S-league: Facts & Figures: June 2013

Saturday, June 29, 2013

Japanese forward Masato Fukui is second player to depart Home

Home United have announced they have released Japanese forward Masato Fukui.

It should come as no surprise as the 24-year-old slot in the team have been questioned as he has not finished in many of the games he started and have even been relegated to the bench where he was not used at all.

This spell trouble as that mean Home United head coach Paul Lee does not trust the 24-year-old and considering the fact Lee has always maintained he believed foreigners should be 1 notch if not 2 above local, Fukui was doomed.

Also he was the main reason for Home United first 'incident' this year when assistant coach Akihiro Nakamura departed the club.

Hougang sign defender as Robert Eziakor moved into coaching

Igor Cerina, a Croatian defender, has been signed by Hougang United.

The 24-year old have been trialling with the Cheetahs for the last two weeks, under the recommendation of former coach Nenad Bacina.

The former NK Solin and Rabotnicki player have replaced Robert Eziakor, who was offered a coaching role in the team.

Alex Weaver sign his first Warrior

Alex Weaver signed his first Warriors as defender Jeremy Chiang has joined Warriors FC.

It is a surprise as Alex has 'flopped' at Hougang because of a rumored player revolt as the Hougang players refused to follow his instructions and methods.

However Jeremy may be among those who had supported Alex in his time so that is why the Englishman had chosen to bring the player to Choa Chu Kang.

The left back looked to be the replacement for Ruzaini Zainal who left for the Stags.

Postives to take from game

New Warriors FC coach Alex Weaver chose to take the positives from his team's defeat against the S.League leaders, as counterpart Tay Peng Kee praised his opponents' improvement

Former Hougang United gaffer Weaver, who replaced predecessor V. Selvaraj after the ex-Singapore international endured a miserable season, believes the result proved his team could cut it with the best.

“We did a lot right [in the game],” he said.

“We looked far more organized, far more disciplined [and] we were sharp defensively.

“We restricted the team at the top of the league to very few chances, and that was pleasing.”

The Englishman also insisted that the performance was a sign of better things to come for his men.

“If they are top of the league then that gives us a gauge of where we are and where we could be,” Weaver claimed.

“So it was very pleasing despite the result.”

His Tampines counterpart Tay Peng Kee was full of praise for his adversaries, admitting his surprise at the organization and defensive solidity of Weaver’s men.

“To be honest, I think they [Warriors] played well; the last time I saw them they were totally different,” he recalled.

“They were tighter, they were more organized, and played with more life as compared to the last game.”

Top 2 triumphed

Both the top two in the S-league won their matches to open up a gap in the S-league race.

Second-placed Albirex Niigata (S) are now 7 points clear of third-placed Tanjong Pagar United with Leader and Champion Tampines Rovers a further two points ahead.

Tampines Rovers defeated Warriors FC 1-0 thanks to a goal from Jamil Ali.

It inflicted a defeat on Warriors FC new coach Alex Weaver on his debut and it showcased how much he has to do to bring back the glory days for the defending Singapore Cup champions.

Albirex Niigata (S) won 2-0 against DPMM Brunei with goals from Kazuki Sakamoto and Masatake Sato.

Tampines Rovers
Andre Martins (GK), Ruzaini Zainal, Kunihiro Yamashita, Seiji Kaneko, Jufri Taha, Firdaus Kasman (Shannon Stephen 78'), Fahrudin Mustafic (C), Shahdan Sulaiman, Jamil Ali (Vitor Ladeiras 64'), Ahmed Fahmie (Diogo Caramelo 36'), Aleksandar Duric

Warriors FC
Hassan Sunny (GK), Jeremy Chiang (Daniel Bennett 67'), Abdil Qaiyyim, Marin Vidosevic, Zulfadli Zainal Abidin, Shi Jiayi, Kazuyuki Toda, Hafsyar Farkhan, Tatsuro Inui, Prakash Manikam (Shimpei Sakurada 59'), Mislav Karoglan (Sufian Anuar 72')

Lee: We failed to take chance

Tanjong Pagar assistant coach Darimosuvito Tokijan was pleased that his side’s cautiousness reaped dividends after watching his side battle to a 1-1 draw against Home United.

“The first game when we played Home United, we were not cautious and we played openly, and we lost 3-0,” he recalled.

“We know the strengths of the Home United players: they are experienced and very fast, that’s why we were playing a bit defensively… to absorb [the pressure] and then work on the counter-attack.”

Tokijan admitted the Jaguars had a “slow” first half, which lead to the hosts having chances to score, but was pleased with their response after the break.

“In the second half we managed to close [them] down early,” he pointed out.

“A lapse of concentration [from us and] they managed to put in one, but you can see we came back [because] we wanted at least a point from this game… We are happy with the point.”

The former Singapore midfielder also acknowledged the impact of substitute Asraf Rashid, who put in the cross for the leveler.

“I think we needed more flankers so we put in Asraf on the left and two or three chances came [from there],” Tokijan said.

“Hafiz [Nor] was doing that on the right [with Ahmad] Latiff overlapping [but] on the left we were lacking [that]. We were one down, and we needed to attack.”

His Home counterpart Lee Lim Saeng was pleased with his team’s dominance, but lamented their failure to take their chances.

“We made so many chances in the first half,” he pointed out after thanking his players for their efforts.

“We always dominate the possession [and] if possible we press with the ball to raise the tempo.

“We didn’t concentrate [in the closing stages and] unfortunately we conceded.”

The ex-Korean international also revealed that right-back Ismail Yunos was taken to the hospital after suffering a knock to the neck with less than half a minute gone, while Juma’at Jantan was taken off at half-time due to hamstring problems that has persisted since his time at former club LionsXII.

Both coaches also touched on the performances of their new signings, whom they believe will get better with time.

“Choi plays in the second division and Kwon in the third; they are young and I'm still helping them to improve in the S.League,” Lee said about new additions Choi Jaewon and Kwon Dakyung.

