2005 AFC Cup & 2005 ASEAN CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP & FAM-FAS
Champions Series
The year 2005 will be remembered as the most congested in term of
competitions and matches that S-league clubs have to deal with in
At the start of the year, there was the birth of a new competition
for S-league clubs with the FAM-FAS Champions Series. It had four teams - with two
teams each from
It saw 2004 Double Champions Tampines
Rovers taking on 2004 Super League Champions Pahang
with Home United, runner-up to Tampines Rovers in
both domestic competition, taking on 2004 FA Cup Champions Perak.
The early omens for the S-league clubs were bad as Tampines Rovers, with home advantage, would only come away
with a draw against Pahang despite taking the lead
through Noh Alam Shah but worse was having keeper Rezal Hassan dismissed in injury time which will prove costly in
the second leg. On the same night across the Causeway, Home
United crash to a 1-2 defeat at Ipoh to Perak after a second half comeback by the host with Protectors
having scored through Indra in the first half.
Then the omens got worse in the case of Double Champions Stags as
they went down 1-4 in Kuantan to Pahang
as the Malaysian Champion went on a rampage against the Stags who had stand-in
custodian Hafez Mawesi.
However
in the case for Home United, it got brighter as the Protectors showed off their
experience in Asian competition with a remarkable late 4-2 comeback win against
Perak.
The
Protectors took the lead through 2004 S-league top scorer Egmar
Goncalves following a flowing move that started deep
in their own half. A raking long-range pass from 2004 S-League Player of the
Year J.Surachai picked out 2003 S-league Player of
the Year Peres De Oliveira in space on the left channel. The Brazilian whipped
a cross into the Perak box, picking out Goncalves who fired the ball into the net from six-yards
out.
Perak were then reduced to ten men after Harizal Izuan was sent off for a
nasty two-footed challenge on Indra Sahdan.
The
Protectors made their numerical advantage count in the second period when Goncalves scored his second of the game when he drilled a
25-yard screamer past Perak keeper Mohammed Hamsani. Surachai put Home United three up with the goal of the night. Capitalizing on
a mix-up in the Perak defence,
the former
But not
so as Perak staged a comeback when R. Surendren pulled one back for the Malaysians on the hour
mark before Keita Mandjou headed Perak
level on aggregate with a bullet header six minutes from time. The Guinean, who
got both goals in the first leg at
Instead the hero tag belonged to Fadzuhasny
as the substitute, a late replacement for Indra,
scored with a deflected effort in injury time.
Thus the honours were shared with Pahang winning FAM-FAS League Champions Cup and Home United
winning the FAM-FAS Cup Champions Cup
As a Super Cup version, the FAM-FAS Champions Series had it
purpose but much like the Super Cup all over the globe; it would have a tough
time getting recognition other than a ‘gloried friendly’ trophy hardly worth
fighting for.
The FAM-FAS Champions Series was over and bigger goals wait in
Funnily enough, the opening round of the AFC Cup saw S-league
clubs taking on familiar faces but this time it was in reverse as Stags took on
Perak with Home United taking on Pahang.
Like the FAM-FAS Champions Series though, the results were mixed
as Stags went down 1-2 at Perak while Home United got
the all-important opening victory over Pahang 2-1.
In the second round, the situation got worse for the Stags as they
were held to 1-1 draw against Hong Kong Champions Sun Hei
despite having home advantage and the omens were now of doom for the 2004
Double Champions for apart from one point from a possible six, their performances
in Asia were nothing like their performances in the S-league where they were
flying high and questions were now asked if Tampines
Rovers, packed with ex-Warriors players, were once again looking set to suffer
the fate of doing well in the S-league but failures in Asia.
This was not the case for Home United as they wrapped up a second
victory against
This
story though was set for a twist in the third round where Stags, despite
another unconvincing performance, got their first ever victory in Asia against
Club Valencia with a Mirko Grabovac goal as
the former Singapore international finally added to his Asian goal tally after
a five-year wait. For the Protectors though, they went down 1-0 to
In the
fourth round, S-league clubs finally move up into full gear as both Stags and
the Protectors recorded comfortable victories in their respective matches with
Stags thrashing Club Valencia with the fourgoals
coming from an own goal, Mirko, Noh Alam Shah and Aliff Shafaein while the Protectors, despite down to ten men, got
a 2-0 win against New Radiant with
goals from Egmar and Peres to return back to the top
of the group.
With two rounds left, the Protectors were
looking good for the quarter-final as long as they did not lose in Kuantan against Malaysia Super Champions Pahang and they achieved that with a 3-3 draw although one
must admit they were not pleased with that outcome as going into injury-time
the Protectors were leading 3-2 with goals from Aide, Egmar
and Peres and surely set for a memorable win but for a moment lapsed in concentration
at the very end.
