Defending champs Seng Kang go through with Siglap to semi-finals of Manchester Utd Premier Cup

By Kenneth Tan/Red Sports

Pasir Ris Secondary School, Saturday, April 10, 2010 - Defending champions Seng Kang Secondary qualified for the semi-finals of the Manchester United Premier Cup (MUPC) along with Siglap Secondary after both teams finished as the top two in Group O.

Their qualification however was not as straightforward as in the initial rounds as they just narrowly edged out third-placed Pasir Ris Secondary by a point to finish second behind Siglap.

The MUPC is a worldwide football tournament that gives talented footballers under the age of 15 a chance to showcase their skills and talent and come up against other young footballers around the globe. The tournament is jointly sponsored by Nike and Manchester United as part of their commitment to grassroots development.

The winning team from Singapore will go through to the SEA Regional Finals in Thailand where they will face other strong winning teams from Asia. The winner of the Regional Finals will get a chance to participate in the Global Finals held in Manchester.

National team players such as Baihakki Khaizan, Shahril Ishak and Khairul Amri participated in the tournament back when they were under-15.

In Round 1, Round 2 and the quarter-finals, teams play 20-minute games while from the semi-finals onwards, the games are 40 minutes.

The first fixture of Group O kicked off with Siglap nicking their encounter against Regent Secondary (Team A) with a solitary goal to nil.

A stalemate next followed as both defending champions Seng Kang and hosts Pasir Ris Secondary could not breach each other's defence in the 20 minutes played.

Normal service resumed for Seng Kang in the next fixture as they overcame Regent (Team A) 2-0 through two brilliant goals from forward Muhd Ariyan B Shamsuddin Malik.

He outmuscled his marker after a through ball down the left flank before cutting inside and curling his shot into the bottom right corner to score his first. His second came late in the game as he slammed his shot into the top left corner of the goal before a cross in from the left.

Next up was Paris Ris who were yet again held to a goalless draw, this time against Siglap. It was a game where both teams battled well in midfield and created very few scoring opportunities in front of goal.

A winner-takes-all clash soon ensued between Siglap and Seng Kang with both teams locked at the top of the table on four points from two games. The winner of the clash would subsequently qualify for the semi-finals.

Seng Kang dominated ball possession in the early exchanges and had two opportunities that fizzed wide of the right-hand post. However Siglap started the second half well and duly shocked the defending champions with a goal three minutes into the half.

A long punt forward resulted in miscommunication between Seng Kang centre back Ahmad Izzudin Amat Zaki and goalkeeper Sunny Wang. Ahmad's defensive header went over the head of Sunny, before Siglap captain Mahathir B Azeman stole in and gleefully tapped the ball into an empty goal from three yards out.

The goal brought huge applause from the Siglap bench which sensed a upset on the cards.

Seng Kang huffed and puffed in the last seven minutes of the match but failed to crack the stubborn Siglap defence that constantly cleared the ball out of their own penalty area.

The result meant Siglap managed to hold out for a famous victory that put them on seven points from three games and qualified them for the semi-finals while Seng Kang suffered their first loss in the MUPC this year.

An ecstatic Siglap captain Mathathir B Azeman paid tribute to his team after the match.

"It was down to our hard work and team spirit," commented the 14-year-old. "Soccer is about 11 persons and putting in effort, thus we worked hard for each other during the matches. Besides that, we also played our passing game which worked very well."

"We were nervous as we were facing the defending champions," he said. "But we settled in very well after that."

When quizzed about the aspirations he had for the team, he said, "Our aspiration is to go all the way to the Regional Finals in Bangkok. It will be a good opportunity to have fun, meet new friends and take on new challenges to improve our skills."

Being on four points from three games, Seng Kang's loss had bigger implications as they had to rely on Pasir Ris to drop points in their final group game against Regent (Team A) in order to get the all-important second spot to qualify. With two points from two games played so far, a Pasir Ris win would mark the end of their title defence.

Pasir Ris found it tough to launch their attacks in the first half as Regent appeared eager to win their first point in Group O. However they piled on the pressure in the second half and created numerous opportunities that left the watching Seng Kang players at the edge of their seats.

