More games postponed and venue changed

Here are the games that have been postponed

• SAFFC vs Courts Young Lions (2 May) 
• TPUFC vs Albirex Niigata (S) (5 May) 

Here are the games that have their venue changed to Jalan Besar

• Home United vs Balestier Khalsa (4 May)
• Woodlands Wellington vs Hougang United (5 May)

Stags open lead at the top

Tampines Rovers have open up a lead at the top of the table after crushing Balestier Khalsa 5-0 at Jalan Besar.

Both Aleksandar Duric and Benoit Croissant scored a brace with Ahmad Fahmie contributing as he notched his first goal in over three years.

The two-time champions continue to show no ill-effect from their AFC Cup campaign as they had a tough match in midweek but they continued to set a relentless pace for the championship.

The Eastern giant have now collected 29 points from a possible 33 and no rivals have been able to keep pace.

The Warriors showcased that as last week the Choa Chu Kang team was second but fall to third now after being crushed 3-6 by Albirex Niigata (S) at Jalan Besar.

Shotaro Ihata scored four of those goals with Kazuki Kobayashi and Shimpei Sakurada also chipping in.

Replying for the Warriors was Mislav Karoglan, who chip in with two goals, and Ivan Jerkovic.

In another match played at Jalan Besar as well, Gombak United defeated Woodlands Wellington 1-0 with Kwon Jin Sung scoring the winner. 

SAFFC

Shahril Jantan (GK) (C), Shaiful Esah, Hafiz Osman, Bah Mamadou (Daniel Hammond), Daniel Bennett, Noh Rahman, Ivan Jerkovic, Rhysh Roshan Rai (Ruzaini Zainal), Mustaqim Manzur (Indra Sahdan), Mislav Karoglan, Fazrul Nawaz 

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Woodlands Wellington 

Ang Bang Heng (GK), Adrian Butters, Munier Raychouni, Madhu Mohana, Graham Tatters, Syed Karim (Darrel Tan), Sazali Salleh (C), Shahri Musa, Han Yiguang (Ali Imran Lomri), Goh Swee Swee (Nigel Vanu), Leonardo Alexio 

Gombak United

Zakariah Nerani (GK), Jaslee Hatta (C), Hamqaamal Shah, Ismail Yunos, Obadin Aikhena, Walid Lounis, Tengku Mushadad, Ruhaizad Ismail (Zulkiffli Hassim), Chang Jo Yoon (Kwon Jin Sung), Fareez Farhan (Jeremy Chiang), Park Kang Jin (Shafuan Sutohmoh)

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Tampines Rovers

Hassan Sunny (GK), Jufri Taha, Benoit Croissant, Seiji Kaneko, Ahmad Latiff (Ahmed Fahmie), Akihiro Nakamura, Shahdan Sulaiman, Imran Sahib, Ismadi Mukhtar (Zahid Ahmad), Aliff Shafaein (Shukor Zailan), Aleksandar Duric (C) 

Balestier Khalsa

Joey Sim (GK), Anaz Hadee, Lim Young Woo, Paul Cunningham (C), Ishak Zainol, Ridhwan Osman (Shamsurin Abd Rahman), Armanizam Dolah, K Vikraman, Poh Yi Feng (K Sathiaraj), Vitor Borges, Kim Young Kwang (Andrew Tan)

Luka Savic depart Warriors

SAFFC Prime League registered midfielder Luka Savic is set to depart.

This is due to unhappiness on the player part that he has been unable to break into the Warriors side.

The 21-year-old had demanded, after the Etoile FC match, to know from coach Richard Bok if he was in the coach plan as the Serbian was unwilling to sit on the bench anymore.

The Warriors management response was swift with them handing Savic a transfer and the midfielder is now set to depart after May 14

Luka Savic has claimed he has several European (Likely Serbian) clubs lead up already awaiting to sign him.

Tampines look set for knockout stage

Tampines Rovers have taken a giant step towards the knockout stage by defeating Hanoi T&T 3-1 at Jalan Besar.

With this win, the Stags have eight points from four matches along with a four-point gap between third placed Hanoi T&T.

Therefore the Stags only need to win one of their remaining two matches and with their next opponent being Maldives side Victory SC, the Stags looked assured of that.

The Stags goals were scored by Ahmad Latiff (2) and Aleksandar Duric  

Tampines Rovers

Hassan Sunny (GK), Jufri Taha, Benoit Croissant, Seiji Kaneko, Ahmad Latiff (Shukor Zailan), Akihiro Nakamura, Shahdan Sulaiman (Zahid Ahmad), Imran Sahib, Ismadi Mukhtar, Aliff Shafaein (Jamil Ali), Aleksandar Duric (C)

Games postponed and venues changed

Here are the games that have been postponed

• Etoile FC vs Courts Young Lions (28April) 
• Etoile FC vs Geylang United (2 May) 

Here are the games that have their venue changed to Jalan Besar

• Albirex Niigata (S) vs SAFFC (28 April)
• Tampines Rovers vs Balestier Khalsa (30 April)

XXIII Canon Lion City Cup draw

Group A 
Spore U15
Newcastle United
Juventus

Group B
Spore U16
Everton
CR Flamengo

Tampines Rovers COE selection trials

Tampines Rovers Football Club will be holding selection trials for their Centre of Excellence programme for the Under-14, Under-12, Under-10 and Under-8 age groups.

The selection trial dates are as follows.

Date: Saturday, 30 April 2011 and Sunday, 1 May 2011
Time: 8:30am to 10:30am
Venue: Open field in front of Tampines Stadium

The selection trials will be held by the Club’s Technical Director Vorawan Chitavanich, S.League Head Coach Steven Tan and Team Manager Zulkarnaen Zainal. Assisting with the trials will be coaching staff members Narong Saiket, K. Balagumaran and Satria Mad.

For further details, please contact the Club Admin Office in person or call 6784 6670.

Tampines Rovers Soccer Academy 2011 Term II

Tampines Rovers Football Club will kick off the 2011 Soccer Academy Term II programme on Sunday, 1 May 2011.

The academy will be held in two sessions.

Sunday morning session
Time 8:30am to 10:00am

Sunday evening session
 Time 4:30pm to 6:00pm

Interested participants can register at the Admin Office, Tampines Stadium, 25 Tampines Avenue 5, Singapore 529759 from Monday, 18 April 2011 onwards at 10:00am. (Mon to Fri, during office hours 10:00am to 6:00pm)

Term II (12 Sessions)
Session Dates
1. Sunday, 1 May 2011
2. Sunday, 8 May 2011
3. Sunday, 22 May 2011
4. Sunday, 29 May 2011

5. Sunday, 5 Jun 2011
6. Sunday, 12 Jun 2011
7. Sunday, 19 Jun 2011
8. Sunday, 26 Jun 2011

9. Sunday, 3 Jul 2011
10. Sunday, 10 Jul 2011
11. Sunday, 17 Jul 2011
12. Sunday, 24 Jul 2011

Protectors defeat Eagles 2-1

Home United defeated Geylang United 2-1 at Bishan

Frederic Mendy score both goals for the Bishan side with Kim Jae Hong replying for the Eagles.

With this victory, the Protectors climb to second in the table for the next 48 hours at least.

In another match, Hougang United crushed Tanjong Pagar United 5-0 at Clementi.

The goals came from Ratna Suffian, Noor Ali (2), Diego Oliviera and Diallo Mamadou.

