Musci Too Much
Farmer Bunnies would fall 1-3 to Italian III.14 side Musci Team in the Merlion Cup finals, but they could walk off with their heads held high, having kept a respectable scoreline against a far superior side. Considering that Musci had a trio of ex-internationals in Canadian Samuel Marin, Belgian Levi Ermens and Jamaican Horace Davis holding the fort, and Benin star Komi Ahouanvoebla leading the line, the Buns were simply outclassed.
They did stall Musci passably, even carving out a neat counterattack in the 22nd minute, but
Vitaliy Efendiev wasn't given enough time to line up a proper shot. First-half goals from Zvi Freund and Fredrik Rogne then came, but when Efendiev's corner was headed over Guatemalan legend Gerardo Camacho and into the net after 69 minutes, the Buns dared to believe. Efendiev would come off for
Ho Ah Kian then, but sadly their positive play would leave gaps, one of which would be fatally exploited by Sulaiman Al Jumairai in the 75th minute for Musci's third.
The Buns could frankly not have expected much more, and in going three rounds further than the Birds, their supporters would consider it having gained bragging rights until their next meeting. "Birds who?" a spirited Mohd Amin bin Ibrahim teased. "Don't see them anywhere!"
