Lion City Cup

Guess what? Went to Toa Payoh Stadium today to catch a football match (of the above cup) between Singapore and Brunei for the Under 16s. I'm not the football crazy kind, never was, but thought that I shall be nice and accompanied my die-hard-soccer-fan-husband to see the match. One of his students is a player in the Singapore team, so we went there to support. I was surprised to see a crowd at the spectators stand. We also spotted Fandi Ahmad among the spectators.

The mood there was quite lukewarm, but whenever Singapore attacked, the fever would go up a little and you can sense some excitement. Singapore attacked many times but just didn't manage to ram the ball in. Finally, towards the end of the first half, the captain (number 17, I forgot his name) scored the first goal. Then, as if catching on to the "winning wind', he scored another goal during the 2 minutes of extra time. The first half ended at 2-nil.

During the break, half the stadium emptied (such was the support Singaporeans gave the youngsters). I thought that they went out to get some drinks but it turned out that these people never returned. My husband turned to look at me, and seeing the question mark in his eyes, I said we'd stay for the second half.

The players in yellow jersey were comparatively smaller in size, with our red lions towering above them. However, their advantage was that they were fast and nimble. Our players, although taller, did not run as fast as them. Nevermind about speed. Football is about skills right? The lions kept their form and scored a third goal. I smsed Kumari telling her that I was at Toa Payoh (since she stayed in the area) and told her the score. She replied a few minutes later. By then it was 4-nil. Just as I was composing my reply to her, the Singapore team scored a fifth goal! It was a really triumphant victory. Spectators cheered.

I'm not a football person, but today, I did enjoy the game. Well done, kids! Keep it up!