TPUFC 

Ridhuan Barudin (GK), Khairul Solyhin, Kim Seong Kyu (C) (Ganesan s/o Devadas), Sudhershen Hariram, Kim Jong Oh, Hyun Jong Woon (Delwinder Singh), Takaya Kawanabe, Azlan Alipah, Nurizam Azman, Gary Loo, Abdul Rahman (Patrick Paran)  

Hougang United

Ridzuan Hasan (GK), Lau Meng Meng, Shariff Samat (C) (Emmeric Ong), Ratna Suffian, Duncan Elias, Azhar Sairudin (Fathi Yunus), Jordan Webb, Diego Oliviera, Noor Ali, Carlos Delgado (Aqhari Abdullah), Mamadou Diallo

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Home United

Lionel Lewis (GK) (Fajar Sarib), Kenji Arai, Valery Hiek, Rosman Sulaiman, Abdil Qaiyyim, Nor Azli Yusoff, Isa Halim, Firdaus Idros (Asraf Rashid (Firdaus Kasman)), Kim Dae Eui, Frederic Mendy, Qiu Li (C)

Geylang United

Yazid Yasin (GK) (C), Sofiyan Abdul Hamid (Hassan Aziz), Adrian Dhanaraj, Joo Ki Hwan, Syed Fadhil, Vasile Ghindaru (Shah Hirul), Kim Jae Hong, Yasir Hanapi (Masrezwan Masturi), Syed Thaha, Jung Hee Bong, Hafiz Rahim

S-league Preview XI

S-league Preview X - 4 right with 1 perfect score and 3 wrong

Mon 25-Apr TPUFC - Hougang United (CMT)
Tue 26-Apr Home United - Geylang United (BSN)
Thu 28-Apr Albirex Niigata (S) - SAFFC (JES)
Thu 28-Apr Etoile FC - Courts Young Lions (QTN)
Fri 29-Apr Woodlands Wellington - Gombak United (JBS)
Sat 30-Apr Tampines Rovers - Balestier Khalsa (TMP)

TPUFC vs Hougang United
Balestier coach Salim Moin called it a disappointing performance. As for Gombak Darren Stewart, he called it his team worst performance ever. Yet both teams defeated the Jaguars. That show the gulf the Jaguars has to breach and frankly they are not able to do it this season and maybe the next two as well (That how long it take to gain the needed experience). Hougang has no excuse not to walk away with 3 points. 2-0 to Hougang United

Home United vs Geylang United
I cannot see how Geylang United can score a goal at this point and without a goal, no team has any chance to win a game. So a draw is the best outcome for the Bedok side but too bad, their infamous 'bus' defence is long gone (or is it thank goodness as watching it is painful at times). So does the Eagles have hopes? I would say yes as Home United can be negative at times with coach Lee seeming being 'afraid' of losing and have put one too many defensive midfielders to stifle others instead of others being afraid of Home star-stubbed team. This is one match he should not hold back as the Eagles will be more than willing to accept such an outcome. 1-0 to Home

Etoile FC vs Courts Young Lions
One cannot image how the champions will not win this match even if the Cubs put out their regulars again. With the Cubs seeking to expose as many players as possible they are constantly changing sides and Robin has admitted the second-stringers are 'pulling' down the team but the Cubs will continue as they need the experience. For me, I have say it and I will say it again, I am willing to accept it for the Cubs are developing players and that is the most important thing for me. 2-0 to Etoile FC

Albirex Niigata (S) vs SAFFC
The White Swans has lost every games they faced against the top 4 this season so once again, I believed this will be the outcome. The top 4 are in a class of their own and the White Swans do not have the players needed to take them on a constant basis. And the Warriors cannot afford not to win this one as even if the season is early, they should know every points count (as they are 8-times champions). Afterall at the end of the season, those close-but-no-cigar teams will look back and wonder what might have been if they did not drop a point here or there and this is one of those games that count as winable but is a banana skin as well. 2-0 to SAFFC    

Woodlands Wellington vs Gombak United 
The Rams do defend better than their fellow strugglers but like their fellow mates, they have no attack and once they go behind the game is up. That why they need to be tight against the Bulls as the Bulls attack are not the most fearsome in the league and can be contain. The fate of this game is in their own hand. Focus and contain their opponent and they have more than a reasonable chance of getting a point but anything more is asking for the moon. 0-0 draw

Tampines Rovers vs Balestier Khalsa
First thing, I have to praise the Stags as it is amazing they are top and still fighting for the championship in Singapore and Asia. I would have thought the schedule could have caught up with them but no, they have shown they are a side to fear in Singapore and Asia. They have the discipline and the talent to win this game before even the half is up but as always the Tigers will make it tough. The Tigers will be tight so the Stags have to score early or faced a siege on the Tigers defence as the game drag on. 1-0 to the Stags

MOU signed with JFA

The Football Association of Singapore (FAS) is pleased to announce that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Japan Football Association (JFA).

With MOUs signed between the Japan Football Association and the French Football Federation (2005) and Spanish Football Federation (2010), this will be the JFA’s first Memorandum of Understanding signed with an Asian country in their illustrious history.

This partnership will provide a new impetus for the cooperation between FAS and JFA in the development of football, particularly in the area of youth development, football science and medicine, coach and referee education.

The partnership will also serve as a basis for developing possible future collaborations and relations between both sides.

Under the terms of the partnership, Singapore and Japan will, among others, implement an Exchange and Attachment Programme which may comprise of courses, clinics, seminars and attachments for administrators, coaches, referees, players, instructors, football science and medicine personnel.

Both FAS and JFA will also work towards facilitating the arrangement of potential training camps for their respective national and club teams in both countries.

Another area of cooperation is the mutual exchange of information, know-how and expertise in key areas pertaining to the administration and management of football in both countries. This will include the application of information technology in the administration of the domestic leagues of both countries.

Japanese is NFA U16 coach

FAS has appointed Japanese Takuma Koga as the new National Football Academy U-16 coach.

“Koga's immediate task will be to prepare our NFA U-16 team, who have just been awarded the SNOC Team of the Year (Team Sport, Juniors), for the upcoming 23rd Canon Lion City Cup in June 2011. In addition, he will prepare the "Cubs" to participate in the 2013 AFC U-19 Youth Championships.

“Koga, who was previously the head coach of Cerezo Osaka Under-15 team, holds the S License obtained in 2006, which is equivalent to the AFC Pro Diploma - the highest coaching qualification in AFC. I am pleased to note that Koga's Club Cerezo Osaka are playing in this year's AFC Champions League and are currently on top of the group. Koga’s appointment as our NFA U-16 head coach has been made at the right moment, as the boys have completed their school competitions and will be able to focus their attention on the task ahead. Koga will be reporting to the FAS Technical Director Slobodan and he will also be sharing his coaching experience with our local youth coaches,” said Mr Zainudin.

Apart from his coaching credentials, Koga also boasts a distinguished playing career. As a professional footballer, Koga played alongside household names like Brazilian legend Dunga at Jubilo Iwata, where he won the J-League titles in 1997 and 1999, as well as the J-League Cup in 1998.

ADC Florianopolis from Brazil Claims Inaugural Tiger Street Football Regional Tournament in Singapore‏

 
The second day of the Tiger Street Football event, held at Ngee Ann City, along Orchard Road, saw two local and four invited international teams go head to head in the Regional Tournament, with a cash prize purse of USD5,000 up for grabs. ADC Florianopolis from Brazil lived up to their billing as favourites to win the tournament by defeating a spirited Thai Son Bac Futsal Club from Vietnam with a tight scoreline of 5-4.