“I think Kwon was not bad today, it was his first game [and] I think he can show a better [performance] in the next game.”

Tokijan similarly praised midfielder John Wilkinson, who made his debut in their League Cup defeat against Brunei DPMM in their previous game.

“This is his second game [and] he has yet to adapt but he is working hard on it, and he is working with Sazali [Salleh] in the middle [of the pitch],” he pointed out.

“He is an experienced player; he is an asset to the team [and] some sort of motivation to the team. The only thing is [for him] to blend in with the foreigners and the locals quickly.

“I think he didn’t play for quite some time, a few months; this is his second game, he’s there but he needs another two, three games to get the kick of it.”

Home and Tanjong Pagar draw to nobody benefit

It was a game both surely needed to win if they wanted the S-league crown but in the end, neither could do that

But it must be Home who was the more disappointed of the two as they had taken the lead through Firdaus Idros and they had created chances after chances to kill off the game which they never did.

They paid for it as the Jaguars git back on level term late in the game as Ismael Benahmed scored in the 84th minutes.

This is costly as that mean if the top 2 win tomorrow, they will open up a significant gap against both Tanjong Pagar United and Home United.

They may not have enough games left to close the gap as they need the top 2 to lose form together and that may be asking too much.

In another game, Balestier Khalsa came back from 1 goal down to win 3-1 against Courts Young Lions.

Goals from Obadin Aikhena and Qiu Li, who scored a brace, gave the Toa Poyah side the points after Afiq Yunos opener for the Cubs.

Home United
Shahril Jantan (GK) (C), Ismail Yunos (Masrezwan Masturi 4'), Kwon Da-kyung, Sirina Camara, Juma'at Jantan (Indra Sahdan Daud 46'), Sofiyan Abdul Hamid, Hafiz Rahim, Song Ui-young, Firdaus Idros, Jordan Webb, Lee Kwan-woo

Tanjong Pagar United
Aurelien Herisson (GK), Ahmad Latiff, Walid Lounis (C), Anthony Aymard, Zahid Ahmad (Hanafi Salleh 62'), Hafiz Nor, John Wilkinson (Asraf Rashid 80'), Sazali Salleh, Kamel Ramdani, Ismael Benahmed, Monsef Zerka

---------------------

Courts Young Lions
Syazwan Buhari (GK), Al-Qaasimy Rahman, Afiq Yunos, Raihan Rahman (C), Anumanthan Kumar, Shamil Sharif (Ignatius Ang 73'), Stanely Ng (Fareez Farhan 61'), Farhan Rahmat, Afiq Noor, Iqbal Hamid Hussain (Nur Ridho 87'), Sherif El-Masri

Balestier Khalsa
Zaiful Nizam (GK), Yusikandar Yusop, Paul Cunningham (C) (Patrick Paran 89'), Tengku Mushadad, Vitor Borges (Ruhaizad Ismail 61'), Qiu Li (Hamqaamal Shah 91'), Kim Minho, Park Kang Jin, Poh Yi Feng, Syed Thaha, Obadin Aikhena

Johana disappointed to lose to 'ugly' football

Hougang United coach Johana Johari was, in his own words, a frustrated man after watching his side fall to a last-gasp goal in their 1-0 loss to Woodlands Wellington.

Johana made it clear his displeasure at the Rams’ style of football after the game.

“The opponents kept on launching the ball [into our area] and it’s very, very ugly but fortunately for them they managed to regain the situation through our mistakes,” he sighed.

“This is football, the clever team wins. I really do not know what to say. They didn’t put us into any difficult situations [and] we managed to deal with them.

“I just don’t like this kind of football, it is really very ugly. You are just getting the ball and then pump[ing] it forward. We might as well play tennis!

“Overall it is very disappointing for me to lose in such a way.”

Johana did pay tribute to Moon for his will in battling to the last second, which was rewarded with the match-winning strike.

“Moon Soon-Ho, the so-called ‘Terror of the North’ was unable to get loose today but you should salute him for that little moment… [and] his effort in just trying [for a goal],” he said.

His counterpart, Woodlands coach Salim Moin (right), unsurprisingly begged to differ.

“With the hard work [of the players], of course they deserved the win,” he declared.

“It’s a very fair situation: I'm not defensively-oriented, I'm attacking-oriented. So even though Hougang had a few chances to score, my team was very calm. When we were attacking, we had numbers, so I'm very satisfied with the team’s attitude towards the attack.

“I'm very happy with the win, as long as we take three points and we jump [up the table].”

Salim was also pleased with the display of overlapping play from his full-backs, which helped to make their attacks more “fluid”.

“You can see my right full-back [Ang] Zhiwei and left full-back Rosman Sulaiman, they have a free hand to do the overlapping and that was very encouraging to see, [and] I want to see them doing more of this,” he said.

Salim also promised that new signing Theerawekin Seehawong, who was not involved due to some unsettled paperwork, would be more than capable of filling the void left by the departing Khalid Hamdaoui.

“With him around, without him around; the team still performs,” he said about the former Dutch Under-21 star, who lit up the league with his performances.

“I'm looking forward for him [Theerwawekin] to play; he will be much better than Khalid, I guarantee you this.”

Johana admitted that his side could have done with more patience in the second half, which they dominated, but refused to blame his players.

“In the second half, we had major control of the game,” he said, adding that the lack of preparation time due to the haze situation in recent days did not help.

“If only Liam Shotton had been more patient [and] pushed the ball forward, It would have been a goal. With a little bit of speed, [he would have been in a] one-versus-one situation.

“I'm quite frustrated because we’ve failed in our first 15 minutes: we had planned nicely and sadly it didn’t go our way and our opponents managed to steal it.

“Hopefully this will teach them a lesson. We cannot be attacking and not get the win.

“We have to go back and see which areas we need to overcome and hopefully we can prepare ourselves for the forthcoming match next week.

“It is very important to be able to stay focused… We have to calm them down when they are in attack to make the passes much more accurate and [help] the players be quick enough to react.”

