Reorganization Due
Grilled head coach
Djan Bacelar accepted responsibility for their Round of Sixteen exit, though it was unclear whether this was warranted. It could have been to soften the coming blow somewhat, as he then stressed the need to shake the squad up.
"It has been a challenging time for all of us, and to be frank, we need to chop and change to improve." he said. "While we have warned about this, I completely understand if the fans are feeling frustrated. We've probably underperformed somewhat in the short term, it has to get better."
If anyone were to leave, eleven-season winger
Low Aik Jia would appear a key candidate, as he didn't bother to conceal his disinterest while on the bench. There have been more than a few rumours of training ground disagreements and bust-ups, and it would surprise few were he to put in a transfer request sometime.
Villains F.C. will now go on to face league rivals Arcturules, who edged Sporting VDF of the Buns' III.11 out, thanks to two late Vincent Spörcken strikes. Former winners Tampines Phoenix F.C. are now official favourites, after top seeds Fafane Club were spectacularly upset by Zambree FC.
The Farmer Bunnies would meanwhile beat the Sleeping Lyons of Brunei 3-0 in their first friendly of the campaign, with Greek reserve striker
Ermis Ftenopoulos getting back into business with a brace.
Sofian Azfar would round off the scoring in the 51st minute on a surgical incursion down the right, after Finnish wingback Jani Järvimäki went off injured.