As finalists of yesterday’s local competition, both On The Run and La Plata Jr B received the opportunity to compete against both ADC Florianopolis and Thai Son Back Futsal Club as well as Manchester Futsal Club from England and G H BANK.RBAC Futsal Team from Thailand.

After the round robin stage, local team On The Run, backed by a vocal crowd put on a strong fight against ADC Florianopolis in the semi-finals and almost won the knock-out tie with two minutes to go and the scores leveled at 3-3. However, a late penalty converted by the Brazilian outfit was enough to see them through to the finals where they met Thai Son Bac Futsal Club, who themselves left it late to defeat G H BANK RBAC Futsal Team with an identical 4-3 scoreline.

Said Denison Cabral, captain of ADC Florianopolis on his team’s achievement as winners of the tournament, “We are thrilled to have won the first ever Tiger Street Football Regional Tournament in Singapore. We would like to thank the title sponsor of the tournament, Tiger Beer, all other sponsors as well as the event organisers, ESPN STAR Sports. We faced strong opposition today and the oval, caged pitch created a new competitive experience for us. Tactically, we had to adapt to the conditions whilst maintaining our usual playing style and we are delighted to have finished as champions!”

The 37-year-old also heaped praise on local team On The Run, who almost pulled off an upset in the semi-finals. “We knew On The Run are a great side from the way they won the local competition yesterday and we expected a tough match. There was mutual respect between both teams and I think the match reflects that there is excellent local football talent in Singapore. They brought the best out of us and hopefully more football players here recognise the potential they have through tournaments such as Tiger Street Football in the future.”

As champions of the tournament, ADC Florianopolis walked away with a cash prize of USD3,000 whilst runners-up Thai Son Bac Futsal Club earned themselves USD1,500.

Yesterday’s local competition featured 32 local teams battle it out for cash prizes, a supply of Tiger Beer as well as the chance to represent Singapore in the Tiger Street Football Grand Finals to be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 10 to 11 September. On The Run emerged victorious after defeating La Plata Jr B in the final with a 6-1 scoreline.

Following the Tiger Street Football event in Singapore, it will move regionally to Bangkok, Thailand (May); Guangzhou, China (July) and Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam (August) before the Grand Finals in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. At the Grand Finals, the top team from each local leg will have the chance to fight it out to be the Tiger Street Football Champion and win the coveted top prize of USD30,000. 
 
For full tournament results and information, log on to www.TigerStreetFootball.com.sg and http://www.facebook.com/TigerFootballSG

Results from today’s Tiger Street Football Regional Competition - Singapore
Round Robin Stage
Group 1
G H BANK RBAC Futsal Team (TH) def. Manchester Futsal Club (ENG): 3-2
G H BANK RBAC Futsal Team (TH) def. On The Run (SG): 5-2
On The Run (SG) def. Manchester Futsal Club: 7-0
Group 2
ADC Florianopolis (BRA) def. La Plata Jr B (SG): 7-2
Thai Son Bac Futsal Club (VIE) def. La Plata Jr B (SG): 4-2
ADC Florianopolis (BRA) def. Thai Son Bac Futsal Club (VIE): 7-0
Semi-finals Stage
Thai Son Bac Futsal Club (VIE) def. G H BANK RBAC Futsal Team (TH): 4-3
ADC Florianopolis (BRA) def. On The Run (SG): 4-3
Third & Fourth Placing Match
G H BANK RBAC Futsal Team (TH) def. On The Run (SG): 6-1

Final
ADC Florianopolis (BRA) def. Thai Son Bac Futsal Club (VIE): 5-4


About Tiger Beer

Tiger Beer, brewed by Asia Pacific Breweries Singapore (APBS), is one of Singapore’s most recognised icons globally. As a leading home-grown brew, Tiger Beer is currently brewed in 11 countries and is available in some 60 countries in Europe, the US, Latin America, Australia and the Middle East. 
 
Tiger Beer has been winning global acclaim through the years. In its 78-year history, the brew has picked up over 40 international accolades and awards.  The  most  notable  include  the Gold Medal at the Brewing Industry International  Awards,  UK,  1998  and more recently, the Gold Medal in the International  Style  Lager  category  at  the  2010  World Beer Cup, often referred to as ‘The Olympics of Beer Competitions’ by the industry. This is the second recognition Tiger has received at the same competition, where it last won the Gold Medal in the European-style Pilsner category in 2004.
 
Through its close involvement in sports, dynamic brand campaigns and innovative sponsorships, Tiger has positioned itself as a leading contemporary beer brand across the world. Tiger Beer has become a recognisable and sought-after premium beer and was named UK Cool Brand Leader in 20

Stags are King of the East again

Tampines Rovers defeated Geylang United 1-0 at Bedok to win the Eastern Derby.

The winner was not from the usual man, Duric, but Japanese Akihiro Nakamura.

The Eagles though had played well but it is clear they need a goalscorer for with the chances they had, it should end in a draw, minimum.

Yet at this moment, it looked like a long shot as their local forwards are not scoring and their foreign recruit is following suit as well.

So without goals, how can the Eagles get anything from the game.

As for the Balestier Khalsa-Woodlands Wellington match on the same night, the Tigers ate up the Rams 2-0 with goals from Kim Young Kwang and Vitor Borges.

In the next night, defending champions Etoile FC and 8-time champions SAFFC played out to a 1-1 draw at Jalan Besar.

Anthony Moulin scored for the French side with Fazrul Nawaz replying for the Warriors.

In the weekend, Gombak United defeated Coruts Young Lions 2-0 to stake their claim on the leadership of the best of the rest aka as fifth spot.

Ruhaizad Ismail and Park Kang Jin scored the goals.

The Bulls have now overtaken the White Swans but fourth spot looked harder to get as they are 3 points behind and with an inferior goal difference.

Geylang United

Yazid Yasin (GK) (C), Sofiyan Abdul Hamid, Adrian Dhanaraj (Shah Hirul), Joo Ki Hwan, Syed Fadhil, Vasile Ghindaru, Kim Jae Hong, Syed Thaha, Masrezwan Masturi (Yasir Hanapi), Jung Hee Bong (Rizawan Abdullah), Hafiz Rahim

Tampines Rovers

Hassan Sunny (GK), Jufri Taha, Benoit Croissant, Ahmad Latiff (Ahmed Fahmie), Akihiro Nakamura, Shahdan Sulaiman, Imran Sahib, Ismadi Mukhtar, Aliff Shafaein (Jamil Ali), Park Yo Seb, Aleksandar Duric (C) 

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Balestier Khalsa

Joey Sim (GK), Anaz Hadee, Lim Young Woo, Paul Cunningham (C), Ishak Zainol, Ridhwan Osman (Andrew Tan), Armanizam Dolah, K Vikraman (Shamsurin Abd Rahman), Poh Yi Feng, Vitor Borges, Kim Young Kwang 

Woodlands Wellington 

Ang Bang Heng (GK) (C), Adrian Butters, Munier Raychouni, Madhu Mohana, Graham Tatters, Syed Karim, Shahri Musa, Han Yiguang (Nawfal Shahib), Goh Swee Swee (Sahairi Ramri), Leonardo Alexio, Nigel Vanu (Jala) 

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SAFFC

Shahril Jantan (GK) (C), Shaiful Esah, Hafiz Osman (Razaleigh Khalik), Bah Mamadou, Daniel Bennett, Ivan Jerkovic, Rhysh Roshan Rai, Taisuke Akiyoshi (Ruzaini Zainal), Mustaqim Manzur, Mislav Karoglan, Fazrul Nawaz (Indra Sahdan)

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Courts Young Lions

Jasper Chan (GK), Afiq Yunos (Irwan Shah), Eddie Chang, Firman Hanif, Hariss Harun (C) (Shakir Hamzah), Nazrul Ahmad Nazari, Ignatius Ang, Eugene Luo, Syafiq Zainal, Haniff Sadique (Izzdin Shafiq), Khalili D'cruz 

Gombak United 

Zakariah Nerani (GK), Jaslee Hatta (C), Hamqaamal Shah, Jeremy Chiang, Ismail Yunos, Obadin Aikhena, Tengku Mushadad, Ruhaizad Ismail (Zulkiffli Hassim), Chang Jo Yoon, Kwon Jin Sung (Ridhwan Jamaludin), Park Kang Jin (Fareez Farhan)

Home end losing streak

Home United ended it 2-game losing streak by beating Young Lions 1-0 at the Jalan Besar Stadium.