Woodlands move into top 6

Woodlands Wellington show there is life after Khalid Hamdaoui as they defeated Hougang United to move into the top 6.

The 32-year-old had been Woodlands most impressive player this season and a reason for many of their impressive performance but with the club and the player unable to come to an agreement on an extnesion on his contract, the Moroccan have leave in the transfer window.

But so what, is the Rams answer although it was an own goal gave them 3 points to move into the top 6 ahead of Harimau Muda.

The Malaysians side lose to Geylang International 2-0 at the Bedok Stadium.

Skipper Jozef Kaplan was once again the difference for the Eagles as he scored once and provided the assist for the second for Fabian Kwok to wrap up the three points.

Geylang International
Joey Sim (GK), Khairulnizam Jumahat, Khayrulhayat Jumat, Norihiro Kawakami, Jalal, Yasir Hanapi (Basil Teo 76'), Fabian Kwok, Taufiq Ghani (Shotaro Ihata 60'), Safwan Rahim (Andrew Tan 46'), Wahyudi Wahid, Jozef Kaplan (C)

---------------------

Hougang United
Fadhil Salim (GK), Syaqir Sulaiman, Lau Meng Meng (C), Thomas Beattie, Shahir Hamzah (Jerome Baker 46'), Azhar Sairudin (Liam Shotton 78'), Fazli Jaffar, Faizal Amir, Nurhilmi Jasni (Fairoz Hasan 85'), Mamadou Diallo, Igor Cerina

Woodlands Wellington
Yazid Yasin (GK), Sunghwan Cho, Shahril Alias, Shariff Samat (Oswind Suriya 87'), Rosman Sulaiman, Atsushi Shimono, Armanizam Dolah (C), Ang Zhiwei, Chang Jo Yoon (Goh Swee Swee 75'), Moon Soon Ho, Fadhil Noh (Taufiq Rahmat 30')

Saturday, June 22, 2013

Teo: Tampines only want youngsters now

Tampines Rovers chairman Teo Hock Seng no longer want marquee players as he target youngsters from now on.

The Eastern giant had signed a marquee player Wanger at the start of the season for S$325000 but the Argentine was a disappointment and left before the start of the June transfer window.

Now they are on the verge of signing 20-year-old Diego Caramelo, who is a striker, and 21-year-old Vitor Ladeiras who is a playermarker.

Teo admits both may still be raw but they are worth the gamble.

'There's no harm.....If they are no good , we'll send them back and we'll look at others," said Teo.

"I'd rather sign young players like these two than big money on a 33-year-old because of his name. Look at Farra (Mustafic Fahruddin) I brought him in when he was 20 (in 2002) and look at him now."

Woodlands get Thai Theerawekin Seehawong

Woodlands Wellington have got Thai Theerawekin Seehawong as replacement for Moroccan Khalid Hamdaoui.

Considering Khalid Hamdaoui form in the S-league, it is big shoe to fill as without the Moroccan in their side Woodlands have not been as impressive.

Theerawekin Seehawong last played in the S-league from 2006 to 2009 for Gombak United where he won the League Cup in 2008.

Home get new Korean

Former Samsung Suwon player, Baek Joo-Hyun, has join the Protectors for the remainder of the season.

He is currently 29 year old and is a midfielder.

Korean keeper, Hong Won Jang who was Coach Lee first choice at the start of the season had been released.

Friday, June 21, 2013

Starhub League Cup postponed to September

Due to the weather conditions caused by the haze and in consultation with StarHub, the title sponsors, both the StarHub League Cup 2013 semi-final matches which were scheduled for tonight, 20th June will be postponed.

As a result of the postponement of tonight’s semi-final matches, the finals scheduled on Sunday, 23rd June will also need to be rescheduled. The semi-final and final matches will now be rescheduled to the period between 2nd and 15th September 2013.

Khalid Hamdaoui to depart Woodlands

It seem negotiation between Woodlands Wellington and Khalid Hamdaoui agent have failed to reach an outcome.

It mean the Moroccan will leave in the transfer window as his contract is up and S-league as well as Woodlands Wellington will lose 1 of the player of the season thus far.

Without the 30-year-old in their side, Woodlands Wellington have not been as impressive and one wonder if they can cope without him.

Rams far better at the spot

Woodlands Wellington reached the semi-final of the Starhub League Cup as they showed they were far better at the spot than Geylang International.

With the game ending 0-0 at full time and even with extra-time, they was no winner it had to go to spot-kick and Woodlands Wellington won it 4-1.

Geylang International
Takuma Ito (GK), Khairulnizam Jumahat, Khayrulhayat Jumat, Norihiro Kawakami, Jalal, Nurhazwan Norasikin (Shotaro Ihata 46'), Safwan Ramlan (Andrew Tan 46'), Taufiq Ghani (Ahmad Khidhir 115'), Basil Teo, Wahyudi Abd Wahid

Woodlands Wellington
Yazid Yasin (GK), Sunghwan Cho, Shahril Alias(C), Shariff Samat, Rosman Sulaiman, Atsushi Shimono, Ang Zhiwei, Oswind Suriya (Armanizam Dolah 115'), Moon Soon Ho, Fadhil Noh (Taufiq Rahmat 55'), Chang Jo Yoon (Goh Swee Swee 76')

DPMM stage remarkable comeback to reach semi

DPMM show why they are League Cup champions as they defended their trophy with an amazing 5-2 victory against Tanjong Pagar who took a two-goal lead into the break thanks to Hafiz Nor and Monsef Zerka.

Surely few will give DPMM much chance that first half display but two minutes after halftime, DPMM pulled one thanks to Joao Moreira and the Portuguese striker then turned provider in the 55th minute when he broke free down the middle and played the ball through to Arturas Rimkevicius, who stabbed his effort past the line.

Having seen their comfortable lead vanish before their very eyes, Tanjong Pagar then had an excellent chance to edge ahead once more three minutes after the hour mark when they were awarded a penalty after Ahmad Latiff had been felled by Tales dos Santos inside the area, only for Zerka to screw his shot wide.