Firstly, Aiman Haziq B Abdul Halim's shot from an acute angle was saved by the Regent goalkeeper. Then captain Muhd Ramdhan B Azman managed to dribble all the way down the right flank before his low cross into the box was cleared.

Next a ball played into the box from the left saw Muhd Asyraf B Ahmad appear to be held back by a Regent defender but the referee waved away his appeals.

In the last minute of regulation time, forward Rifqi Danyal B Adzlee rifled a 30-metre shot from outside the box that looked destined for the top right corner. However the effort came right off the crossbar before being cleared by the Regent defence.

Time soon ran out for Pasir Ris as they achieved their third successive 0-0 draw in Group O to put them on three points from three games played. Being just a point behind Seng Kang, they narrowly missed out on qualification for the semi-finals.

Pasir Ris captain Muhd Ramdhan B Azman was visibly disappointed after the match.

"Obviously we are disappointed," commented the 15-year-old. "I felt we did not play well together as a team today and lacked the sense of urgency when chasing our games."

Meanwhile Seng Kang captain Mohd Noor Afiq B Ubin was relieved.

"We were rather lucky as we had to depend on the last game to determine our qualification," commented the 14-year-old. "The task today was much tougher than the earlier rounds."

"The team spirit was a bit lacking today," he said when quizzed about the key mistake his team made during the matches. "We will have to rectify that in our next round."

Both Seng Kang and Siglap now go through to the semi-finals where they will face the winner and the runners-up of Group P respectively. The winners of the one-off semi-finals will meet each other in the final to determine who gets the chance to qualify for the Regional Finals in Bangkok.

The semi-finals and finals will take place on Saturday, April 17th, 2010.

Final Results
Regent (Team A) 0 Siglap 1
Sengkang 0 Pasir Ris 0
Sengkang 2 Regent (Team A) 0
Pasir Ris 0 Siglap 0
Siglap 1 Sengkang 0
Regent (Team A) 0 Pasir Ris 0

Line ups
Seng Kang
Sunny Wang (#1, GK), Ahmad Izzudin Amat Zaki (#2), Mohd Luqman B Mohd Kamarozaman (#3), Zakaria B Abdul Razak (#4), Rayyan B Mohd (#5), Mohd Noor Afiq B Udin (#6, captain), Mohd Helmi B Ridzwan (#7), Hafiz B Ridzwan (#8), Mohd Shameer Aziq B Razak (#9), Muhd Ariyan B Shamsuddin Malik (#10), Benedict Sim (#11), Muhd Rashe B Abdul Rahman (#12), Muhd Haiqal Ashidiq Khairul Anuar (#13), Erwannurrakim B Aminurlahim (#14), Benedict Ang (#15), Muhd Ridhuan B Shamsuddin Malik (#16)

Siglap
Nurhasbi B Mohd Hussin (#1, GK), Muhd Aidil B Rashid (#3), Mahathir B Azeman (#4), Muhd Danial (#5), Muhd Raihan B Akbar (#7), Ruzaini Zulkarnain (#8), Muhd Aiman B Idris (#9), Nurulhaq B Anuar (#10),Muhamed Halmie B Hamidi (#11), Muhd Fadlullah (#13), Aiman B Zainul Alam (#15), Amirul Hakim B Ghazali (#18), Ahmad Rusyaidee B Razali (#19), Muhd Daniel B Masral (#20), Rusyaidi B Sukarman (#21), Muhammed Amirul (#22)

Pasir Ris
Muhd Arif B Amran(#1, GK), Muhd Sabran B Abdul Latiff (#4), Mohamed Syaril B Mohamed (#5), Muhd Sholihiin B Nick Y (#6), Muhd Asyraf B Ahmad (#7), Ahmad Farihin B Suhaimi (#8), Rifqi Danyal B Adzlee (#9), Aiman Haziq B Abdul Halim (#10), Avinash Kirpal Mahtani (#11), Muhd Zulfiqar B Norazman (#15), Muhd Sholihin B Mohd Jais (#16), Muhd Ramdhan B Azman (#17, captain), Muhammad Asyraf B Mohamed Akbar (#19), Alfi Khair B Mohd Tayeb (#21), Muhd Faiq B Mohd Salleh (#22).

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