastern-YEO’S S.League match at the Toa Payoh Stadium between Balestier Khalsa FC and Woodlands Wellington, Zulkiffli Hassim was sent off by referee K Kalimuthu for making remarks of an offensive and racist nature to Woodlands defender Fabien Lewis. The sending-off earned Zulkiffli an automatic two-match ban, and he subsequently charged by FAS for his misconduct which brought the game into disrepu...

I'm not sure if anyone of you out there notice this scenario since the early days of the S.League that there are these two clubs been "close trading partners". It's not uncommon to see players of this particular club swapping jerseys for another particular side after a season or two that in recent years seems to have intensified. As what I recalled that while there were some controversies surrounded the transfer of then Woodlands Wellington star striker Dalis Supait (pictured left in Balestier Central outfit) to Balestier Central (now known as Balestier Khalsa) in 1997 season, but that should also marked the beginning of such "close trading ties" between the two with English striker Paul Robinson heading the same route in 1999. Following that some notable transfers between the two included the likes of Korean star winger Park Tae Won and Japanese midfielder Akihiro Nakamura. When both these East Asian aces left the Toa Payoh outfit for a greener pastu...

(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] (...

(Media Information by the Football Association of Singapore ) The ban will only come into effect if he is found guilty by the DC of any further misconduct committed prior to 31 Dec 2011 SINGAPORE, 11 March 2011: The FAS Disciplinary Committee convened on Thursday 10 March 2011 with regard to the charges against Woodlands Wellington head coach R. Balasubramaniam (pictured above). Balasubramaniam had been charged for breaches of misconduct after the Great Eastern – YEO’S S.League match between Woodlands Wellington Football Club and Albirex Niigata FC at the Woodlands Stadium on 21 February 2011. Having investigated the incident and having considered all the relevant facts and circumstances, the Disciplinary Committee came to the following decision: Balasubramaniam, who admitted to the charge, was found guilty of the charge. He has been suspended from the area immediately surrounding the field of play, and in particular from the technical area and substitutes’ bench for four S-League mat...

In a joint press release statement by scouting agency, Trebol Sports International (TSI) and their working partners, Football Management International (FMI) had announced the following player, Scottish defender Graham Tatters (pictured above, courtesy of Flickr ) had signed for Woodlands Wellington. Together with Balestier's Lim Young Woo, Tatters was here for the centralized trials organized by FAS back in last November and were the only two out of the 19 players (to this date) being offered a contract to play in the S.League. The 26 year-old first started his senior career with Wilmington Hammerheads in the United Soccer Leagues Professional Division (the third tier of the American Soccer Pyramid) before heading back to his place of birth to play for Elgin City in the Scottish Third Division in 2009, having played his collegiate soccer for University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Youtube Clip of Tatters in action The utility man last played for FC Tampa Bay in the North A...

I must apologize for the recent lack of updating because there are some tidy chores in my house for the upcoming repair works that are gonna take place in days to come. As such, I might see myself being tied up for some packing and clearing up some stuff along the process. The last time around I unearthed the two precious TNP centerspread of the Malaysia Cup era and now here are some relics I discovered during my clearing out... OLD MATCH TICKETS I think match tickets are just like a stamp that reflects well on something that happened in the past. On and off, I would always get an email from a Belgian ticket collector asking for the used tickets for those Lions' matches. Unfortunately, the tickets used below are not to be given away at any price for their significance. The ticket to the S.League Opening Ceremony at the National Stadium in 1996 (Pictured above) This ticket was the admission slip to the S.League Opening ceremony on 14 April 1996 at the National Stadium where the...

Some snapshots of the first week of the season... (Pictured above) The Young Lions warming up prior to their season opener against Woodlands Wellington at the Jalan Besar Stadium. (Pictured above) So were these cheerleaders from the Republic Polytechnic... (Pictured above) At the tunnel that leading to the pitch at the Jalan Besar Stadium - Young Lions and Woodlands Wellington gearing up and raring to go. (Pictured above) A Young Lions' supporter waving a big flag that bears the logo of the team. (Pictured above) Some eager parents armed with their cameras and video to capture their daughters who were getting ready for the cheerleading routine at the Albirex's opener against Home United. (Pictured above) The cheerleaders from Albirex Niigata performed before their match against Home United at the Jurong East Stadium. (Pictured above) This trio are having a discussion on the match they watching - Gombak Utd vs Tampines Rovers at the Jurong...