Tarip To London
Grilled International midfielder Hj Tarip bin Hj Gillen embarked on the next phase of his career, as he signed a contract with English Division Five club PetMor, thus joining them on a free transfer. PetMor gaffer Roy McCormack has been casting a net wide for talented youngsters over the past week, with fifteen inductees coming alongside the departure of Bulgarian regular Iliyan Barbolov.
For Hj Tarip's scout Daud bin Radiman, this was the logical progression for one of his best-ever recruits, who had moreover found five goals against Polish team Bogate Wilki, and then a hat-trick versus Sweden's IFK Ankungarna a month later, both in 7-0 youth league drubbings. "He was really huge at the Hornet Hive." Daud summed up his Busy Bees tenure. "I personally tried to convince the senior coaches to retain him, but they couldn't promise anywhere close to the minutes he deserved."
It was thus concerning that Hj Tarip was approaching his eighteenth birthday without a solid offer, and once PetMor came in with one, Daud exhorted him to take it. "He didn't need much persuading, either - he's a big Premier League fan. As to which club... you'll have to ask him yourself!"
Back in Singapore,
Chad Thach did not hold much hope of being included in the squad for the Asia and Oceania Cup, despite his excellent return for the Lions. "They tend to pick slightly older players for these competitions, and to be fair, there's plenty of great Singaporean ballers out there. There will be plenty enough to occupy myself with on the domestic end too."
