Fatigue Set In
It was a sad sight at The Cooking Pot after singnet_utd's penalty win, but there was relatively little expression after all that, with the players mostly spent. Few, certainly, placed much if any blame on
Tian Yonghang, who recovered quickly enough to exchange shirts with Hong Kunqi. Grilled head coach
Djan Bacelar didn't appear too upset either as he gave each of his men a pat on the back as they departed, with sections of the home support hearteningly staying behind to give an ovation.
Bacelar congratulated singnet_utd on their return to the S-League. "Restelli was absolutely immense for them. I would like to say that we deserved to win - we certainly
could have won - but my head says that it was as close as it gets. Honestly, though, I don't think we can realistically expect much even if we had stayed up, and in this sense Division Two might not be a bad thing."
With Pearl Divers rampaging over Ropelearner FC to win 7-2 after going two down, in one of the most incredible recoveries in local qualification game history, the S-League will see only former winners Arrogancae and first-timers Haha join singnet_utd as new additions. BCFC are certainly not waiting to beef up their star-studded squad, recruiting former Romanian U-20 defensive midfielder Guriy Leshchinskiy for S$5.9 million, while Pudgy Penguins seem to be clearing out their youth ranks in preparation.
As for Grilled, a return to II.1 will see them continue their long history with newbies are newbies, who appear to have gotten over their administrative troubles. Runners-up Charis FC were recent S-League opponents, while twenty seasons separate the Birds' last league clashes against newly-promoted akodo.
Former national champions Blackburn Rovers Fan, the rising FC Barca Singapore, counterattacking specialists Batok Earthquakes and East Coast giants Arcturules make up the rest of the considerable competition, on which Bacelar deigned to comment further on just yet. "I have a talk with the board coming up, and the players need some time to clear their minds too."