Still the Protectors looked set to win the
group as their final game was at Bishan against
bottom-dweller
For the Stags they played probably their
best match to date in Asia against Perak at the Tampines Stadium and the Malaysians could not coped with
the attacking football displaced by the S-league Double Champions as goals from
Noh
Alam Shah, Mirko Grabovac and Branko Hucika gave them a 3-1 lead at half-time. Another goal from
Noh Alam Shah in the second half was enough to give
the Stags the all-important victory.
Now the stage was set for the Stags to
overtake leader Sun Hei as only the group winners was
assured of a place in the last eight and a second place finish may not be
enough.
However the Stags could not achieved that
as they were held to a 1-1 draw despite leading 1-0 through a Noh Alam Shah goal until the last minute when Sun Hei scored their equalizer.
Fortunately though, like the Eagles last
year, the Stags had gathered enough points to assure themselves a place in the
last eight and on the same night the Protectors thrashed
In the draw for the last eight, tough
matches were set up for the S-league teams with Tampines
Rovers meeting
The AFC Cup was not set to return until
September and the domestic scene became the two clubs concern but for the
Double champions there was another distraction to follow with the upcoming
second edition of the ASEAN CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP in
To claim Tampines
Rovers stroll from the group stage in ASEAN CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP was an
understatement as the Double champions won all their three matches; scoring six
goals against tough oppositions in five days.
In the opening match, the Stags dispatched
Myanmar league champions Finance & Revenue 2-1 with Mustafic
Fahrudin grabbing the opener as he sweetly
volleyed home from a cross and then Mirko Grabovac, who cannot stop
scoring in Asia now having broken his five-year duck, grabbing the winner from
a header.
The next match saw goal machine Mirko Grabovac continued his goal
scoring form as he opened the account from a lovely square pass from Aliff Shafaein. Stags doubled
their lead as they were awarded a penalty when Grabovac
was pulled down by a Thai defender in
the box and Sead kept his cool and converted the
penalty to take the 2-0 lead into the first half. Mirko,
surely the Man of the Match, extended the lead
further when he headed in the third goal for team, his second in the match,
after Tobacco's keeper Sujin Naknayom
misjudged a cross from Aliff Shafaein.
Three goals up, the Stags lost concentration for a moment to allow Thai Champions Tobacco Monoploy a
goal back but there was no denying Stags all three points and a place in the
semi-final.
The last game meant more to DPMM, who were
fighting for a spot in the semi-final, and Stags changed quite a number of
starting players but was still strong enough to win the game 1-0 with Santi Chaiyaphuak goal but the
result matter not in the end as both
teams reach the semi-final.
In the semi-final, Stags met tough
resistance from Vietnam champions Hoang Anh Gia Lai as both sides could not break down one another with
the result a 0-0 draw at full time and extra time was required but even then
there was outcome so penalty kicks seem the only way to decide the game and Tampines Rovers proved stronger in that department winning
5-3 to reach the Final.
The
team waiting in the ASEAN CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP final was a familiar name and it
was
The chance
for revenge for the defeat in the FAM-FAS League Champions Cup was at the
doorstep of the Stags and was the final a game to remember.
Pahang started the game brightly as Tampines Rovers found it hard to settle in the first half
with Pahang dictating the flow of the game and it was
no surprise when Pahang took the lead before the
first period ended. After the break, Pahang
immediately doubled their lead scoring just one minute after the restart and
all hopes seem lost for Tampines Rovers.
Then on
the hour mark, a surprising change of events with a long ball pumped up into
the Pahang box and the two Pahang
defenders and goalie stood to watch with one another expecting the other to
clear it but not Noh Alam Shah as he stole in between
the trio to steal the ball before firing it home to reduce the deficit.
Hope
was now restored and the Stags were playing their flowing football once again and
goal machine Mirko grabbed his fourth goal of the
competition as he scored after firing through the legs of the goalie after
being sent through and it was all square.
But the
Stags were not finished with Mustafic Fahrudin rising tallest to head home a goal from a corner
to give Tampines Rovers the lead for the first time
in the game with Pahang totally losting
their focus.
Even
then, the Stags showed their ruthless finishing with another goal as Noh Alam Shah headed in his second of the night from a freekick to wrap up the game for the Double Champions who
are now crowned ASEAN champions as well.
This
was the Republic first regional club trophy and a remarkable achievement in the
tenth year of the S-league.
With
such determinations and performances at the ASEAN CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP, Stags
chances in the AFC Cup certainly received a boast but the Jordan champions Al Faysali was
no meant feat to defeat and the road came to an end in the AFC Cup for the
newly crowned ASEAN champions.
Al Faysali won
the first leg 1-0 at home in
Home United did
no better despite getting custodian Lionel Lewis before the end of the S-league
transfer window as both their keepers - Ridzuan Fatah Hassan and Amos
Boon - at
the club were proving unreliable at best.
The first leg at
Bishan was a whitewash for the
With that the Republic challenge ended in
the quarter-final stage this year in the hand of West Asian teams yet again.
