This author is currently on hiatus for the ignoble cause of mugging. The public is advised to remain calm, as this routine protocol has been shown to have no effect on one's violent tendencies in 96% of cases.
| Sunday, February 04, 2007 |
|
Before we do anything, let's rejoice that Singapore beat Thailand and is now the champion for ASEAN Cup twice in a row. Yay! =) Now, let's get into the nitty-gritty details. I can't comment on the first half of the match since i didn't watch it, but i saw the replay of Thailand's first goal and i must admit its quite nicely done. Sweet goal there. However, from what i watched in the second half, the Singapore Lions kinda sucked. Their ball control was just lousy, either ramming the ball out or allowing the Thais to intercept their passes, thus the latter held possession of the ball most of the time. Even my father remarked, "Walao eh, Singapore deserves to lose." Not that the Thais were that good either, but they were at least somewhat better than the Lions. Both teams wasted a crap lot of scoring opportunities, though. Then came the lucky Singaporean goal in the 82nd minute by Amri. Pursued by two Thai defenders, he managed to blast the ball into the net even before the goalkeeper could move. But then again, luck is a major factor in everything, so kudos there, Amri, for doing Singapore proud. The Thais tried desperately to slot in another goal in teh remaining 10 minutes or so, but unfortunately time was jsut not on their side, even with the referee handing out two yellow cards for wasting time. Ugh. So the match ended at a 1-1 draw, although Singapore won with a 3-2 aggregate. And the papers tmr will be splashed with headlines over how spectacular the Lions were, how great the match was, and how the Thais were sore losers. Again, patriotism and governmental forces at work. But looking at the perfomance of Singapore today, I am worried about the sports scene in Singapore. Yeah, the Government does try to groom local sports talent, rewarding altheletes with generous cash handouts, upgrading sports facilities, announcing ambitious plans like Goal 2010 and whatnot. But the local talent pool is simply too small. Look at it this way: it's just 3 years to the target of Goal 2010. Till now, i don't even see Singapore even qualifying for the World Cup, much less making it to the finals. Perhaps the gahmen is hoping that the opponent fouls in the penalty box and the referee awards a penalty to Singapore every single match. Then perhaps that dream may just come true. |
'Twas teh winnar at 10:41 am.
