Thach Of Delight
Chad Thach would become the new hotness of the Singapore national team, as he again struck a brace to lead the Lions to a 2-1 win over Kyrgyzstan, at the Stadium Nasional Singapura.
The friendly had attracted over 45000 loyalists, mostly local, who would be briefly silenced when Sezim Meykulov bundled the opener past goalie Aw Teck Siong in the 17th minute, after he had blocked Aytkul Ahmetov's powered header from a corner. No problem, as Singapore broke through the right thanks to frunzelax's Jayadevan Satarkar on the restart, developing into an instant leveller with
Chad Thach positioning himself in just the right spot for a simple finish.
Satarkar and Kyrgyzstan's Bayjigit Elmar Uulu then exchanged potshots about the 24th minute, with Thach shackled by Ertoshtuk Akayev from finding an opening about five minutes later. Chynybek Jooshbayev of Jogorku Liga leaders FC Olgoi Khorkhoi would be the visitors' most dangerous player as he threatened Aw several times, but the glory would be Thach's as he volleyed home from captain Kok Jun Leng's left-sided cross, 65 minutes in.
Thach could barely keep his emotions under wrap as he basked in the adulation of the fans when all was done, but retained enough presence of mind to recognize that another huge test was coming up. "I won't be washing this pair of boots till the cup final at least!"
The Singapore II.2 would defeat their São Tomé e Príncipe counterparts 2-1 on aggregate without the Birds, with upcoming foes FC Barca Singapore copping the only loss. Wicked Gipsies on a Rampage had Spanish right winger Alberto Velasco Tovar in immaculate form as he pressed a slowing Vũ Ðông Nguyên hard through the ninety minutes, which resulted in two goals for himself in a 3-2 victory. Cezar Cheţan matched the haul, leaving Manlio Bertola's 73rd minute header to make all the difference.
West Merlions led the countercharge with a 5-0 thrashing of league frontrunners Klejarze, with Dutch winger Ajay Lieuw Fat dominating after Martin Ramanayake's second minute strike. Marina Sailors then beat former Sapphire Challenger Cup holders Tramwaj Príncipe 2-0, with Mohd Akmal Hizam Khairul Hakim finding the crucial breakthrough in the 77th minute on Allan Mulvihill's defensive error, as Chan Han Min's definitive second on the counter following closely behind.
