Dream of all-Singapore final still alive

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Under-15s, Under-16s manage to avoid each other in the semi-finals

23rd Canon Lion City Cup





SINGAPORE - The dream of seeing two Singapore teams facing each other in Sunday's final of the 23rd Canon Lion City Cup still burns strong.

A friendly sparring match three weeks ago was won 4-3 by the younger of the two teams, and Singapore could see a repeat of that match-up at the Jalan Besar Stadium, with the under-15 and under-16 managing to avoid each other in tomorrow's semi-finals.

Dejan Gluscevic's under-15s had already confirmed their spot in the last four with a 4-3 win in their opening game against Newcastle United, and last night's 2-1 loss to Juventus was of little consequence to their hopes of facing their seniors in the final.

Under-16 skipper Dhukhilan Jeevamani's team managed a 1-1 draw against Everton in yesterday's late game, a result that sees them finish second in Group B, with a semi-final fixture against Juventus on the cards.

"My preference is of course to play the under-16s in the final," said Gluscevic, who was pleased enough with his team's performance despite the loss to the Italians.

Under-15's central defender Sadik Said received his second yellow card in the 88th minute for attempting to kick the ball that was covered by a Juventus player on the ground, and will miss the semi-final against Flamengo.

"They're 15 years old, it shouldn't be a surprise to anyone that they get emotional, but in the particular situation involving Sadik, he shouldn't be reacting when the opponent is lying on the ball.

"Disciplinary action is always taken (in these situations), and we will see what we can do," said the 43-year-old coach.

Under-16 coach Takuma Koga's charges fared little better on the night, creating several chances in front of goal, but their profligacy went unpunished as the younger Everton players found the net but once.

Calum Dyson scored in the 21st minute with a looping header off a peach of a cross from man-of-the-match Daniel O'Brien, but Singapore responded just a minute later through Hazim Hassan.

"The result is good enough to get us into the semis, and the next game is the most important game for us," said Koga, refusing to be drawn into a possible final date against the Singapore under-15s.

Nifty forward Hanafi Akbar, one of the standout players of last year's Youth Olympic Games that propelled his team into the limelight, was not in the least concerned about facing the under-15s, who are looking to depose them as the football team in the hearts of Singaporean fans.

"They're a good team, we're a good team, and it'll be a hard fight when we play, but no there's no rivalry, not at all," he said.

"And right now I'm just focused on the next match against Juventus.

"They'll be a hard team to play against, and we'll be concentrating on getting past them."