Timbang Topples Veridis
Head coach
Tian Yonghang admitted that the squad's endurance could take a lot of tuning, but that this was not his top priority going into the new season. "Part of the point of dropping to Division Three, was to have the space to experiment without getting too discouraged." he said. "We need to round out our trainees' basics first; the half-marathons can come later."
Back in Clementi, Farmer Bunnies would get a one-nil win over Zambian II.3 champions Mafinga Rhinos, as the two-time Zambia Sapphire Challenger Cup victors fell to
Aitykul Zaripbekov's speculative run in the 55th minute.
Richard Agyei would also be heavily involved on the counter coming from the other flank, but the Buns' general woes on offence continued, with both
Mushtag Al-Nameeri and
Ibrahim Zahran Al-Maashany seeming well past it.
It was a clearer triumph for Grilled International over Algerian II.4 visitors Veridis Quo F.C., a 4-0 that had 36 year-old backup
Abdul Hamid bin Hj Ali Timbang bag a brace - and that while missing a 34th minute penalty by inches. He would go for the more mundane when given a second chance in the 69th, waiting for Skander Nehari to commit himself, before rolling it roughly down the centre.
Wang Chu Chi and
Sazwan bin Hj Muhd Salleh were the other scorers, but the big talk amongst International fans would be about a player who was no longer even theirs. About a year after moving on, former Bosnian icon Ragib Banović would transfer out from Draggen United having won the national league and made his Hattrick Masters debut with them. His next destination would be Italian III.1 side Balduina FC, with International taking a cut of just over S$450,000 from the S$11.4 million deal.