To call it mixed year due to the earlier
knockout in the quarter-final stage of this year AFC Cup while winning the
ASEAN CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP would not be right as it was indeed a remarkable feat
by Tampines Rovers and clearly the early years of the
S-league when local clubs could not matched the Thai and ASEAN counterparts
were now a thing of the past and the Republic teams could even be a notch above
them.
However it is
now the West Asian teams who are blocking the next stage of
Still once this
barrier can be broken down, the development of club football in the Republic
would no doubt take a giant step forward and having come so far it will be
crazy to give it up now.
AFC Cup 2005 – Tampines
Rovers
|
Stage |
Home
Team |
|
|
Away
Team |
Date |
|
Group |
Perak ( |
2 |
1 |
Tampines Rovers |
9/3/2005 |
|
Group |
Tampines Rovers |
1 |
1 |
Sun Hei (HK) |
16/3/2005 |
|
Group |
Tampines Rovers |
1 |
0 |
Club |
6/4/2005 |
|
Group |
Club |
0 |
4 |
Tampines Rovers |
20/4/2005 |
|
Group |
Tampines Rovers |
4 |
2 |
Perak ( |
11/5/2005 |
|
Group |
Sun Hei (HK) |
1 |
1 |
Tampines Rovers |
25/5/2005 |
|
Quarter-final,
first leg |
Al Faysali ( |
1 |
0 |
Tampines Rovers |
14/9/2005 |
|
Quarter-final,
second leg |
Tampines Rovers |
0 |
1 |
Al Faysali ( |
21/9/2005 |
Tampines Rovers Scorers
|
4 goals |
Noh Alam
Shah |
|
3 goals |
Mirko Grabovac |
|
2 goals |
Branko Hucika, Aiff Shaffein |
|
1 goals |
OG |
AFC Cup 2005 – Home United
|
Stage |
Home
Team |
|
|
Away
Team |
Date |
|
Group |
Home
United |
2 |
1 |
Pahang ( |
9/3/2005 |
|
Group |
Happy
Valley (HK) |
0 |
1 |
Home
United |
16/3/2005 |
|
Group |
New
Radiant ( |
1 |
0 |
Home
United |
6/4/2005 |
|
Group |
Home
United |
2 |
0 |
New
Radiant ( |
20/4/2005 |
|
Group |
Pahang ( |
3 |
3 |
Home
United |
11/5/2005 |
|
Group |
Home
United |
5 |
0 |
Happy
Valley (HK) |
25/5/2005 |
|
Quarter-final,
first leg |
Home
United |
0 |
3 |
Al
Nejmeh ( |
14/9/2005 |
|
Quarter-final,
second leg |
Al
Nejmeh ( |
3 |
2 |
Home
United |
21/9/2005 |
Home
United Scorers
|
4 goals |
Peres De Oliveira |
|
3 goals |
Fadzuhasny Juraimi |
|
2 goals |
Egmar Gonclaves, Indra Sahdan |
|
1 goals |
A Siva Kumar, Aide Iskandar, Fahmie Abdullah,Kamal Haja |
ASEAN Club Championship 2005 – Tampines Rovers
|
Stage |
Home
Team |
|
|
Away
Team |
Date |
|
Group |
Tampines Rovers |
2 |
1 |
Finance & Revenue ( |
23/7/2005 |
|
Group |
Tampines Rovers |
3 |
1 |
Tobacco Monoploy
( |
25/7/2005 |
|
Group |
Tampines Rovers |
1 |
0 |
DPMM ( |
27/7/2005 |
|
Semi-final |
Tampines Rovers |
0
(5) |
0 (3) |
HAGL ( |
29/7/2005 |
|
Final |
Tampines Rovers |
4 |
2 |
Pahang ( |
31/7/2005 |
Tampines Rovers Scorers
|
4 goals |
Mirko Grabovac |
|
2 goals |
Noh Alam
Shah, Mustafic
Fahrudin |
|
1 goals |
Sead Muratovic, Santi Chaiyaphuak |
FAM-FAS League Champions Cup 2005 – Tampines Rovers
|
Stage |
Home
Team |
|
|
Away
Team |
Date |
|
First
leg |
Tampines Rovers |
1 |
1 |
Pahang ( |
19/1/2005 |
|
Second
leg |
Pahang ( |
4 |
1 |
Tampines Rovers |
24/1/2005 |
Tampines Rovers Scorers
|
2 goals |
Noh Alam
Shah |
FAM-FAS Cup Champions Cup 2005 – Home
United
|
Stage |
Home
Team |
|
|
Away
Team |
Date |
|
First
leg |
Perak ( |
2 |
1 |
Home
United |
19/1/2005 |
|
Second
leg |
Home
United |
4 |
2 |
Perak ( |
24/1/2005 |
Home
United Scorers
|
2 goals |
Egmar Gonclaves |
|
1 goals |
Fadzuhasny Juraimi, Indra Sahdan,
J.Surachai |