And they were made to pay for that miss as Moreira got his second to put the visitors 3-2 ahead, before Rimkevicius grabbed a second of his own to ensure it was DPMM who had a two-goal lead this time.

Moreira then got his hat-trick to put his side 5-2 up.

Tanjong Pagar United
Aurelien Herisson (GK), Ahmad Latiff, Walid Lounis (send off 70'), Anthony Aymard, Zahid Ahmad, Hanafi Salleh, John Wilkinson (Asraf Rashid 74'), Sazali Salleh, Hafiz Nor, Ismael Benahmed, Monsef Zerka.

Tampines fail to get revenge in Starhub League Cup

Tampines Rovers lost again to Balestier Khalsa, this time in the spotkick, after they drew their match 3-3.

The Tigers open the scoring in the quarter-final at the Toa Payoh Stadium after a left-wing cross from Qiu Li was inexplicably headed by Ismadi Mukhtar into his own net.

However, it did not last long with the visitors equalising six minutes later when Shahdan Sulaiman's freekick was deflected into the path of Aleksandar Duric, who made no mistake in smashing a volley home from six yards out, but Balester reclaimed the lead again when Kim Min-ho skipped past a challenge on the edge of the box and smashed a left-footed strike past Ridhuan Barudin.

Tampines pulled level once more in the second period when debutant Ruzaini Zainal, who came on for Ismadi just before the break, tore down the right and whipped in a cross that was swept home by Khairul Amri, and they took the lead when Jaslee Hatta, in a bid to prevent Shahdan's neat pass from reaching Jamil Ali, could only stab the ball into his own net.

But with nine minutes remaining, Zulkiffli Hassim did brilliantly to create space for himself on the edge of the area with a sharp turn and fired his shot into the bottom corner to make it 3-3 and send the game into extra time.

With neither side able to find a fourth goal in extra-time it went to penalties where Balestier won 4-3.

Balestier Khalsa
Zaiful Nizam (GK), Jaslee Hatta, Yusiskandar Yusop, Obadin Aikhena, Paul Cunningham (C), Syed Thaha, Poh Yi Feng, Park Kang Jin, Tengku Mushadad, Qiu Li, Vitor Borges (Ruhaizad Ismail 68'), Kim Minho(Zulkiffli Hassim 81')

Tampines Rovers
Ridhuan Barudin (GK), Jufri Taha, Kunihiro Yamashita, Seiji Kaneko, Ismadi Mukhtar (Fazil Zailani 45'), Fahrudin Mustafic (C), Imran Sahib, Firdaus Kasman (Khariul Amri 45'(Ahmed Fahmie)), Shahdan Sulaiman, Jamil Ali, Aleksandar Duric

Albirex get revenge in Starhub League Cup

Albirex Niigata (S) reach the Starhub League Cup semi-final as they gained revenge against Home United.

The Protectors had earlier in May knocked out the White Swans in the Singapore Cup and now the Japanese had done the same to them in the League Cup.

Ismail Yunos gave the Protectors the lead in the first half and it appeared to be enough as the clock wined down before Shingo Suzuki scored from the spot with 10 minutes to go.

There was no separating them after that even in extra-time so it went to spot kick and Albirex won it 7-6 as Home scorer Ismail missed his kick.

Home United
Shahril Jantan GK (C), Noh Rahman, Juma'at Jantan, Ismail Yunos, Sirina Camara, Jordan Webb, Firdaus Idros (Choi Jae-Won Choi 46'), Masrezwan Masturi (Syahiran Miswan 68'(Aliff Shafaein 95')), Nor Azli Yusoff, Hafiz Rahim, Song Uiyoung

DPMM get Arturas Rimkevicius

Lithuanian international striker Arturas Rimkevicius have joined DPMM Brunei for the remainder of the 2013 season.

The 30-year-old have come with a decent resume having set a league record 35 goals in A Lyga - Lithuanian football League - season back in 2011-2012 for FK Siauliai.

He has also a wide range of experience having played for FK Tauras Tauragė, FBK Kaunas, FK Liepājas Metalurgs, FK Silute, FK Bekentas, Atlantis FC and Asteras Tripoli F.C.

Rimkevičius has been capped 7 times and scored 3 goals for the National Team.

Friday, June 14, 2013

Ruzaini Zainal is first Warrior to depart in new era

Ruzaini Zainal has become the first Warrior to depart in the Alex Weaver era.

The 24-year-old was a mainstay in the Selvaraj era having played in 10 of the 14 league matches.

But he has been seem as surplus by the Warriors now as they let him depart.

The utility player has moved to champions Tampines Rovers who is looking to reinforce their squad in the transfer window.

Stephane Aurvay and Ivan Bosjnak whacked DPMM Brunei

Both Ivan Bosjnak and who were released by the Bruneian club DPMM Brunei have step forward to the press and whacked the club as they believed they had been unfairly treated by the club.

Ivan Bosjnak, the 2006 World Cup player, expressed his incredulity on the club’s abrupt termination of his contract three months into the season.

For someone who has played alongside the likes of Luka Modric, Verdan Corluka and Bosko Balaban at professional level, Bosjnak revealed his shock at this level of treatment.

“I have never seen anything like this,” muttered the father-of-one.

“It’s weird and crazy. When I speak with them, it’s finished. I want to do something, (but) things happen.

“I just want to say, this is not the way to shoot and ill-treat a player who has serious injury.”

The former club marquee player had only recently recovered from a series of injuries he was afflicted with since joining the sultanate’s sole professional club early this year.

The most serious case was his skull injury that was inflicted during the team’s 3-3 draw with Hougang United in their first home match of the season.

“I have serious injury,” he continued. “I have broken my bone and blood went into my brain and I could have gotten into big trouble.

“Second game I broke my bone (skull). I need to rest for two months. I didn’t do anything and I said I would be back on the field as soon as possible.”