Firdaus Idros scored the winner.

In two other games, Hougang United defeated Albirex Niigata (S) 1-0 at Hougang while Gombak United crushed Tanjong Pagar 3-0 at Jurong West.

Ratna Suffian had scored the winner in the match at Hougang.

In the Jurong West game, the goals came from Chang Jo Yoon, Kwon Jin Sung and Ridhwan Jamaludin. 

Hougang United

Fadhil Salim (GK), Lau Meng Meng, Shariff Samat (C), Syaqir Sulaiman, Ratna Suffian, Azhar Sairudin, Jordan Webb, Faizal Amir (Diego Oliviera), Noor Ali (Basit Hamid), Carlos Delgado, Mamadou Diallo (Emmeric Ong)

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Gombak United
Zakariah Nerani (GK), Jaslee Hatta (C), Hamqaamal Shah, Jeremy Chiang (Ismail Yunos), Obadin Aikhena, Walid Lounis, Tengku Mushadad, Chang Jo Yoon (Ridhwan Jamaludin), Kwon Jin Sung, Park Kang Jin, Zulkiffli Hassim (Fareez Farhan) 

TPUFC 

Ridhuan Barudin (GK), Kim Seong Kyu (C), Ganesan s/o Devadas, Ashwin Tiwari, Kim Jong Oh (Benedict Low), Hyun Jong Woon, Azlan Alipah, Nurizam Azman, Gary Loo, Abdul Rahman (Justin Khiang), Patrick Paran (Shamil Sharif)

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Courts Young Lions

Izwan Mahbud (GK), Afiq Yunos, Faritz Abdul Hameed, Irwan Shah, Shakir Hamzah, Fazli Ayob, Izzdin Shafiq, Hariss Harun (C), Nazrul Ahmad Nazari (Eugene Luo), Syafiq Zainal (Haniff Sadique), Shahfiq Ghani (Safirul Sulaiman) 

Home United

Lionel Lewis (GK), Kenji Arai, Valery Hiek, Juma'at Jantan, Rosman Sulaiman, Nor Azli Yusoff, Isa Halim (Farizal Basri), Asraf Rashid (Firdaus Idros), Firdaus Kasman, Kim Dae Eui, Qiu Li (C)

Wilko first foreign captain in Thai league

ST photo

John Wilkinson has make history again according to the Straits Times as he has become the first foreign captain in Thai Premier league.

And the way the Singaporean found out was amazing as he was greeted by thunderous applause after being asked to stand in the middle of a team huddle during training two months ago, his Police United teammate said it was because they were amazed he was still playing good football at 31.

Minutes later, he found out the real reason and was lost for words.

The former Singapore Armed Forces FC playmaker had been named captain, becoming the first foreign skipper in the Thai Premier League's 16-year history.

And that after he has become the first Singapore footballer to play in Thailand when he joined the Phatum Thani-based outfit weeks earlier on a two-year deal.

'My coach (Thawatchai Damrong- Ongtrakul) has a really dry sense of humour, so he chose this method of breaking the news,' recalled Wilkinson.

'It's still a huge shock looking back at it. It was just my 10th training session with them, but it's a huge honour and shows my team's faith in me.'

S-league Preview X

S-league Preview IX - 4 right with 2 perfect score and 2 wrong

Mon 18-Apr Hougang United - Albirex Niigata (S) (HGG)
Tue 19-Apr Gombak United - TPUFC (JWS)
Wed 20-Apr Courts Young Lions - Home United (JBS)
Thu 21-Apr Balestier Khalsa - Woodlands Wellington (TPY)
Thu 21-Apr Geylang United - Tampines Rovers (BDK)
Fri 22-Apr SAFFC - Etoile FC (JBS)
Sat 23-Apr Courts Young Lions - Gombak United (JBS)

Hougang United vs Albirex Niigata (S)
The meeting of the two most attacking sides outside the top 4 teams so let hope they can prove it. If nothing else, both sides should provide a game with goals but if the Cheetahs want to gain anything from this game they should not concede early and as many goals as they 'use do'. Going behind mean they have to attack more that let to more goals being conceded and that is why they have conceded as many as they have. But it does make them an exciting side so let hoped this is an exciting game. 3-2 to Albirex Niigata (S) 

Gombak United vs TPUFC
Surely the Bulls will win (even if it may not be a convincing win). Again like last week, it is because the Jaguars cannot matched up to more experienced foes and the Bulls cannot mess this up (or maybe they can). 2-0 to the Bulls 

Courts Young Lions vs Home United 
Even without Qiu Li, the Protectors have no right not to win this one or many will questioned it abilities. The Cubs along with Jaguars and Rams are considered the three weakest in the league this season and teams facing them this campaign, especially the Big 3, have to gain full points. 3-0 to the Protectors 

Balestier Khalsa vs Woodlands Wellington
Let be honest, the Rams do looked to be the 'strongest' among the Wooden Spoon contenders so this is an advantage here as Balestier Khalsa are expected to win all 3 points here. The Rams do not have to achieve that although they may like their first win. A draw is as good as a win for the Rams as they continued to pick a point here and there to climb up the league table. There is more than achievable at Toa Poyah as the Tigers are no ferocious cats and will not eat them up. 1-1 draw  

Geylang United vs Tampines Rovers
The Eagles have no chance in this Derby match-up judging from how their season started and how they are playing at this moment. It is cruel to a once-proud club which had dominated Singapore football back in the SPL days and won the first ever S-league title. Indeed, the Bedok club had double their title count by winning their second S-league crown before the Stags won their first trophy - 2002 Singapore Cup - in the professional era. But the tide has changed for while the Eagles won their first trophy - 2009 RHB Singapore Cup -  in 9 years, the Stags had 2 league titles and 3 Singapore Cup in that time. Like the trophies count, the Eagles are far behind now. 3-0 to the Stags 

SAFFC vs Etoile FC
The Warriors have not played well this season but the fact they are second show us their mental strength. This is commendable and once again they have to call it up when they face the champions. The Warriors can get full points from their encounters even when playing as badly as they are and that make them formidable foes. It is build on a recipe of any championship side and that is a defence that is near to unimpeachable. I am not sure the Champions can preach that as they are another side that are playing decently but not brilliantly yet and against SAFFC defence they need to be brilliant. 1-0 to SAFFC 

Courts Young Lions vs Gombak United
This is the second match for the Bulls to collect another 3 'easy' points. Yes, the match is played at an 'inappropriate' time (or in the words of the Rams coach - 'inhumane') but it is not good enough. They have the team to beat the Cubs and they have to beat the Cubs for no matter what they say afterwords (if they failed to win) many will say they are terrible (the nicest word I can think of ). 2-0 to the Bulls

Etoile, Warriors and Stags win their matches

Champions Etoile FC recovered from their morale-crashing defeat last week to Tampines Rovers, in which they lead until the final quarter, by defeating fellow title rival Home United 1-0 at Bishan Stadium.

