Parttimers No Show
No Refund
Local coffeeshop team Holland Corsairs had to pull out of their Singapore Cup meeting with the Birds, after a combination of flu, headaches, reservist callups and concerned wives conspired to leave them with insufficient members to start the match.
The remaining Corsair players milled about nervously as their striker-captain Lim Ming-Tuang conferred with the referee as to whether his 16 year-old nephew might be able to fill in. The answer was no, since this was an officially sanctioned tournament, and the lad was not registered.
A flustered Lim apologized to the booing crowd, and explained that his side had been short of players since April, when both Gao Kang-Ta (40, bus driver) and Koo Lao-Sheng (38, freelance designer) had to be carried off during a bad-tempered victory over East Coast Athletic, who themselves started with nine guys.
There was no shortage of volunteers from the stands either, with the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of rubbing shoulder with some bonafide S-League stars - Grilled had brought no less than seven players who might be expected to feature in the first XI.
That was a no-go for the same reason, and in the end a compromise was reached in which the ever-competitive Abed-Sulaiman took on all comers in a penalty kick contest, while a few of Grilled's hometown boys made good squared up with some Corsairs in a casual five-a-side. No one kept score.
