SINGAPORE FOOTBALL TEAM CALLED TO PLAY FOR PRIDE AND HONOUR

Dear A.S.S. Editor

The Singapore football Under 22 SEA Games campaign is as good as over, after their two losses against the top two ranked teams in their group. But, Singapore still have two more games to play, starting this afternoon against Laos.

The Singapore tam are now currently bottom of their group. However, their coach, Richard Tardy, was in defiant mood as he said that they will not raise the white flag, and has called on his players to play for pride and honour, saying that “We are playing as the national team of the country in a big tournament – we must respect Singapore football,” Myanmar and Malaysia lead the group with six points. None of the other three teams – Brunei, Laos and Singapore – have any points, but the Young Lions are bottom by virtue of having played one game more and having conceded more goals.

However, in a surprising twist, FAS president Lim Kia Tong said that he couldn’t fault the players’ commitment. He also said that the standard of Singapore football is not that far off. This comes after Singapore used to beat teams like Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam and Philippines for fun, and now a draw against these teams are considered well earned results. Now, it remains to be seen if Singapore will come out of this tournament as a laughing stock. Everyone expects Singapore to beat Laos and Brunei, but after the last two games, there is every chance that Singapore might not even bet the minnows of ASEAN.

Hamid Halim

A.S.S. Contributor