But for Home United, it lead to questions about their title aspiration as it was the third game they failed to collect full points without their talisman Qiu Li.

Without the Singapore forward in their lineup, the Protectors once again showcased a lacked of creativity and that is a worry as the Bishan side have many other internationals or ex-internationals who should step up.

Until then, it seem the Protectors title chances rest on when the Singapore forward return to the Protectors starting line-up and give the Protectors the edge in attack they lacked (without him)   

The day after, SAFFC defeated Hougang United 2-1 at Jalan Besar Stadium.

Bah Mamadou and Taisuke Akiyoshi scored the goals for the Warriors with Jordan Webb replying for the Cheetahs.

In the weekend game, Tampines Rovers defeated Courts Young Lions 1-0 at Tampines stadium and once again, it was nobody else but Aleksandar Duric who pop up to score the winner.

Home United

Lionel Lewis (GK), Kenji Arai, Valery Hiek, Rosman Sulaiman, Shi Jiayi (C), Nor Azli Yusoff, Isa Halim (Faizal Samad), Asraf Rashid (Firdaus Idros), Firdaus Kasman (Farizal Basri), Kim Dae Eui, Frederic Mendy

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Hougang United

Fadhil Salim (GK), Shariff Samat (C) (Lau Meng Meng), Ratna Suffian, Duncan Elias (Syaqir Sulaiman), Azhar Sairudin, Jordan Webb, Fazli Jaffar, Faizal Amir, Basit Hamid (Noor Ali), Carlos Delgado, Mamadou Diallo

SAFFC 

Shahril Jantan (GK) (C), Shaiful Esah, Hafiz Osman, Bah Mamadou, Daniel Bennett, Noh Rahman (Luka Savic), Ivan Jerkovic, Rhysh Roshan Rai (Razaleigh Khalik), Taisuke Akiyoshi, Mislav Karoglan, Indra Sahdan (Mustaqim Manzur) 

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Tampines Rovers

Hassan Sunny (GK), Jufri Taha, Benoit Croissant, Ahmad Latiff (Jamil Ali), Akihiro Nakamura, Shahdan Sulaiman, Imran Sahib, Ismadi Mukhtar, Aliff Shafaein (Shukor Zailan), Park Yo Seb, Aleksandar Duric (C) 

Courts Young Lions

Izwan Mahbud (GK), Afiq Yunos, Faritz Abdul Hameed, Irwan Shah (Firman Hanif), Shakir Hamzah, Fazli Ayob, Izzdin Shafiq, Hariss Harun (C), Eugene Luo (Safirul Sulaiman), Syafiq Zainal (Haniff Sadique), Shahfiq Ghani

Tigers win while White Swans and Eagles are held by Bulls and Rams

Balestier Khalsa is the only team that won from 3 matches as they defeated Tanjong Pagar United 1-0 at Clementi Stadium.

UK defender Paul Cunningham scored the only goal from a set-piece.

For the Albirex Niigata (S) - Gombak United game at Jurong East, the Japanese side failed to preach the Bulls stout defence, marshal by stand-in skipper Obadin Aikhena, thus allowing the Jurong West side to walk away with one point.

The last of the three games was the most exciting as home side Woodlands Wellington nearly snatch victory as Brazilian forward Leonardo Alexio finally got off the mark in the final five minute.

But the Rams let that lead slip as Adrian Butters scored an own goal in injury time.

Before that, Kim Jae Hong gave the Eagles the lead which lasted until Adrian Butters (Yes, the own goal guy) equalised from the spot in the second half. 

Gombak United
Zakariah Nerani (GK), Hamqaamal Shah, Jeremy Chiang, Ismail Yunos, Obadin Aikhena (C), Walid Lounis, Tengku Mushadad, Ruhaizad Ismail (Zulkiffli Hassim), Aloysius Yap (Ridhwan Jamaludin), Chang Jo Yoon, Park Kang Jin (Fareez Farhan)

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TPUFC 

Ridhuan Barudin (GK), Kim Seong Kyu (C), Arisman Arman, Delwinder Singh (Abdul Rahman), Hyun Jong Woon, Takaya Kawanabe, Azlan Alipah (Israel Tan), Nurizam Azman, Gary Loo, Shamil Sharif (Ganesan s/o Devadas), Patrick Paran 

Balestier Khalsa

Joey Sim (GK), Anaz Hadee, Lim Young Woo, Paul Cunningham (C), K Sathiaraj, Ishak Zainol, Ridhwan Osman, Armanizam Dolah (Mahmod Hashim), K Vikraman, Andrew Tan (Nurhilmi Jasni (Poh Yi Feng)), Kim Young Kwang 

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Geylang United

Yazid Yasin (GK) (C) , Sofiyan Abdul Hamid, Joo Ki Hwan, Syed Fadhil, Vasile Ghindaru (Yasir Hanapi), Kim Jae Hong, Shah Hirul, Syed Thaha, Masrezwan Masturi, Jung Hee Bong (Rizawan Abdullah), Hafiz Rahim 

Woodlands Wellington 

Ang Bang Heng (GK), Adrian Butters, Munier Raychouni, Madhu Mohana, Graham Tatters, Syed Karim (Nawfal Shahib), Sazali Salleh (C), Shahri Musa, Goh Swee Swee (Sahairi Ramri), Leonardo Alexio, Nigel Vanu 

Stags win valuable away point in Hanoi

Tampines Rovers achieved a 1-1 draw away in Hanoi to strengthen their claim for the top two spot in the group.

Aleksandar Duric had scored the equaliser for the Stags and the Vietnam coach was disappointed as he asked his players how a 40-year-old had outpaced and outlasted his defenders in the dying minutes of the game.

With this result, the Stags remained second in the group behind Thai side MTU.

Tampines Rovers: Hassan Sunny; Seiji Kaneko, Benoit Croissant, Park Yo Seb; Imran Sahib, Shukor Zailan (Aliff Shafaein 59’, Ahmed Fahmie 85’), Akihiro Nakamura, Shahdan Sulaiman, Ismadi Mukhtar; Ahmad Latiff Khamarudin (Jamil Ali 74’), Aleksandar Duric

2011 Subsidy figures (Before $$C come for it after GE)

S-league Preview IX

S-league Preview VIII - 2 right and 4 wrong

Mon 11-Apr Albirex Niigata (S) - Gombak United (JES)
Tue 12-Apr TPUFC - Balestier Khalsa (CMT)
Wed 13-Apr Woodlands Wellington - Geylang United (WLD)
Thu 14-Apr Home United - Etoile FC (BSN)
Fri 15-Apr Hougang United - SAFFC (JBS)
Sun 17-Apr Tampines Rovers - Courts Young Lions (TMP)

Albirex Niigata (S) vs Gombak United
The White Swans have done well and deserved to be where they are at fifth spot. They can now cement that with a win after Gombak United who are just one place behind them. It is achievable as the Bulls are not an adventurous side so one goal should do it but what is the Bulls weakness is also their strength as they are a difficult side to break down. The White Swans have to score first or face a situation where the Bulls will be happy to leave Jurong East with a point. 0-0 draw        

TPUFC vs Balestier Khalsa 
It is unimaginable the Tigers will not be walking away from Clementi with all 3 points. I am not looking down on the Jaguars but the inexperienced squad they have is unlikely to post a threat against the Tigers. And while the Tigers are not a scoring machine with an average of less than a goal per game, they can surely hit a goal against the Jaguars; who cannot keep clean sheet against more experienced foes. 1-0 to the Tigers 

Woodlands Wellington - Geylang United
The Eagles have to win this one. No excuse as the Rams have only won their solitary point this season against fellow strugglers, Tanjong Pagar, and the Eagles are nowhere as bad as the Jaguars side. That is why anything less than 3 points is a failure. 2-1 to the Eagles.

