Singapore football in 2006 is rather dismaying. According to statistics, Singapore had only a win and 5 draws with 8 losses. Ironically, the single win was against powerhouses Iraq---a shocking 2-0 win. Yet Singapore can only manage 2 penalty-shootout wins against Malaysia. They failed to even beat Palestine.
Despite this terrible record, Singapore had a good year whatsoever in football. They manage to push Iraq and China, 2 strong teams in Asia. Credit is due to keeper Lionel Lewis, who managed a 10-man shortlist for the AFC player of the year award. He was the only Singaporean and the only goalkeeper to make that list.
We would have to give most credit to Referee Shamsul Maidin, who did us Singapore so proud by officiating 3 matches as the main referee at the 2006 World Cup. He did not make the quater-final stage though, due to a lack of experience. Still, popular soccer website Soccernet rated him as the best referee. Hope he would officiate at higher levels!
In the S-league, 2-time defending champions Tampines Rovers suffered from a hectic schedule and eventually finished a credible second. The champions are SAFFC. They had a passable streak under their first manager, but when long-time assistant manager stood up to be the manager, he proved a revelation by leading SAF to an amazing unbeaten streak to lead them to the title by more than 10 points. Young Lions, who were the forerunners, seemed certain to win the league after maintaining unbeaten to lead by many points. However, their inexperienced side had a mid-season collapse and it became clear who would win the title eventually. Young Lions finished 3rd. Home United finished fourth and Woodlands 5th. Foreign sides Albirex Niigata and Sporting Afrique finished 6th and 10th respectively in the 11-team league.
In 2007, the S-league will expand to 12 sides, with Liaoning FC of China and Korean Super Reds joining the league. Sporting Afrique pulled out of the league due to financial constraints. I hope for more competition from the foreign sides. The best position achieved by a foreign side was 5th, twice by Albirex Niigata.
As the AFF Cup draws nearer, Their strikeforce is out of form. However, in a recent friendly against Phillipines, Singapore managed a 4-1 victory, with Indra Sahdan, the main striker, netting a brace after returning from injury just last month. Khairul Amri, a forward/winger, netted another goal while free-kick specialist Daniel Bennett, who netted some important goals from set-pieces at the Tiger Cup last time out, scored another from a free kick. This was certainly welcome news for Singapore, though the strikeforce still have much room for improvement against stronger sides like Vietnam and Indonesia in their group matches.
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