BoLASEPaKO•COM - A Blog on Singapore Football

I hope that guy, who dropped me an email on the first day of the Lunar New Year in 2012 to chide me for not covering the Malaysian League, did turn up for the game on the  28th of November at the Jalan Besar Stadium (JBS). If he did, I am not sure how he felt now when he expressed his disappointment in me in that email for not witnessing a "saviour" in the form of a newly formed team - LionsXII that were set to be the "next conqueror" after making "our Great Return to Malaysian football" which he opined was "better than any S-League game" he saw. The KGS is gone - a symbol of Lions XII's MSL involvement I would only say I made that decision without any regret and am glad I did, as I merely adhere to what "Uncle" Choo Seng Quee envisaged a long time ago when he said playing in the Malaysia Cup will not see improvement in our game when we are facing their state teams using our national team that we should be aiming for the pi...

"This was for me the hardest night of international football in my career. The two players on my side were like horses, running up and down, and I didn't expect that (Almawas) was that fast, or that (Al Shibbli) was that good." Those words expressed in the papers by defender Shakir Hamzah after Singapore's 2-1 defeat to Syria last month came as a shock to me. "I didn't expect ... was that fast, or that ... was that good." were those keywords tersely summarized by the 23-year-old on both Mahmoud Almawas and Alaa Al Shibbli who rugged him that night at Kallang. Shakir Hamzah (right) got it past Japan's Keisuke Honda (4) Moreover, it wasn't the first time we faced the Syrians whom we narrowly lost to weeks ago on the road which was why I was taken aback by those quotes. To be honest, I would never anticipate thoughts like "didn't expect ... was that fast ... was that good" to be said after an international competitive...

Referee Muhd Taqi (right) sticking close to action  The night ended in a misery for Tampines Rovers for not only unable to clinch the S.League title as a farewell gift for their long-serving former chairman and benefactor - Mr Teo Hock Seng but also saw the one-all draw against Harimau Muda ended in an undesirable manner when two of their players were accounted for the three marching orders flashed out by referee Muhd Taqi. Prior to the start of the match at Jurong West, the equation was simple - the Stags, for having trailing large part of the season behind eventual winners Brunei DPMM, need to beat Malaysian developmental squad by two clear goals while hoping Balestier Khalsa could repeat another giant-killing act by defeat the Wasps at home to ensure the fifteen-kilogram silverware remain in the Republic (although the league authority had it flown to Brunei, as reported in the papers). Referee Taqi flashed his first red in the 35th minute to Isa Halim Mateo Roskam ...

Izwan Mahbud in agony as Southampton's Yoshida (22) celebrates Everything went according to the script when Japan chalked up a 3-0 win over Singapore at the National Stadium last evening. The result not only allowed the Blue Samurais to hold onto the top position in the AFC World Cup Qualifiers Group E standings but as a sort of revenge for that goal-less draw played in Saitama back in June as well. The visitors wasted little time when the match kicked off at an usual timing at 7.15pm by setting up camp in their hosts' territory that basically crippled any chances of the Lions making their way out of their half. Keisuke Honda (left) in disbelief of another screwed chance So it wasn't that surprise to see the Japanese broke the duck in the 20th minute when Kashima Antlers' midefielder Mu Kanazaki sealed it off with sheer precision after controlled the ball well following a nice laid-off by Yoshinori Muto, who was at the receiving end of the cross floated in...

Coach Sundram (right) looked away as Tigers celebrate For some reasons, there is a saying - not to be on the losing side of the final home match of your season, even at the expenses of a close friend of yours and the 4-3 win by Balestier Khalsa over title-contenders Tampines Rovers proven the theory. Prior to the match at the Toa Payoh Stadium, the home ground of the Tigers, things were looking up for the visiting Stags who were looking nothing less than maximum points to narrow the gap between league leaders Brunei DPMM and themselves, especially when the men from the sultanate were upset by Geylang International two days ago. Pacheco was having a bad day in office However, Tigers’ coach Marko Kraljevic had to put aside any thoughts of cordialness for that ninety minutes and had his counterpart and close friend V Sundram Moorthy left the ground on a heavy heart when the former national striker is to resume his role as one of the assistants to national coach Bernd Stange fo...