A Little Light
Grilled Birds' end-of-season dinner was noticeably more sombre than in previous seasons, as the squad understandably found it hard to come to terms with letting a historic S-League title slip through their grasp. The Farmer Bunnies' second Division Four title provided the ceremony with a touch of shine, but there was no escaping the residual gloom that hung over the main eventers.
Head coach
Djan Bacelar addressed the clubs matter-of-factedly during his brief opening speech, ending with an exhortation for the players to pull together. "What happened was hard to take, but it isn't the end." he insisted. "We begin the next season older and wiser, and with any luck at all, we will be right in the mix again."
The response was however somewhat more muted than might have been expected, notwithstanding the news that regular midfielders
Zhu Changchun and
Woon Shun An had been transfer-listed. While it could not be confirmed whether it was at their own request, or due to the manager, it could scarcely be claimed that the Birds would not be weakened without them.
With little of note to celebrate, the focus shifted quickly to the awards, and
Tian Yonghang picked up his third Player of the Season, as was widely expected. Whether for club or country, no other Grilled player had touched the heights that their captain had reached this term, and it was a true shame that he had not gotten any silverware to go with his.
Tian did not mince his words. "While this is very special, I'd have much preferred a club honour."
It certainly hadn't been a bumper crop for the Chicken Wings either, with the hiring situation having become extremely grim for trainees. If anybody from the current Wings class is going to make it, though, it would probably be Yap Beng Yeng, who was conferred the Young Player of the Season two weeks before his scheduled graduation.
The pacy forward was handed the plaque by mentor Mok Feng De, but admitted to being ambivalent about continuing with the sport at the professional level. "It has been a pleasure with the Wings, and I'll be at a crossroads." the Number Ten admitted. "The decision on whether to enter a junior college, or to pursue football full-time, will have to be taken very soon."
As with Tian's case, there was little competition for the Player of the Season honour for the Bunnies, as Romanian winger
Milán Bolgár enjoyed his breakout season, netting sixteen goals in eighteen appearances. Bolgár will probably not repeat that achievement, with the likes of
Enzo Paolo Panzarino and
Sikong Darong set to take over free-kick duties, but it remained a tremendous attainment for the 27 year-old.
And as for the youth title, for all of Ong Kok Long's heroics with the Rancher Rabbits, it was a tall order for him to outshine the senior lads, and
Aswad Mohd Jafni was the final choice of the Bunnies coaching staff. It turned out that he had been neck and neck with last season's winner
Tham Leng Teck, and former Rabbit
Kwek Yun Jie, but his resilience in overcoming injuries edged it for the panel.
