1998/99 Asian Club Championship & 1998/99 Asian Cup Winners' Cup

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1998 can be considered a great year for Singapore football as the National Team won it first ever international trophy, the Tiger Cup, in Vietnam and the S-league also witness it best season thus far with SAFFC and Tanjong Pagar United locking horn until the very end. It looked as though the S-league could witness it first great rivalry as the two Western teams lead the way in the S-league.

But for all that positives development, in Asia it was a terrible year for Singapore clubs in Asian Club competition.

When the draw was conducted, SAFFC was drawn against causeway counterpart Selangor while Woodlands Wellington came up against Thai counterpart Sinthana and it can be considered reasonable draw for S-league clubs had avoided the much stronger North-East Asia clubs.

With the Warriors retaining the title by the date of the meeting, one cannot but feel rather confident that the two-time S-league Champions, which had make history last year by progressing to the second round of the Asian Cup Winners' Cup, can be more than a match against Malaysian giant Selangor but it was not to be.

On the night, Selangor exploited the defensive lapses of the Warriors to bury the Champions 4-1 at the final whistle. It was a disastrous outing for the Warriors on home soil. Meanwhile in the Asian Cup Winners' Cup, the Rams suffered a similar fate as they were being torn apart 4-1 by Sinthana in Thailand.

Both clubs redeemed themselves in the second leg with the Warriors winning at Shah Alam Stadium 1-0 through a V.Selvaraj goal and the Rams holding the Thai team to 1-1 draw but the truth was they had already let themselves down in the first leg.

Certainly the second year in which S-league clubs participate in Asian Club competition was a short and truly disappointing experience.

Nevertheless it should serve as a wake up call for many fans that at this moment of time, even ASEAN counterparts clubs are as strong as or even better than S-league club and no teams is to be underestimated.

There is much catching up to do for S-league clubs in the Asian Club Arena after years of neglect of the domestic game.

Singapore representatives

1998/99 Asian Club Championship

Stage	Home Team			Away Team	Date
First Round, First leg	SAFFC	1	4	Selangor (Malaysia)	-
First Round, Second leg	Selangor (Malaysia)	0	1	SAFFC	-

1998/99 Asian Cup Winners' Cup

Stage	Home Team			Away Team	Date
First Round, First leg	Sinthana (Thailand)	4	1	Woodlands Wellington	-
First Round, Second leg	Woodlands Wellington	1	1	Sinthana (Thailand)	-