Home United vs Etoile FC
The two losers in last week battle of the Top 4. They now have the chance to redeem themselves and frankly the Protectors are on the weaker hand as Qiu Li could still be injured. Without the Singapore forward, the Protectors have looked weaker and their coach have responded by being negative with his tactics as he has refused to go all out in their tougher matches. Indeed the Protectors have now dropped points against both of their fellow contenders and Paul Lee should know it could cost the Protectors at the end as every point dropped is a point gained by his fellow challengers. He cannot afford to keep his team in check as Etoile FC could be the next in line to gain from that. 2-2 draw 

Hougang United vs SAFFC
I can only see one side walking away from Jalan Besar with the 3 points and it must be the Warriors. While the Warriors are not yet at full-throttle in their matches yet they are showing signs of their battling strength as they defeated bodge side Gombak United at Jurong West and then send their Derby rival Home United crashing to first defeat in 25 matches. This is commendable as their top forward Mislav Karoglan is suspended. So with him back, and who know Richard Bok may not change a winning side, the Warriors are slowly getting into championship mode as they looked to have the strength to go on a winning run. 3-0 to the Warriors  

Tampines Rovers vs Courts Young Lions
Will Tampines Rovers come back from the AFC Cup campaign tired? Likely but they should not need to be at full strength to take on the Cubs as their overall strength is far superior. Also the match against the Rams should have taught the Stags not to be overconfident as they nearly slip up against the Northern side before 3 goals in the second half saw them make a comeback. That is why I believe the Stags will win this one to stay top of the table. 2-0 to the Stags

Singapore seeking West Asian teams

Singapore is in talks with the FAs of Kuwait, Qatar and Oman to set up matches in June and July to prepare for the World Cup qualifiers.

All these three West Asian teams have possible matchup against ASEAN oppositions in the upcoming World Cup qualifiers.

The media reveal the match against Kuwait is more or less confirm as Singapore will be playing that matchup in Thailand where they appear to have set up camp. 

As for the matchup against Qatar or Oman, it depend on whether the Qatari or the Omani will be setting up camp in ASEAN.

Warriors and Stags win in battle of the Big 4

In the battle of the Big 4, SAFFC and Tampines Rovers come out of it victorious.

The Warriors defeated Home United 2-0 at the Choa Chu Kang Stadium.

Former Lions skipper Indra Sahdan played a big part in that victory against his former employer, the Protectors, as he started it when he won a spotkick just 10 minutes after he came off the bench.

Ivan Jerkovic step forward and dispatch the penalty.

Then afterward, Indra scored the decisive second goal to kill off the Protectors.

This was the Protectors first defeat in 26 matches - the longest undefeated run in S-league history.

With that victory, the Warriors took over the top of the table for 24 hours until the matchup between Etoile FC and Tampines Rovers at Jalan Besar.

Whoever won will go to the top of the table and it was Tampines Rovers that prevail as they defeated Etoile FC 2-1.
 
The Champions had started off brightly with Kevin Lefranc scoring after Hassan Sunny make a shocking error and drop the ball into his path.

After that, the French side had several chances to extend that lead but they spurned it and the Stags were lucky to go into the break only one goal down.

In the second period, the Stags came out strongly and dominated the game but they could not make any chances until Aleksandar Duric step up, as he always does, for the 40-year-old could not miss after Akihiro Nakamura miscued his shot to give him an open goal just a few step away from goal.

Duric returned that as he set up the Stags winner by muscling off his defender to hold up the ball and lured other defenders to him and then laying it off to an advancing Akihiro Nakamura to fire into the net.

It was a remarkable comeback for the Stags who now lead the table with 20 points.

In another match, the White Swans strengthen their claim on the best of the rest or aka fifth spot by defeating Balestier Khalsa 1-0 with Musashi Okuyama scoring the only goal. 

SAFFC

Shahril Jantan (GK) (C), Shaiful Esah, Hafiz Osman (Razaleigh Khalik), Bah Mamadou, Daniel Bennett, Noh Rahman, Ivan Jerkovic, Rhysh Roshan Rai, Taisuke Akiyoshi, Mustaqim Manzur (Daniel Hammond), Fazrul Nawaz (Indra Sahdan) 

Home United

Lionel Lewis (GK), Kenji Arai, Juma'at Jantan, Valery Hiek, Shi Jiayi (C), Nor Azli Yusoff, Isa Halim (Kim Dae Eui), Asraf Rashid (Farizal Basri), Firdaus Kasman, Frederic Mendy, Sufian Anuar (Firdaus Idros)

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Tampines Rovers

Hassan Sunny (GK), Seiji Kaneko, Benoit Croissant, Ahmad Latiff (Zahid Ahmad), Akihiro Nakamura, Shahdan Sulaiman, Imran Sahib, Ismadi Mukhtar (Jamil Ali), Aliff Shafaein (Shukor Zailan), Park Yo Seb, Aleksandar Duric (C)

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Balestier Khalsa 

Joey Sim (GK), Anaz Hadee, Lim Young Woo, Paul Cunningham (C), Ishak Zainol, Ridhwan Osman, Armanizam Dolah, K Vikraman, Poh Yi Feng (K Sathiaraj), Vitor Borges, Kim Young Kwang (Andrew Tan)

Tampines, Geylang and Hougang win

Tampines Rovers defeated Woodlands Wellington 3-1 at the Woodlands Stadium.

Seiji Kaneko, Aliff Shafaein and Aleksandar Duric had scored for the Stags with Sahairi Ramri replying for the Rams.

Fellow Eastern side Geylang United defeated Tanjong Pagar United 2-0 at Bedok Stadium.

Adrian Dhanaraj and Masrezwan Masturi had scored for the Eagles side.

Hougang United defeated Gombak United 1-0 at the Jurong West Stadium.

Jordan Webb scored the only goal of the game.

