"Etoile Ultras" with their distinctive banner on matchdays"Etoile's sit out is not a surprise for
me."
That was the first comment by Mr Pierre Foucaud, the group leader of "Etoile Ultras" - the
independent Etoile FC's fan club on the 2010 S.League Champions' decision to sit out of the
upcoming 2012 season.
There he was sitting on a chair inside the venue hall almost unnoticed when I first arrived at the
Singapore Sports School in Woodlands (which I nearly lost my way because of a misguided information
of an apps on my phone).
You see Brunei DPMM coach Vjeran Simunic (pictured above or left depend on your browser setting)
would normally tucked in his trademark attire entirely in black colour and top off with a black
baseball cap embossed with the DPMM logo on match day.
- S.League Match - Hougang Utd 2-1 Etoile FC (4/9/11)
My setting at Hougang Stadium - 1/250, f5.6 (default), ISO3200 set another low in my S.League foto
shoot -_-
Hougang Utd upstaged defending champions Etoile FC 2-1 at the Hougang Stadium.
In this rescheduled fixture, the Cheetahs took the lead through Vitor Borges in the first half
before Selim Kaabi leveled in the half.
The beauty of the Cup competition lives on in the RHB Singapore Cup as the "Final Four" - Etoile
FC, Home United, Albirex Niigata (Singapore) and Hougang United fought till the very end to see the
emerging of the Protectors and the White Swans for the 19th November date at JBS.
Fred Mendy (pictured above right) scored against his old team to send HUFC to the finalIn both
first leg fixtures of the "Final Four" saw both the Stars and White Swans agonizingly forgo their
lead in the dying moments of those matches to see their respective opponents - Home United and
Hougang United crawled back to level terms to square off the encounter.
The word "stability" is probably never exist in the dictionary of the league authority with the
latest news that broke out this morning (screen-grab below) that suggested the possibility of
2009's League Cup winners DPMM of Brunei of rejoining the league.
I guess we shouldn't be too surprise of this latest development.
- S.League Match- Balestier Khalsa 0-1 Tampines Rovers (6/8/11)
Ahmad Latiff (pictured above in yellow jersey) delivered the sucker punch at the last kick of the
game to help Tampines Rovers beat Balestier Khalsa 1-0 at Toa Payoh Stadium.
While the Tigers had a Mark McGough's goal disallowed which they claimed the Aussie's effort had
crossed the goal line before Lions defender Fahrudin Mustafic cleared for safety in the first half.
Wasn't able to attend any of the Singapore Cup matches over the few days until today due to work
commitments and ultimately saw the lack of update of the blog until this.
As the result of the concluding matches played over the past few days saw the emerging of the
"FINAL FOUR" for one of the holy grails in Singapore football.
As I was filing my match report for the earlier 3rd-4th placing match between Home United and
Tampines Rovers that I wasn't paying much attention during the League Cup final match between
Hougang United and Albirex Niigata (Singapore).
But what I did realize was Canadian winger Jordan Webb was the man of the night for the wrong
reason when he came so close to end the trophy drought of the under-achievers in the dying moments
of the second half of the extra time, before agonizingly saw his spot-kick saved by White Swans'
keeper Yoshito Matsushita that gifted the Japanese their first ever title since joining S.
(Media Information from the Football Association of Singapore)
Johan Gouttefangeas - the founding chairman of Etoile steps down (file picture)
SINGAPORE, 24 June 2011: Mr Zainudin Nordin, President of Football Association of Singapore
said: "We would like to express our appreciation to Mr Johan Gouttefangeas for his contributions to
Singapore football.
With Andy Brouwer of "Kingdom of Football" (many thanks to "LigaSingapura" for the shot taken)It's
always nice to meet up with regional football bloggers and especially if they are happen to be here
in Singapore like Mr Andy Brouwer, the man behind the blog "Kingdom of Football".
I actually have follow Andy's blog on Cambodian football for a while and glad to gather some
insights on the Khmer football scene via his blog postings.
