Shaka Reunion
Four-goal
Chu Xin Lee didn't forget to credit his teammates for his haul. "All I had to do, was to be in the right place for most of those strikes." he said modestly. "With due respect to the Kangaroos, they didn't have a very good plan to deal with us."
Head coach
Hovaness Noubaryan was much more concerned about
Cyril Künzler's back injury, which may see him out of the coming trip to ~The Flower Pot~. "He landed full on his spine, and we're very lucky that it isn't more serious than it turned out to be. We can probably afford to miss him for a game, and have him back near full fitness in the Cup next Wednesday."
Farmer Bunnies, still on a high perched pretty on top of the S-League, were sensationally taken back down to earth by Hoseh bo in Geylang. The doughty Division Four club had been underestimated by the Buns, who were never mentally present. By the time a brilliant Liu Yun Kian got the hosts ahead from a corner, it was too late for them to recover, and Hoseh bo burnt the remainder of their energy denying the Buns' feeble responses, the closest of which was a curler from outside the penalty area by
Ibrahim Zahran Al-Maashany in the 64th minute that spun a couple of yards wide.
Dalibor Kostadinović could have no complaints. "Congratuations to Hoseh, they cooked our goose today. I'm hoping the team learns something from this, and maybe lift the Ruby Challenger Cup."
For Grilled International, it was a blast from the past, as they were drawn against South Africa's Shaka Zibby. The clubs had both been in the VI.113 league, and their last meeting came six seasons ago, a 4-1 for International in which
Sazwan bin Hj Muhd Salleh and
Tommy Dongelmans among others scored, after which International promoted out. Shaka would follow them up to the fourth division - but in a different league - a year later, and have since managed several mid-table finishes in V.139.
While both clubs' philosophies had changed little, Shaka would have gained a whole new starting lineup since then. International in contrast retained about half their team, with Dongelmans, Indurain,
Wang Chu Chi,
Zaini bin Hj Kaling and
Querubim Santos Couto being holdovers. It would however be a rookie who would most distinguish himself, as
Li Xin Chi found the first two competitive goals of his senior career, swinging in from the left to level it all at 2-2 by the 58th minute.
Safari bin Hj Jali took over from there, and crafted two very nice chips over Valery Taparou, but Jean-baptiste Raffy's dribble past
Ratano bin Omar in the 89th minute presaged 4-4 and extra time. International finally pulled away then as Shaka found themselves with nothing left in the tank, and good finishes by
Subhi bin Hj Ahmad and
Osertz Indurain saw International through to the third round.
In other news, International were also reported to have received another S$40000 for Tan Kuan Woon's latest transfer to Swedish V.630 side Pimp IF, the eighth move of the 21 year-old attacker's short career - not that the club's finance department is upset. "He's happy, and we get a cut." club accountant Marvin Peng quipped. "What's the problem here?"
