Fingers crossed for S-League reboot

SINGAPORE — Last night, there were two, but in the coming months, local football fans Kader Gani and Ganapathy Selvarajoo want to rally a group of 25 friends to Toa Payoh Stadium to support their team Balestier Khalsa on a regular basis in the Great Eastern SG50 Charity Shield.

They were among 2,700 fans who turned up at Jalan Besar Stadium last night to watch league champions Warriors FC lift the Great Eastern Charity Shield, after Nicolas Velez’s 28th minute strike gave them a 1-0 win over Balestier, the RHB Singapore Cup holders, as the 20th season of the S-League, which has 10 teams, kicked off.

The embattled S-League was hit by a number of issues last season, with a controversial policy to limit the number of players aged over 30 coming under fire from players and fans.

While the league’s chief executive Lim Chin announced an about-turn on the rule three weeks later, a number of the players, including former Singapore forward Qiu Li, were unable to find a club in time for the start of the 2015 season.

It has also seen dwindling crowd numbers in recent years, and the Football Association of Singapore is conducting a major strategic review to enhance the league and improve the match experience for fans.

Fans whom TODAY spoke to are hopeful that the reboot will re-energise the ailing S-League.

“It’s very sad when the stadiums are so empty and for the players when there are no fans to support them,” said Kader, 17.

Added Ganapathy: “They should give free tickets to the match so people can experience the match live for themselves and see what’s happening, how the fans cheer and jeer the teams. The (age) ruling has really affected some teams, but there are still good players and I think it’s going to be an interesting season.”

Aliff Mohd Aliff Sani, who has been following the S-League since he was in primary school, also called for free entry for the fans. “I think local football is still exciting, and it will help if they give out free tickets because that will really get a lot of my friends to watch,” he said.

Last night’s season-opener was the Warriors’ first victory over the Tigers in eight encounters.

Balestier fans were treated to the S-League debuts of Croatian trio, midfielders Robert Periric and Tarik Cmajcanin, alongside striker Miroslav Kristic, who came close to scoring the equaliser in the 43rd minute with a low shot that bounced off the woodwork.

Warriors coach Alex Weaver was happy with his team’s first victory and silverware for the season, particularly after last week’s 3-1 loss to Indonesia’s Persipura Jayapura in their opening AFC Cup group match.

“We didn’t play brilliantly, but we did enough to get the result and that’s what counts at this level so I’m pleased,” said the Englishman.

“We changed our system to match theirs, we were okay in creating chances going forward but, when we lost possession, just an extra body in midfield, difference in shape meant we had to do something.”

Balestier coach Marko Kraljevic knows there is more work to be done.

“We were not really good in attacking, too many passes going nowhere and the key passes were missing,” he said. “Jalan Besar is not an easy place to play in, but that’s no excuse and we can do better.”