19 year-old midfielder Quah Han Kok made his U-20 debut on the left wing in a two-all friendly draw against India. Quah didn't turn too many heads at the Love Unlimited Arena in Geylang, and received a caution in the 30th minute for a full-blooded tackle on 18 year-old Talish Varma.

None of that mattered to the small squadron of Grilled fans in the grandstand, as they cheered his every touch. Singapore had to wait till two minutes from the end to salvage the game with a strike from Chong Hao Chu, and Quah was satisfied with walking off in one piece.

"I said I wouldn't be nervous, but in actuality I was a bundle of nerves," Quah panted. "I didn't feel really at home on the left side since I'm not a natural winger. The game was very rough at times, and I was worried that I would get battered up like Keng Xin was."

"The referee wasn't doing us any favours when he booked three of our team in the final five minutes, but we stuck together and Chong's great goal meant I wouldn't have to lose my debut match, even if it was just a friendly. For now, I'll just treasure my first cap and wait for more to come."

The Grilled clubhouse screened the Singaporean international match routinely, though of course the premises were quite a bit more packed than usual. "We're all damn proud," defender and assistant coach Lan Tuan-Mu said. "Too bad we only saved S$2 848 on his national duty rebate this time. Just joking."

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