Woodlands Wellington 

Ang Bang Heng (GK), Sahairi Ramri, Munier Raychouni, Madhu Mohana, Graham Tatters, Jalal (Syed Karim), Ali Imran Lomri (Darrel Tan), Sazali Salleh (C), Shahri Musa, Han Yiguang (Goh Swee Swee), Leonardo Alexio 

Tampines Rovers

Alimin Mohamed (GK), Seiji Kaneko, Benoit Croissant, Ahmad Latiff (Ahmed Fahmie), Akihiro Nakamura, Shahdan Sulaiman (Jufri Taha), Imran Sahib, Ismadi Mukhtar, Aliff Shafaein (Shukor Zailan), Park Yo Seb, Aleksandar Duric (C)

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Geylang United
Yazid Yasin (GK) (C) , Sofiyan Abdul Hamid, Adrian Dhanaraj, Joo Ki Hwan, Syed Fadhil, Kim Jae Hong, Shah Hirul (Khayrulhayat Jumat), Syed Thaha, Masrezwan Masturi (Rizawan Abdullah), Jung Hee Bong, Hafiz Rahim 

TPUFC 

Ridhuan Barudin (GK), Kim Seong Kyu (C), Arisman Arman (Israel Tan), Delwinder Singh, Kim Jong Oh, Hyun Jong Woon, Takaya Kawanabe, Azlan Alipah, Nurizam Azman, Gary Loo, Patrick Paran (Ganesan s/o Devadas)

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Gombak United

Zakariah Nerani (GK), Jaslee Hatta (C) (Jeremy Chiang), Hamqaamal Shah, Ismail Yunos (Jeremy Chiang), Obadin Aikhena, Walid Lounis, Tengku Mushadad, Ruhaizad Ismail (Zulkiffli Hassim), Kwon Jin Sung  (Ridhwan Jamaludin), Chang Jo Yoon, Park Kang Jin 

Hougang United 

Fadhil Salim (GK), Shariff Samat (C), Ratna Suffian, Duncan Elias, Azhar Sairudin, Jordan Webb, Fazli Jaffar (Noor Ali), Faizal Amir, Carlos Delgado (Syaqir Sulaiman), Diego Oliviera (Fathi Yunus), Mamadou Diallo

S-league Preview VIII

S-league Preview VII - 3 right and 3 wrong

Mon 4-Apr Geylang United - TPUFC (BDK)
Mon 4-Apr Woodlands Wellington - Tampines Rovers (WLD)
Tue 5-Apr Gombak United - Hougang United (JWS)
Wed 6-Apr Balestier Khalsa - Albirex Niigata (S) (TPY)
Thu 7-Apr SAFFC - Home United (CCK)
Fri 8-Apr Etoile FC - Tampines Rovers (JBS)
Sat 9-Apr Courts Young Lions - Woodlands Wellington (JBS)

Geylang United - TPUFC
Geylang United main problem this season is not their attack, it is their once 'notorious bus' defence. After all, the past two seasons only saw the Eagles scored 68 goals from 63 league games so their attack were hardly prolific. That why when the Eagles score a goal - in the past as least - they were always set to get something from the game yet last week, against Albirex Niigata (S), they failed as they leaked three goals. What happen? Did Belicak and Louis 'stole the bus' when they left as the Eagles are acting like strangers in defence now. By hook or by crook, Mike Wong has to get his 'new bus' soon or the Eagles season is going down the drain. 3-1 to the Eagles

Woodlands Wellington - Tampines Rovers
The Rams has finally scored their first goal of the season. Now come the bad news, they are bottom of the table and not likely to have any chance they will get out of it this week. Yes, the Stags will be tired after their encounter with the Protectors just 72 hours earlier but they do not need to be at full strength to take on the Rams. That why the Rams will be delighted to know the Stags is unlikely to go all out (as then it will be a massacre) for another 72 hours later, the Stags will have another tough encounter. 2-0 to Stags    

Gombak United - Hougang United
Believed the Bulls will edge this one as they will exploit Hougang main weakness; which is their leaky defence. From corner, free-kick or crosses etc I cannot see how the Cheetahs will be able to stop these type of Bulls attacks efficiently with their soft defence. The Cheetah can score but they just cannot defend to earn anything. 2-1 to the Bulls

Balestier Khalsa - Albirex Niigata (S)
The Tigers are a tough side to beat this season as they refused to lie down and be beaten. Two goals down should have finished any side off and yet they staged their comeback in amazing fashion with two goals in the last 10 minutes. The White Swans are no weakling either as they fashion a win with, surprising, also two goals in the last 10 minutes. So we can see both are mentally strong this season and have the fight in them. A titanic battle and one that may end in a draw. 1-1 draw     

SAFFC - Home United
Are the Warriors bullies! They constantly win their encounters against the weaker oppositions yet when it come to the Big Boys, their players go into hiding. Against the Stags, the Warriors fall once again to the Big Boys and it is happening too often for in the last 16 months, they have only 1 win from their last 10 league meetings against Tampines Rovers, Home United and Etoile FC. I wonder if people will point to the maid photo and say the Warriors are a 'reflection' of that. If not, then show your menly strength as this is the Uniform Derby. 2-0 to Home United  

Etoile FC - Tampines Rovers
Like two weeks ago, the Stags are having a difficult calender as the league have scheduled a match just days earlier before a major match for them. It is not the league fault as it is the cancelled match from two weeks earlier but the Stags supporters will hardly care as they must be wondering why the league is so 'unfair' to them. But the Champions and their fans will not care and if they do not win this one, Etoile FC have no excuse. 2-1 to Etoile FC 

Courts Young Lions - Woodlands Wellington 
There is little to separate them. Both are equally non-threatening upfront and have young squads. The Rams though are a little older and have 4 foreigners. Not that it make much difference as they leaked more goals than the Cubs as well as scored fewer. A match that has the making of a classic (Like real). 0-0 draw

U16 and U19 Asian Championship Qualifiers

U16 GROUPINGS

Group A: Iraq, Iran, Bangladesh, Qatar, Palestine, Sri Lanka
Group B: UAE, Kuwait, Yemen, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Maldives
Group C: Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Bahrain, Kyrgyzstan, India
Group D: Syria, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Nepal, Lebanon
Group E: DPR Korea, China, Timor Leste, Singapore, Malaysia, Macau
Group F: Japan, Vietnam, Chinese Taipei, Laos, Korea Republic, Cambodia
Group G: Australia, Indonesia, Thailand, Hong Kong, Myanmar, Guam

Results

• China U16 3-1 Singapore U16
• North Korea U16 1-0 Singapore U16
• Singapore U16 1-1 Malaysia U16
• Singapore U16 8-1 Timor-Leste U16

Macau withdrew from competition

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
North Korea	4	4	0	0	16	2	+14	12
China PR	4	3	0	1	8	3	+5	9
Singapore	4	1	1	2	10	6	+4	4
Malaysia	4	1	1	2	5	7	−2	4
Timor-Leste	4	0	0	4	3	24	−21	0

U19 GROUPINGS

Group A: Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman, Bangladesh, Nepal, Maldives
Group B: Bahrain, Jordan, Tajikistan, Qatar, Kuwait, Bhutan
Group C: Uzbekistan, Iran, Pakistan, India, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan
Group D: UAE, Syria, Yemen, Palestine, Lebanon
Group E: Korea Republic, Japan, Thailand, Hong Kong, Guam, Chinese Taipei
Group F: DPR Korea, Vietnam, Malaysia, Myanmar, Laos
Group G: Australia, China, Indonesia, Singapore, Macau

Results

• Singapore U19 0-0 Macau U19
• Australia U19 1-0 Singapore U19
• China U19 11-0 Singapore U19
• Indonesia U19 3-0 Singapore U19

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Australia	4	4	0	0	20	1	+19	12
China PR	4	2	1	1	16	3	+13	7
Indonesia	4	2	1	1	7	4	+3	7
Singapore	4	0	1	3	0	15	−15	1
Macau	4	0	1	3	0	20	−20	1

We can beat Malaysia

SAFFC and Lions defender Daniel Bennett welcomed the face-off with, expected winner of the first round encounter against Chinese Taipei, Malaysia.

He said: "We will beat Malaysia. If this is the team that played in the Suzuki Cup, we will destroy them - 100 per cent."

I agreed and that the Lions has more than a decent chance but we need Qiu Li for this one.

Before the last Suzuki Cup started, I had moaned the lost of the then-Tampines Rovers, and now Home United, forward and sadly, my concern that the Lions cannot cope without him came true.