Last season, blogger Paul Mavroudis sent me his preview on his beloved South Melbourne FC's maiden
Singapore Cup campaign and this time round he took the initiative to pen his thoughts before the
Hellas are due to meet Albirex Niigata (Singapore) this coming Sunday at the Jalan Besar
Stadium.
Many thanks to Paul for his contribution.
(Media Information from the Football Association of Singapore)
- FAS Disciplinary Committee to convene on Thursday, 16 June 2011
SINGAPORE, 06 JUNE 2011: The FAS Disciplinary Committee will adjourn to Thursday, 16 June
2011 at 7.00pm (Jalan Besar Stadium conference room) with regards to the incident at the Great
Eastern – YEO'S S.
(This entry is formulated with extracts from the press release issued by the Football Association
of Singapore)
(Pictured above) The result of the draw
Defending champions Bangkok Glass confirmed the earlier quibbles of not coming back to defend the
RHB Singapore Cup they won last year, while last season's runners-up Tampines Rovers will face
Geylang United in a "eastern derby" showdown.
In less than 24 hours the pole position of the league standings changes three times in the Round 6
of the 2010 S.League campaign.
Prior to the "Uniform Derby" at CCK, Home United were holding that position on top of their
unbeaten 25-game unbeaten run, only to see that record shattered by their arch-rivals, SAFFC with
their former protege, Indra Sahdan Daud playing a pivotal role in created and scoring a goal along
the way to place the Warriors at the top for the first time this year.
Over the last weekend, I posted two youtube clips (below) of those visiting Malaysians who
travelled across to the Causeway to catch the "Harimau" in action against defending S.League
champions Etoile FC in a friendly match with proceed being channelled to the Japan quake relief
effort.
Visiting Malaysian fans singing (part 1)
Visiting Malaysian fans singing (part 2)
These visiting fans announced their unexpected arrival at the stadium amid the match between Courts
Young Lions and Albirex Niigata (S) with their chanting, singing and drumming that took everyone
inside the ground by surprise.
(Media Information from the Football Association of Singapore)
(Pictured above left-right) Singapore Red Cross Director of Operations Mr Lim Theam Poh,
Co-Chairman of S.League Cares Fundraising Committee Mr Zulkifli Baharuddin, FAS President Zainudin
Nordin, Hidetoshi Nakata, Co-Chairman of S.
(Picture above)Bruno Castanheira (left) holds symbol logo for supporting the disaster, while
Tatsuro Inui has message board for people in Japan, which is given by children of MULBERRY LEARNING
CENTRE LLP which is located at 3rd floor of Jurong East Stadium. (picture credit: Albirex
Niigata-S)
As part of their effort to help their fellow countrymen who are being devastated by the earthquake
and tsunami that wrecked Japan last week, Albirex Niigata (Singapore) had announced that all
proceeds from their match against defending champions, Etoile FC on 17th March will be donated to
the charity causes back in Japan.
When the reigning TPL champions Muangthong United make their return to the Jalan Besar Stadium
tomorrow to take Tampines Rovers, I expect it would be a fiery AFC Cup showdown.
After all, when the "Twin Qilins" were here last February, they were crushed out of a chance to
make it to the continent's biggest club tournament - Asian Champions League (ACL) proper, following
their loss to the Singapore's SAFFC on penalties.
Locals' pride was salvaged in the last 10minutes of the game as Tampines Rovers came from behind to
snatch a dramatic 2-1 win over the recently-revamped defending champions Etoile FC in the season
opener - The Charity Shield at the Jalan Besar Stadium.
Things didn't start off too pretty for the Stags as they found themselves with a goal down from a
spot-kick from Etoile in less than 20 minutes.
(Media Information from the Football Association of Singapore)
SINGAPORE, 7 February 2011: The 2011 S.League Charity Shield will pit the Great Eastern – YEO'S
S.League defending champions Etoile FC and RHB Singapore Cup runners-up Tampines Rovers at the
Jalan Besar Stadium this Wednesday, 9 February at 7.
