Singapore vs Malaysia

I know there had been press about how fast tickets were being sold, but it was still a surprise to get to the stadium and find out tickets were sold out. While I was waiting for Khai and gang, people actually came up to me to ask if I had tickets.

You wouldn't have guessed that it was going to be a full house when the teams started warming up.



The crowds were only starting to fill up the seats behind the goals.



You could feel the excitement building up as more and more people filtered in. Brings you back to the good old days of the Malaysia Cup.



The intermittent drizzle was a worry but when it was finally time for the teams to come out and play, it was turning out to be a picture-perfect night to be out watching soccer.



The Kallang Stadium became a sea of red and white, save for a small pocket of yellow resistance from the Malaysians. I think everyone who came were hoping to help cheer on Singapore to the final.

The home side were definitely inspired by the crowd. I was quite impressed with their performance, especially with their build-up play. Too bad they didn't seem to be able to finish off their moves.

It didn't really matter. We roared at every attacking opportunity while heckling the visiting team any chance we got. We were looking for any excuse to make noise!



I had forgotten how much fun it was to cheer the Lions live. It's been a while since we had a 60,000 strong Kallang wave and full-blooded tet-tet tet-tet-tet tet-tet-tet-tet b****! ringing around the stadium.

Unfortunately cries of the latter grew more and more frequent, especially after Lionel made a howler from one of the first real save he had to make. The crowd definitely became more subdued as the scoreline sank in.



Paper aeroplanes were flying all over the place from the paper advertisements NIKE had handed out freely as the action thinned. Some of the supporters were still hopeful of a comeback as the Singapore team started pumping more balls into the box.

Somehow one of those hopeful balls ended with the ball in the Malaysian net. 1-1!



The crowd just went wild. I had no idea really what happened. I guess I'll have to try and catch the replays.

Both teams had chances to end the stalemate but in the end it came down to penalties. It was worth the price of the ticket just to have been there when the final spotkick was taken.


I had thought the cheers after the equalising goal was loud. It was nothing compared to the celebrations as the Lions booked a place in the final against Thailand.



The skies opened up as the match ended, making everyone rush for the exits. It was pouring as we finally got out of the stadium. The rest had a wet walk to their cars parked near the KFC while I made my way back to my 60 cent parking space. Two wheels meant I got through the jam and home earlier than most.

So now the question is - who's coming with me to the final?!? You know my number.