The 29-year-old is, in my view, now the perfect forward as he has good touches, can hold the ball, bring in his teammates into ball and most importantly is a forward who can score.

With Qiu, the Lions can score and like I always say, goals win matches. 

Stags and Home remain unbeaten

In one of the most exciting match of the season, Tampines Rovers and Home United played to a 1-1 draw at the Jalan Besar Stadium.

The Stags had dominated much of the first period and deserved to go into the half-time break with the lead given to them by Aleksandar Duric when the 40-year-old was given all the space in the world to put the ball into the net from a cross by Aliff.

In the second period, the Protectors played much better and had a few chances to draw level which they did after Frederic Mendy pound on a mistake by Hassan Sunny.

The Frenchman outjumped the Singapore international from a cross from the right from Shi and headed it into an empty net.

After that, both continue to have their chances but both keepers were in top form  and kept their team in the game.

The draw keep Home United top of the table with Tampines second

In other development, the White Swans showed they were contenders for the title of 'champions of the rest' aka fifth place by beating Geylang United 3-1 at Jurong East.

Norihiro Kawakami, Musashi Okuyama and Tatsuro Inui scored for the White Swans with Hafiz Rahim replying for the Eagles.

As for other matches, Tanjong Pagar United held Courts Young Lions to a 0-0 draw at their opening match at their 'new' home at Clementi Stadium while the home side Woodlands Wellington had at least something to celebrate with their first goal of the season, from Nigel Vanu, but it was in vain as champions, Etoile FC, came back to win it 2-1.

Maxime Belouet and Kaabi Selim scored for the French side.  

Geylang United
Nazri Sabri (GK), Sofiyan Abdul Hamid, Jonathan Xu, Joo Ki Hwan, Syed Fadhil (C), Vasile Ghindaru (Rizawan Abdullah), Kim Jae Hong, Shah Hirul, Masrezwan Masturi (Yasir Hanapi), Jung Hee Bong, Hafiz Rahim

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TPUFC 

Ridhuan Barudin (GK), Kim Seong Kyu (C), Delwinder Singh, Kim Jong Oh, Hyun Jong Woon, Takaya Kawanabe, Azlan Alipah (Justin Khiang), Nurizam Azman, Gary Loo (Arisman Arman), Shamil Sharif (Abdul Rahman), Patrick Paran 

Courts Young Lions

Izwan Mahbud (GK), Afiq Yunos, Faritz Abdul Hameed, Irwan Shah, Shakir Hamzah, Fazli Ayob, Hariss Harun (C), Faris Ramli, Nazrul Ahmad Nazari (Haniff Sadique), Safirul Sulaiman (Izzdin Shafiq), Shahfiq Ghani (Syafiq Zainal)

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Woodlands Wellington 

Ang Bang Heng (GK) , Adrian Butters, Sahairi Ramri, Munier Raychouni, Graham Tatters, Ali Imran Lomri, Sazali Salleh (C), Shahri Musa (Goh Swee Swee), Han Yiguang, Leonardo Alexio, Nigel Vanu (Jalal)

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Tampines Rovers

Hassan Sunny (GK), Seiji Kaneko, Benoit Croissant, Ahmad Latiff, Akihiro Nakamura, Shahdan Sulaiman, Imran Sahib, Ismadi Mukhtar, Aliff Shafaein (Ahmed Fahmie), Park Yo Seb, Aleksandar Duric 

Home United

Lionel Lewis (GK), Kenji Arai, Juma'at Jantan, Valery Hiek, Rosman Sulaiman (Firdaus Kasman), Shi Jiayi (C), Isa Halim, Firdaus Idros (Sherif El-Masri), Frederic Mendy, Qiu Li, Sufian Anuar (Asraf Rashid)

Uniform teams triumphed

Home United and SAFFC have won their respective matches against their oppositions.

Home United defeated Woodlands Wellington 2-0 at the Bishan Stadium with goals from Qiu Li and Frederic Mendy.

SAFFC defeated Gombak United 1-0 at Jurong West with the winner from Frazul Nawaz.

In other matches, Albirex Niigata (S) crushed Young Lions 5-0 at the Jalan Besar Stadium and Hougang United drew 2-2 with Balestier Khalsa at Hougang. 

There were 5 different scorers - Shimpei Sakurada, Tatsuro Inui, Norihiro Kawakami, Shuhei Hotta and Yosuke Saito - for the White Swans in their game.

As for the game in Hougang, the Cheetah were on their way to victory, after two goals from Duncan Elias and Carlos Delgado, to celebrate their coach Aide Iskandar birthday but the Tigers had different ideas with two late goals from Korean forward Kim Young Kwang cutting short any celebration.

Courts Young Lions

Jasper Chan (GK), Afiq Yunos (C), Eddie Chang (Firman Hanif), Faritz Abdul Hameed, Shakir Hamzah (Eugene Luo), Fazli Ayob, Izzdin Shafiq, Nazrul Ahmad Nazari, Safirul Sulaiman, Syafiq Zainal, Shahfiq Ghani (Faris Ramli)

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Home United

Lionel Lewis (GK), Kenji Arai, Juma'at Jantan, Valery Hiek, Rosman Sulaiman (Sufian Anuar), Shi Jiayi (C), Nor Azli Yusoff, Kim Dae Eui (Asraf Rashid (Firdaus Idros)), Firdaus Kasman, Frederic Mendy, Qiu Li 

Woodlands Wellington 

Amos Boon (GK) (Ang Bang Heng), Adrian Butters, Sahairi Ramri, Munier Raychouni, Graham Tatters, Jalal (Nigel Vanu), Ali Imran Lomri, Sazali Salleh (C), Han Yiguang, Goh Swee Swee (Nawfal Shahib), Leonardo Alexio

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Gombak United

Zakariah Nerani (GK), Jaslee Hatta (C), Hamqaamal Shah (Zulkiffli Hassim), Ismail Yunos (Jeremy Chiang), Obadin Aikhena, Walid Lounis, Tengku Mushadad,  Ridhwan Jamaludin (Ruhaizad Ismail), Kwon Jin Sung, Chang Jo Yoon, Park Kang Jin

SAFFC

Shahril Jantan (GK) (C), Shaiful Esah, Hafiz Osman (Razaleigh Khalik), Bah Mamadou, Daniel Bennett, Noh Rahman (Luka Savic), Ivan Jerkovic, Rhysh Roshan Rai, Taisuke Akiyoshi, Mustaqim Manzur, Fazrul Nawaz (Indra Sahdan)

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Hougang United

Fadhil Salim (GK), Fumiya Kobayashi, Ratna Suffian, Emmeric Ong, Syaqir Sulaiman, Azhar Sairudin (Sobrie Mazelan), Jordan Webb, Fazli Jaffar (Faizal Amir), Duncan Elias, Carlos Delgado, Mamadou Diallo 

Balestier Khalsa 

Joey Sim (GK), Lim Young Woo, Paul Cunningham (C), K Sathiaraj (Anaz Hadee), Amirrul Kamal, Ishak Zainol, Armanizam Dolah, K Vikraman (Ridhwan Osman), Nurhilmi Jasni (Andrew Tan), Vitor Borges, Kim Young Kwang

1-1 draw for match of Champions

S-league champions Etoile FC held Suzuki Cup champions Malaysia to as 1-1 draw.

This friendly match have been arranged in view of the recent tsunami/earthquake that was faced by Japan on 11 March 2011.

Donations collected will be given to Singapore Red Cross to help the Japanese.