Somersault goal lights up S’pore FA Cup tie

SINGAPORE – It was a moment of magic that lit up an otherwise standard FA Cup tie between National Football League (NFL) side Yishun Sentek Mariners FC and Island Wide League (IWL) outfit Kaki Bukit Sports Club on Sunday.

With the Mariners holding a comfortable 4-0 lead, they were awarded a penalty in the 68th minute after striker Muhammad Syafiq Sazali was brought down in the box.

Having won the spot-kick, Syafiq, who had entered the game as a substitute just 10 minutes earlier, then stepped up to take it himself.

The referee blew his whistle, the 21-year-old took a short run-up, shuffled his feet, and struck the ball cleanly with his left foot while simulataneously doing a backward flip.

The result? A spectacular goal, as the ball flew into the top corner of the net while Syafiq nailed his landing perfectly to cheers and applause from his team-mates. The Mariners went on to win the tie 8-0.

Revealing that he got the inspiration to take such a penalty after watching a Youtube video of a similar stunt being performed by Finnish Footballer Joonas Jokinen during a match in 2011, Syafiq told TODAY: “About two months ago, my friend shared a video of the most awesome penalties ever taken, and when I saw that backflip goal, I told myself that I’ll do this one day.

“So since then I’ve been practising this technique, and I even did it during the half-time break of the FA Cup match.

“So when I actually got the opportunity after winning the penalty, my coach told me to go for it and attempt the backflip penalty.

“At first I was quite nervous, but my team trusted me to take it, and I didn't want to let them down. I knew where I wanted the ball to go,and thankfully, everything went according to plan.”

Syafiq's coach is former national goalkeeper Yakob Hashim. Syafiq added that he was able to execute the acrobatic maneouvre because he used to play sepak takraw, which required him to practise a variety of flips and somersaults.

Hailing from a football-centric family, Syafiq, who previously played for the Warriors FC Centre of Excellence (COE) team, says the backflip penalty is just the tip of the iceberg, and that he will try and score more of such outrageous goals in future.

“My whole family loves football, but I’m regarded as the freestyler in the family,” said Syafiq, who has four other siblings. “Doing such freestyle moves is something that I’m interested in, and I’m going to try out more of the other stunts that I’ve seen online in future matches.

“I might even come up with a few of my own creative moves. Of course, my dream is to one day represent Singapore in football, but I know it’s hard to break into the team. So hopefully I can make a name for myself with more of such goals.”