SAFFC
Champions
Straits Times, The
(Singapore)
22 November 2007
Home
THE champagne flowed freely last night for Singapore Armed Forces
FC, the newly crowned S-League champions, after their
heart-stopping 2-1 win over Gombak United.
So did the accolades, for a side who came out on top after a
gruelling 33-game season with 79 points - just one ahead of
runners-up Home United, and two ahead of third-placed Tampines
Rovers.
'They are deserving winners,' said Home coach Vincent Subramaniam,
whose team's 2-1 win over Geylang United at the Bedok Stadium
proved to be futile.
His thoughts were echoed by Tampines, who also had nothing to show
for their labour after beating Albirex Niigata 3-1 at home.
'They did well,' admitted Tampines team manager Syed Faruk.
The Warriors needed a win to clinch the trophy and, by half-time,
it seemed that they had done enough against the subdued
visitors.
Goals from Noor Ali (12th minute) and Kenji Arai (21st) had sent
couriers scurrying to the Warriors' den at Choa Chu Kang Stadium
with the S-League trophy.
They very nearly had to make a U-turn.
A cool 63rd-minute penalty from Agu Casmir planted seeds of doubt
in the minds of SAFFC supporters - until news filtered through that
Leopoldino dos Santos had cancelled out Indra Sahdan Daud's opener
for Home at almost the same time.
But the Bulls of Gombak had their tails up. For the first time,
they poured forward in waves as they searched for the
equaliser.
Then, with just seven minutes to go, SAFFC striker Norikazu
Murakami went down in the Gombak penalty box, clutching his
face.
A spot-kick was given and a red card was flashed at Bulls defender
Precious Emuejeraye, whose refusal to leave the pitch nearly
sparked an ugly free-for-all.
Thankfully, common sense prevailed, though SAFFC's John Wilkinson
needed a bigger dose.
The midfielder chose to chip the subsequent penalty over the
goalkeeper. In the process, he also sent the ball over the bar,
when a cool finish would have sealed the title there and
then.
To Gombak's credit, they did not stop attacking till the very end,
even with 10 men.
It was only after four minutes of stoppage time, that the exhausted
Warriors were finally able to retain the crown. They last achieved
the double in 1997 and 1998.
Associate Professor Ho Peng Kee, president of the Football
Association of Singapore (FAS), presented them with the $150,000
cash prize and winner's trophy.
As SAFFC coach Richard Bok watched the celebrations calmly from the
sidelines, the man was already plotting a 'three-peat' next
season.
'All season, we have created chances but not scored enough from
them,' he observed. 'Next year will be tougher because every team
is improving.'
Copyright, 2007, Singapore Press Holdings Limited
