BoLASEPaKO.COM - A Blog on Singapore Football

There's always a tendency that Cup game is a much intensive affair as compared to league games. No, no... don't get me wrong but it just that because of the "knock out" factor that Cup games offered, that we tend to see more passionate pace and aggressive games in Singapore Cup than in the league fixture (where promote/relegation is a long wait to go) I guess. (Picture above: Woodlands coach Jorg Steinnebrunner spoke to the media after the fiery Singapore Cup semi-final (first-leg) fixture against SAFFC.) Of course, luck do play a part too in such games as in many cases (but not all), we can't help but felt sorry for the guys who played well but just couldn't make it to the next stage of the competition. (Picture above: Dejected Bangkok University players in their post-match warming down session, they fared well against the defending Cup holders Tampines Rovers in the second-leg of the semi-final but was knocked out the tournament.)

In my private email to a group of friends not long ago, regarding the setting up of the trial Singapore football forum at the mass-appealing HWZ . I told them we cannot depend entirely on the mainstream media to publicize the S.League. It is certainly hard to face the fact that mainstream media are not doing much to raise the awareness of the local game, as much we would like them to like in the old days. A picture (below) here should more or less tell the story. A small obscured space on the papers Given such a small slot on the back pages and featured under the appropriately named as "Soccer Shorts", it hardly raised the eyebrows of any readers. Although, we can gather some S.League info from the likes of "TODAY" , "Shin Ming Daily News" 's Tuesday edition (one of the two SPH Chinese evening papers) and etc., still, I felt a large part of the folks out there are still ignorant of the league because of the lack of participation from the rest. Prepare ...

The Good Times - Singtel League Cup winners 2007 The saga began... The punters' complaints Blasted by the media as well... The verdict The aftermath - inputs from all quarters A fine of $30,000 in total... Ok, end of the story full stop Just to say that it's pretty odd to react in this manner when you still had 30 minutes to rescue the game. By walking out of it, totally made no sense and gave an impression of "giving up too easily". What a letdown.. :(

Prelude : "Ok, ok... Let's just say if I'm resident staying in western part of the island, I'll find it FAR too , to travel to Toa Payoh, if the national team choose to play in the central region... Fair?" So, Jurong West here I come... Fear the idea of getting stuck in the train jam, so I thought it was a safer option to book a cab (oh well, sometime you really need to spend to avoid any mishap.) Hmm... Your typical SSC stadium, which is not always football priority. The MRT viaducts (or commonly called "tracks") should serve as a good marker, if you intend to make your way to and fro Boon Lay MRT station. (P.S: the tracks are meant for the Boon Lay line extension, which scheduled to be ready in a year time) Both teams warming up for the fixture.... Crowds were streaming in slowly... The cameras getting ready...The handshakes prior the start, after the national anthems played. The western folks certainly appreciated what they saw (at least we drew again...