Bosnjak would subsequently make only four appearances for DPMM and last featured in their 0-2 loss to Warriors FC in Brunei before the sudden termination.

He felt the cancellation totally unjustified because he believed he had yet to display his full array of abilities that made him a Croatian international and feature in the World Cup.

“Maybe I went back too soon and I got one more small injury,” he lamented.

“Now two games I play and I build my power up after two months out, my contract was finished.

“When I need peace and a few more games to fully get my physical and power, now this (happens).”

The grievance came as the multiple domestic title winner in his homeland felt DPMM were impatience and unfairly sacked him due to his lack of goals after so few appearances due to injury.

Bosjnak added: “If I had played 12 games and they told me I wasn’t good enough, I would have said, ‘ok, I will now go home.’

“If I am (involved as a coach or technical staff at a) club, I will never release somebody with injury threat. I will give him (time) to come back and get back into shape and in peak condition.

“If after 10 games (he is still) no good, then he goes.”

The former Croatia Zagreb and Genk forward expressed his exasperation in the manner his fellow new imports were selected and the near-impossible task his compatriot coach Verjan Simunic has in repeating the solid run of results this season as he had last year through these new faces.

“You don’t buy five foreigners (simply) because you buy five foreigners. But that’s what they did,” he added.

“Because you put them on field and they cannot play together. You have to check which kind of player fits then you sign the player who can bring something to the team.

“For example like me, my style of play requires a good playmaker. (But) here they just select imports because they like them, then coach (Simunic) needs to make magic that we can play good, (which is) not easy.”

Despite his trials in Brunei, Bosjnak is not looking to hang up his boots just yet. He has revealed his intention to either continue his career in Southeast Asia, preferably Singapore, or return home to gradually wind up his career.

“I don’t know and don’t care what happened because of the way my contract was (abruptly) cancelled,” stated the former Croatia attacker.

“I am a professional (player) for twenty years and if for them, doing this is professional they need to work like this. I cannot say nothing. This is football here and this is not the only club in the world.

“Now I will be here five more days to settle everything and speak to my agent. Now I am full healthy and full ready, I will look for a new club.”

As for Guadeloupe international Stephane Auvray, he is tstill angry wih both the club and coach Vjeran Simunic.

The former New York Red Bulls player was blamed for the two goals conceded by the team late in the match in their 4-2 win over Geylang International on April 3, in which Auvray came on for Adi Said in the 61st minute. Auvray was subsequently dropped by coach Vjeran Simunic for their next game against Tanjong Pagar United.

It was reported that Simunic further humiliated the 31-year-old by referring to him as "Bob Marley", during an interview with a local media, in relation to the hippie lifestyle of the musician.

“To be honest, I still can’t believe his comment and in my opinion, it is quite distasteful and unprofessional," Auvray stated.

“I was very offended by the statement and I totally understand that the staff could be unsatisfied with me as a player, whether I agree or not.

“My name is Stephane Aurvay, [I am] a professional footballer and I want to be treated as such.”

Auvray also disagreed with the judgment of "poor performance" passed on him, and felt that he has performed at his best for the team.

“About my performances, all that matters are the facts," he asserted.

“I was recruited as a central midfielder and played the first three games of the season in that position.
“Of course like any other player I made mistakes, but at the end, after those three games I see an undefeated team.”

“A goal-less game against Home United, a 3-3 draw at home to Hougang United - after we missed two penalties - and a victory in our third game [against Courts Young Lions]."

While Auvray remains without a club after being officially released by Brunei’s only professional club, the former Caen youth player is not too worried about his future as he is confident of his reputation with clubs in Europe.

“I have always been very professional and respectful in all the clubs I have played for," he claimed.

“Therefore I have a good image in France and on the American continent. My agent and I will now start to consider new opportunities.”

Singapore beat Myanmar and Laos

Singapore won their friendly against Myanmar at Yangon as they defeated the home side 2-0 with goals from Shaiful Esah and Khairul Amri.

Singapore followed up that as they won their second international in a week as they defeated Laos 5-2 after strikes from Indra Sahdan, Hariss Harun and Safuwan Baharudin gave them a 3-0 lead at half-time

But they lost their way in the second period as Laos pulled 2 goals back before Gabriel Quak and Hafiz Rahim make the game safe with their goals.

Vs Myanmar

Singapore
Izwan Mahbud (GK), Shaiful Esah (Hafiz Abu Sujad), Safuwan Baharudin, Baihakki Khaizan (Shariff Samat), Faritz Hameed, Qiu Li (Sufian Anuar), Isa Halim, Hariss Harun, Shahdan Sulaiman, Khairul Amri (Noh Rahman), Indra Sahdan Daud (Adam Swandi)

------------------

Vs Laos

Singapore
Hassan Sunny (GK), Shaiful Esah (Rosman Sulaiman), Safuwan Baharudin, Baihakki Khaizan, Faritz Hameed, Khairul Amri (Gabriel Quak), Hariss Harun, Isa Halim (Hafiz Nor), Shahril Ishak, Qiu Li (Noh Rahman), Indra Sahdan Daud (Hafiz Rahim)

Selvaraj step down and Alex Weaver take charge

Selvaraj, who took over at the helm of the Warriors at the end of last season, has step down after their final hope of silverware this season took a real blow on Sunday with a 2-1 defeat to DPMM FC in their opening Starhub League Cup Group D game

The former Singapore international has struggled to get his side to fire and has been under much pressure all season long.

At present, the eight-time S.League champions are languishing third from bottom in the league and were unceremoniously booted out of the RHB Singapore Cup after losing 2-0 to Philippine debutants Global.

Warriors chairman Lam Shiu Tong confirmed the club have accepted the resignation and stressed that Selvaraj's efforts had been satisfactory in all areas apart from their on-field performances.

"We sat down and discussed the situation and we accepted his [Selvaraj's] decision as we felt it was good for the club at this moment. We respect his decision and agreed it was beneficial for both parties.

