RHB Singapore Cup pulls interesting draws

Basil Yeo
info@sleague.com

Cup fever took town by storm, as the draw for the 2009 RHB Singapore Cup Preliminary Round took place at noon on Wednesday, right in the heart of the Central Business District. For the first time ever in the competition’s history, the draw was held outdoors, on the front lawn of Coffee Club Raffles Place.

The draw, hosted by Class 95 DJ Glenn Ong, was graced by the Mayor for Central Singapore District and current FAS President Mr. Zainudin Nordin, along with representatives from RHB and corporate sponsors, as well as familiar faces in local football such as S.League CEO Winston Lee, and S.League coaches Richard Bok, Terry Pathmanathan, P N Sivaji and Nasaruddin Jalil, amongst others.

But arguably the most anticipated face of them all was Singapore legend Fandi Ahmad, marking his return to local scene as head coach of Indonesian club Pelita Jaya, who will be making their debut in the Singapore Cup, along with current Thai Premier League leaders Bangkok Glass FC.

Other foreign invitees are returning participants Phnom Penh Crown of Cambodia and last year’s quarter-finalists TTM Samut Sakhon FC of Thailand, previously known as Tobacco Monopoly.

Discs bearing club names and logos, and slot numbers were placed two acrylic boxes and drawn separately. S.League teams were drawn first, while foreign invitees were done afterwards to ensure that the invitees will draw teams from the S.League instead of each other.

S.League newcomers Brunei DPMM FC were the first club out of the box, but the first teams to be drawn together were Balestier Khalsa and Home United, and Balestier head coach Nasaruddin Jalil is contented with the draw, despite the mammoth task for his side.

“It’s a good draw for us,” said the Tigers’ head man. “In a cup competition we cannot afford to be choosy. Last year we drew SAFFC in both the Singapore Cup and the League Cup .We lost the Singapore Cup in the first round but we went all the way to the semis in the League Cup and managed to finish third.”

It will be a long trip to the far east for SAFFC who will begin their defence of the ultimate prize away to Geylang United. The Warriors successfully defended the cup last season while the Eagles fell in the preliminary round while on a visit to the Super Reds.

“We want to defend our crown and won’t be giving up without a fight,” said Warriors’ head coach Richard Bok. “The cup will be very competitive this year and by the time this comes around we probably won’t be in the Champions League anymore, so we can focus on the league and the cup. Nevertheless, we will work hard to get through to the next round.”

“The two Thai teams will definitely be the teams to watch in the competition as Thais generally have good technical ability,” said Bok, when asked about the foreign invitees. “If we were to play them in Thailand it will be very difficult, but in Singapore it may be a different story.”

The other ties in the Preliminary Round include an all-Jurong derby in Albirex Niigat vs Gombak United and Tampines Rovers vs Sengkang Punggol, where Jorg Stienebrunner’s men will attempt to avenge a bizarre 2-0 defeat earlier this season, which saw both their goalkeepers sent off.

The Stags should be wary as the Dolphins’ head had a commendable record the Singapore Cup during his time at Woodlands Wellington, having finished as runners-up twice, the first in 2005 as an assistant coach to Moroccan Karim Bencherifa, and the second as head coach last season. The two years in between saw the Rams reaching the semi-finals and going out on 3rd and 4th respectively.

“We will certainly go for a win,” said Sengkang’s team manager Richard Wong. “There are no clear favourites in a cup competition and this will be a good try for us.”

In an all foreign team draw, Fandi’s Pelita Jaya will take on DPMM FC, who at time of writing, sit on top of the table with 19 points, while TTM Samut Sakhon have been drawn to play the Super Reds. Phnom Penh Crown is the designated home team in the tie against the Young Lions while the Rams will host Bangkok Glass FC in Woodlands.

“I am very excited about meeting DPMM,” said Fandi. “We played them twice in Brunei but I saw them play and they look better now,” he said. “It’s our first time in this competition and hopefully we can add spice into the competition and go through to the final.”

The Singapore Cup Preliminary Round kicks off on 27 April 2009, with the final scheduled for Sunday, 8 November 2009.