Living On Adrenaline
Player-coach
Luis Alcántara, who made a rare start and had a near-flawless performance at left-back, was the first to admit that a big win wasn't an expected outcome. "We were prepared to go down fighting, and if someone had offered a draw before kickoff I would have grabbed it. It was a superb defensive performance against one of the best attacks in Singapore, coupled with fantastic finishing. We won't see many examples of this kind of match."
Tuan-Mu revealed that, for the first time, players were indifferent to starting a match. "Quite a few of the lads privately confessed that they wouldn't mind sitting this one out, just in case they got injured or sent off and therefore miss the finals. It wasn't an issue for me, of course. In any case, we got through it without incident."
In contrast, Cup final opponents FC RaZer Infernus likewise fielded an understrength side but were wiped out 0-5 by Cantik FC at home. "Say what you will, but being slaughtered like that at home in an official game isn't going to help confidence," Grilled fan Yeo Kim Wan noted. "RaZer minimized risk by playing only two or three regulars, but in the end no-loss turned out to be the biggest loss of all."
Winning Eleven's dramatic collapse continued as they were cleaned out, also by a 0-5 scoreline, by Titus Titanium IV. Injury problems were compounded as top defender Reinold Mönkhof was carried out after just 29 minutes, and both Hatt and ChAmPzz are now only one game from the leaders.
They were not the only S-League team in trouble, though, as much-storied Team Singapore sensationally conceded a walkover to Hattrick all the time, fielding just eight men - one below the minimum required. The local footballing community waits with bated breath for an announcement from the once overall champions, coming just a fortnight after Division Two team Imperial Legion withdrew from their league.