"The sad truth is that, in football, you can put in a lot of hard work but it may not commensurated by the results. And a lot of people are looking at results.

"He [Selvaraj] knows that he has given his best from the time he started until now. He has been very committed to his job and worked a good relationship with his players.

"All these things take time and effort and he's certainly put on a listening ear to the club and was open to ideas. We were satisfied with his performance in those areas.

"Unfortunately, the performances and hard results just weren't coming. That's one of the reasons why this decision has been delayed till now.

"Had we not been satisfied with the other areas, this perhaps might not have been his decision, but ours much earlier."

The Choa Chu Kang club have moved to appoint former Hougang coach Alex Weaver as coach and the Englishman was relieved to put his Hougang United time behind him and is eager to push on at his new club.

Weaver had been "rested" from his post at Hougang by chairman Bill Ng in April and has since been watching the S-League from the stands.

It is little wonder now that the Englishman is looking forward to his new assignment and he feels that with the support from the players and management, the future looks bright for the Warriors.

“I am excited and [it is] a good challenge for me with the negative momentum the club has had," he said.

"I think it’s the right challenge for the club as well to make this fresh change and hopefully we can see that reaction [from the team] immediately this season.

“I am relieved with this new appointment but I do not want to go on too much about the Hougang experience; it was not the best for me.

“We are certainly building for the future and that is what the club has brought me in to do.

“Fresh, new and different ideas and hopefully we can build a good end to the season and go on to the next season and really push and move the club forward.

“I will meet with the players and talk to them about their experiences with the club and also discuss about the trainings, matches and formations.”

Weaver certainly has done his homework, having observed the Warriors' performances and absorbing hearsay from the footballing fraternity of the Warriors dressing room.

“I have seen and heard a lot externally but bringing in a new approach to training and obviously depending on what I find out about what is going on this season, it might just mean letting the players express themselves a bit more or it might mean providing discipline, tactically," he explained.

“With the foreign and local players that we have got, there are good creative attacking players and we have proved that the team can score goals and [we] just need to stop conceding at the other end.”

It was clear that the 36-year-old has been poring over the Warriors history books as he spoke of the club's past successes, and he believes that he will be able to deliver and propel the club up the league table.

“I am very proud to be here as they won the league title eight times, [and the] Singapore Cup [four times] and just the fact that it is sort of a military organization, I think that means it is very much a part of Singapore and possibly more than just a club," he said.

“We are only five points off the top six and with the new format within the league, that is what every club is looking for and I feel it is realistic [to move to top half of the table].”

Starhub League Cup Quarter-final

15 June(Sat)
Home United vs Albirex Niigata(S)
Balestier Khalsa vs Tampines Rovers

16 June(Sun)
Geylang International vs Woodlands Wellington
Tanjong Pagar vs Brunei DPMM

Plate Semi Finals

17 June(Mon)
Harimau Muda vs Hougang United

18 June(Tue)
Courts Young Lions vs Warriors

Starhub League Cup Group D Results

Balestier Khalsa 2-1 DPMM Brunei

Scorers: Paul Cunningham 80, Obadin Aikhena 89 / Shahrazen Said 45

Balestier Khalsa
Zakariah Nerani (GK), Yusiskandar Yusop, Hamqaamal Shah (Zulkiffli Hassim 66'), Paul Cunningham (C), Tengku Mushadad (Vitor Borges 66'), Jaslee Hatta, Kim Minho, Park Kang Jin, Syed Thaha Obadin Aikhena, Patrick Paran (Ruhaizad Ismail 46')
------------------

DPMM Brunei 2-1 Warriors FC

Scorers: Shahrulrizal Abd Rahman 20, Shahrazen Said 53 / Mislav Karoglan 15

Warriors FC
Hyrulnizam Juma'at (GK), Kazuyuki Toda (C), Marin Vidosevic, Zulfadli Zainal Abidin, Abdil Qaiyyim, Yus Henzry, Tatsuro Inui, Shimpei Sakurada, Shi Jiayi, Mislav Karoglan, Hafsyar Farkhan
------------------

Warriors FC 2-2 Balestier Khalsa

Scorers: Mislav Karoglan 8, Inui Tatsuro 77 / Kim Minho 19, Park Kang Jin 40

Warriors FC
Hyrulnizam Juma'at (GK), Zulfadli Zainal Abidin (C), Abdil Qaiyyim, Marin Vidosevic, Matthew Abraham (Syaiful Iskandar 74'), Yus Henzry, Tatsuro Inui, Shukor Zailan, Dharham Aziz, Mislav Karoglan, Hafsyar Farkhan (Sadiq Sanusi 82')

Balestier Khalsa
Zakariah Nerani (GK), Yusiskandar Yusop, Paul Cunningham (C), Tengku Mushadad, Jaslee Hatta (Ruhaizad Ismail 62'), Shafuan Sutohmoh, Kim Minho, Park Kang Jin, Poh Yi Feng (Vitor Borges 79'), Obadin Aikhena, Qiu Li (Ridwan Jamil 87')

Table

Balestier Khalsa 4pts +1 *
DPMM Brunei 3pts 0 *
Warriors FC 1pt -1

* Qualified for Quarter-final

Starhub League Cup Group C Results

Hougang United 0-0 Albirex Niigata (S)

Hougang United
Fadhil Salim (GK), Syaqir Sulaiman, Lau Meng Meng (C), Thomas Beattie, Shahir Hamzah, Azhar Sairudin (Hasree Zais 87'), Jerome Baker (Basit Hamid 77'), Fazli Jaffar, Faizal Amir, Nurhilmi Jasni, Mamadou Diallo
--------------------

Albirex Niigata (S) 0-0 Geylang International

Geylang International
Takuma Ito (GK), Khairulnizam Jumahat, Khayrulhayat Jumat, Norihiro Kawakami, Jalal, Yasir Hanapi (H Panuwat 84'), Fabian Kwok, Jozef Kaplan (C), Nurhazwan Norasikin (Andrew Tan 46'), Taufiq Ghani, Wahyudi Abd Wahid (Ahmad Khidhir 74')
--------------------

