BoLASEPaKO.com - A Blog on Singapore Football

Lions (red) failed to capitalize the possession Honestly, things were looking bright from the start before the lack of bite in front of goal saw Singapore walked away with a narrow 2-1 win over Cambodia in the joint World Cup/Asian Cup Qualifiers played at Kallang last evening. Several changes were made in this fixture with the notable absentees from the Lions' start list such as Shahril Ishak, Fazrul Nawaz, etc. making way for the returning of Hariss Harun (as skipper), Safuwan Baharudin from suspension alongside the introduction of Faris Ramli and Sahil Suhaimi in the starting eleven. Hariss Harun (left) was named as skipper at the start Safuwan Baharudin (21) played in advancing position The transformation from the lacklustre outing against Afghanistan was clearly for all to see with the Lions showing more fluency in their offenses by placing Safuwan in an more advancing position while maintaining the backline duo of Baihakki Khaizan and Madhu Mohana. However,

Teams lined up for the national anthems (Ko Po Hui) Hardly an inspiring game for those who paid dearly (to some) and braced themselves amid the hazy uncertainty to turn out at Kallang for this World Cup Qualifiers fixture between Singapore and Afghanistan. Frankly to say the absence of both Safuwan Baharudin and Hariss Harun was the reason behind the boring display from the Lions may not exactly tell the story. True enough, Izzddin Shafiq did not fit in rightfully into the void left behind by the suspended Johor Darul Tazkim midfielder and the one-time Melbourne City loanee proved to be the missing jigsaw in the backline marshalled by Baihakki Khaizan and Madhu Mohana, yet the culprit laid on the lack of offensive plays that cut lone striker Khairul Amri an isolated figure upfront. The usual stubborn deployment by Coach Bernd Stange for playing skipper Shahril Ishak (even though, he had been starting from the bench after the AFF Suzuki Cup debacle) behind the lone striker and

Mr Sablon delivered his presentation  In short, "patient" and "time" are the key prerequisites summed up by FAS Technical Director Michel Sablon in presenting his much-awaiting blueprint to revamp the beleaguered development scheme of Singapore football to the media this afternoon at the Jalan Besar Stadium. Citing these aspects - "Grassroots" , "Elite Youth" and "Coach Education" as the three pillars under the Belgian's vision for the Republic's football development program, the whole idea is to place a systematic structure that build up from the ground level to achieve a "Singapore Style" of football. For a start, kids at the age between six and thirteenth will be placed under the "Grassroots" level where "FUN" element is the main feature for the youngest participants who will learn to play the game under a stress-free environment before progress gradually to learn the finer aspects of

Despite going down in the two matches they play against their much illustrious opponents, many people which included the likes of Stoke City's manager Mark Hughes and his Arsenal counterpart Arsene Wenger , lauded the performance of the Singapore Selection in the just concluded Barclays Asia Trophy. Two players in the picture above - Zaiful Nizam (second from left) and Shahdan Sulaiman (middle) are the two of those worth mentioning for the efforts shown by the hosting side during the tournament that drawn a record crowds of 81,974 to this event since its inception back in 2003. Just last November on the same ground saw a horrific injury sustained by Shahdan during the Suzuki Cup that saw him out of action until his return, merely weeks ago with Lions XII in the ongoing MSL campaign. Also during that period, Zaiful with his wife were spotted among the crowds watching the Lions in action then against the eventual winners, Thailand. Zaiful - "A Dream came True at

The Barclays Asia Trophy will be a battle between Arsenal and Everton on this coming Saturday after cleared their hurdles along the way. The Gunners booked their ticket after shutout the Singapore Selection four goals to none. The Toffees, on the other hand, defeated Stoke City on penalties to confirm theirs after a goal-less outing. Lakaku's (right) effort was ruled offside  Peter Crouch (25) utilised his advantage to the fullest Belgian striker Romelu Lakaku would have put the Goodison Park tenants on the pole position before the interval if not for his attempt to be ruled offside. With several close exchanges that failed to yield any dividend forced the opener to head into penalties and resulted Everton proceed to the final on a scoreline of five to four with 'keeper Tim Howard made a crucial save during shoot-out. Arsenal did not field their strongest lineup against the Singapore Selection with less than half of those started by manager Arsene Wenger are the