Geylang International 2-1 Hougang United

Scorers: Jozef Kaplan 44, 78 / Baker Jerome 58

Geylang International
Takuma Ito (GK), Khairulnizam Jumahat, Khayrulhayat Jumat, Norihiro Kawakami, Jalal, Yasir Hanapi, Fabian Kwok, Jozef Kaplan (C), Nurhazwan Norasikin (Andrew Tan 63'), Taufiq Ghani (Shotaro Ihata 65'), Wahyudi Abd Wahid

Hougang United
Fadhil Salim (GK),Syaqir Sulaiman, Lau Meng Meng (C), Thomas Beattie (Liam Shotton 85'), Jerome Baker, Shahir Hamzah, Azhar Sairudin, Fazli Jaffar, Faizal Amir, Nurhilmi Jasni, Mamadou Diallo

Table

Geylang International 4pts +1 *
Albirex Niigata (S) 2pts 0 *
Hougang United 1pts -1

* Qualified for Quarter-final

Starhub League Cup Group B results

Tanjong Pagar 3-0 Courts Young Lions

Scorers: Kamel Ramdani 5, Monsef Zerka 77, 79

TPUFC
Aurelien Herisson (GK), Anthony Aymard (Zulfadhli Emran 84'), Walid Lounis (C), Asraf Rashid, Ahmad Latiff, Kamel Ramdani, Sazali Salleh, K Vikraman (Hanafi Salleh 76'), Ismael Benahmed (Abdul Rahim 88'), Monsef Zerka, Zahid Ahmad

CYL
Syazwan Buhari (GK), Al-Qaasimy Rahman, Sheikh Abdul Hadi, Firman Hanif, Raihan Rahman (C), Anumanthan Kumar, Fareez Farhan, Farhan Rahmat (Shamil Sharif 88'), Nur Ridho (Faiz Salleh 83'), Afiq Noor (Iqbal Hamid Hussain 64'), Sherif El-Masri
------------------

Tampines Rovers 2-1 Tanjong Pagar

Scorers: Aleksandar Duric 9, 29 / Ismael Benahmed 93

Tampines Rovers
Sasa Dreven (GK), Jufri Taha, Anaz Hadee (Kunihiro Yamashita 55'), Shaiful Esah (Shahdan Sulaiman 81'), Seiji Kaneko, Ismadi Mukhtar, Fahrudin Mustafic (C), Imran Sahib, Firdaus Kasman, Ahmed Fahmie (Jamil Ali 61'), Aleksandar Duric

TPUFC
Aurelien Herisson (GK), Azhar Ahmad, Walid Lounis (C), Asraf Rashid (Hanafi Salleh 61'), Ahmad Latiff, Kamel Ramdani, Hafiz Nor (Abdul Rahim 85'), Sazali Salleh, Ismael Benahmed, Monsef Zerka, Zahid Ahmad
------------------

Tampines Rovers 2-3 Courts Young Lions

Scorers: Ahmed Fahmie 23, Jamil Ali 43 / Afiq Yunos 62, Ignatius Ang 79, Mohamad Sahil 93

Tampines Rovers
Ridhuan Barudin (GK), Jufri Taha, Kunihiro Yamashita, Seiji Kaneko (Shannon Stephen 84'), Ismadi Mukhtar, Fahrudin Mustafic (C), Imran Sahib, Firdaus Kasman (Shahdan Sulaiman 61'), Jamil Ali, Ahmed FahmieAleksandar Duric

CYL
Syazwan Buhari (GK), Al-Qaasimy Rahman, Afiq Yunos, Anumanthan Kumar, Shamil Sharif (Tajeli Salamat 88'), Stanely Ng (Ignatius Ang 76'), Farhan Rahmat, Raihan Rahman (C), Afiq Noor, Nuhaymin Salim (Sahil Suhaimi 57'), Sherif El-Masri

Table

TPUFC 3pts +2 *
Tampines Rovers 3pts 0 *
CYL 3pts -2

* Qualified for quarter-final

Starhub League Cup Group A results

Harimau Muda 0-3 Home United

Scorers: Sirina Camara 55, Aliff Shafaein 60, Song Uiyoung 76

Home United
Shahril Jantan GK (C), Sofiyan Abdul Hamid, Juma'at Jantan, Ismail Yunos, Sirina Camara, Jordan Webb, Firdaus Idros (Syahiran Miswan 76'), Masrezwan Masturi (Haziq Azman 68'), Nor Azli Yusoff, Fukui Masato (Aliff Shafaein 46'), Song Uiyoung
--------------------

Woodlands Wellington 3-2 Admiralty Football Club

Scorers: Chang Jo Yoon 50, Oswind Suriya Rosayro 82, Chang Jo Yoon 86 / Andrew John Hutcheon 4, Mohamad Helmi Mohamad 37

Woodlands Wellington
Yazid Yasin (GK), Sunghwan Cho, Shahril Alias (C), Hidhir Hasbiallah (Ridhwan Osman 82'), Khalid Hamdaoui, Farouq Farkhan (Moon Soon Ho 40'), Atsushi Shimono, Oswind Suriya, Ang Zhiwei, Chang Jo Yoon, Fadhil Noh (Goh Swee Swee 72')
----------------------

Home United 5-0 Admiralty Football Club

Scorers: Jordan Webb 6,Ismail Yunos 15, Firdaus Bin Mohamed Idros 22, Masrezwan Masturi 58, Aliff Shafaein 65

Home United
Shahril Jantan GK (C), Sofiyan Abdul Hamid, Juma'at Jantan, Ismail Yunos, Sirina Camara (Sim Teck Yi 70'), Aliff Shafaein, Jordan Webb (Haziq Azman 70'), Firdaus Idros, Masrezwan Masturi, Nor Azli Yusoff (Syahiran Miswan 46'), Song Uiyoung
--------------------

Woodlands Wellington 1-0 Harimau Muda

Scorers: Oswind Suriya 22,

Woodlands Wellington
Yazid Yasin (GK), Sunghwan Cho, Shahril Alias(C), Atsushi Shimono, Taufiq Rahmat, Oswind Suriya, Ridhwan Osman (Armanizam Dolah 77'), Ang Zhiwei, Chang Jo Yoon (Goh Swee Swee 92), Moon Soon Ho, Fadhil Noh (Farizal Basri 82')
--------------------

Home United 2-0 Woodlands Wellington

Scorers: Masrezwan Masturi 42, Aliff Shafaein 53

Home United
Shahril Jantan (GK), Sofiyan Abdul Hamid, Juma'at Jantan, Noh Rahman (C), Ismail Yunos, Sirina Camara, Aliff Shafaein (Lee Kwan Woo 84'), Hafiz Rahim, Jordan Webb (Syahiran Miswan 56'), Firdaus Idros, Indra Sahdan (Masrezwan Masturi 35')

Woodlands Wellington
Nazri Sabri (GK)(Yazid Yasin 47'), Shahril Alias (C), Shariff Samat, Rosman Sulaiman, Atsushi Shimono, Farizal Basri (Armanizam Dolah 53' (Farouq Farkhan 84')), Ridhwan Osman, Ang Zhiwei, Chang Jo Yoon, Goh Swee Swee, Moon Soon Ho
--------------------

Admiralty Football Club 1-2 Harimau Muda

Scorers: Andrew John Hutcheon 7 / Iskandar Hanapiah 42, Faizat Ghazli 64

Table

Home United 9pts +10 *
Woodlands Wellington 6pts 0 *
Harimau Muda 3pts -3
Admiralty Football Club 0pts -7

* Qualified for Quarter-final

Sunday, June 9, 2013

End of Fukui Masato?

It seem Japanese forward Fukui Masato position at Home United may be in doubt as Home United had approach Vitor Borges before the Brazilian choose Balestier Khalsa.

The Japanese forward had always been taken out early in games he started and he has even missed a few games when not injured or suspended.

This spell trouble as that mean Home United head coach Paul Lee does not trust the 24-year-old and considering the fact Lee has always maintained he believed foreigners should be 1 notch if not 2 above local, how long can Fukui last in that position.

Also he was the main reason for Home United first 'incident' this year when assistant coach Akihiro Nakamura departed the club.

Tigers signed ex-player Vitor Borges

Balestier Khalsa chairman S Thavaneson is looking forward to the start of the second half of the 2013 Great Eastern-Yeo's S-League.

He believes he has scored a coup after the Tigers completed the signing of Brazilian striker Vitor Borges just after the mid-season transfer window opened on Monday.

Borges is in his second stint at the Toa Payoh Stadium having played for Balestier for 18 months back in 2010.

While he scored only seven league goals during that period, Thava is excited over Borges' return.

Thava explained: "When he was first with us, he was just 21, young and raw, and it was the first time he was playing in Asia.

"Now that he's played in Indonesia, I think this change of environment (back to Singapore) will do him good.
"In fact, he wasn't that bad in 2010.

He did everything right, but just lacked that finishing touch his game needed."

Standing at 1.85m and weighing 87kg, Borges, 24, is built like a tank.

He looks like the sort of striker who could give opposition defenders nightmares aAnd he seems to have refined his finishing ability.

Since leaving Balestier, he has scored four goals for Hougang United in six months, before bagging 12 in 19 games for Indonesian side PSIS Semarang.

Borges is confident he can flourish and show Balestier fans his true ability.

He insists he is a better player now, saying: "I've now played four years in Asia and I've had the chance to play alongside and against many experienced players.

"I've learnt many things and I always continue to work hard.

"That's why I think I can do a lot better now. Soon, people can see for themselves."

Thava added: "He flew in at 10.30pm on Sunday and wanted to take part in training the next afternoon, when he could have had a rest.

"That shows how professional and hardworking this boy is."

Borges has also improved his command of English - he hardly spoke a word in 2010 - and now can even converse in Bahasa Indonesia.

The 24-year-old replaced Korean forward Jung Hee Bong who was released by the club.

Stags looking at Ahmad Latiff

TODAY paper has reported Tampines Rovers is looking at bringing back Tanjong Pagar Ahmad Latiff back to the club.

It seem Teo Hock Seng, Tampines chairman, had been impressed by Ahmad Latiff continued good performances at the Queenstown club.

Thus the Stags are willing to negotiate a transfer fee with the Jaguars so he can moved during the June window as Ahmad Latiff has reportedly signed a 2-year-old contract with Tanjong Pagar.

Wilkinson is a Jaguar

Ex-international John Wilkinson has joined Tanjong Pagar United for the remainder of the season with a right to extend it to next season.

The 33-year-old has been back in Singapore since he depart I-league club Salgaocar back in May and he had tweeted two weeks ago he was negotiating with a local club .

It can now be revealed it was with Tanjong Pagar United.

He has won 4 S-League crowns and 2 Singapore Cup in his career.

DPMM linked with Lithuanian international

Lithuanian international striker Arturas Rimkevicius is reportedly set to join DPMM Brunei.

The 30-year-old set a league record 35 goals in A Lyga - Lithuanian football League - season back in 2011-2012 for FK Siauliai.

He has also a wide range of experience having played for FK Tauras Tauragė, FBK Kaunas, FK Liepājas Metalurgs, FK Silute, FK Bekentas, Atlantis FC and Asteras Tripoli F.C.

Rimkevičius has been capped 7 times and scored 3 goals for the National Team.

DPMM signed ex-player Rodrigo Tosi

DPMM Brunei have make their first foreign signing in the June transfer window as they FC pick up Brazilian Rodrigo Tosi the day the window opened on Monday.

The midfielder was with Iranian club Esteghlal but did not lanced up for the club often having only make 9 league appearances.

But the Brazilian had a previously successful stint with the club during their 2005/06 Malaysian Super League season and it was enough to seal the deal.