SAF FC beat Woodlands Wellington in Singapore Cup to complete football double

By Les Tan

Jalan Besar Stadium, Friday, November 21, 2008 – The Singapore Armed Forces Football Club beat Woodlands Wellington FC 2-1 in extra-time yesterday to capture the Singapore Cup and complete the double for this season. SAF FC wrapped up the S.League title earlier this week.

A goal on the stroke of half-time by Shaiful Esah (SAF #2) directly from a corner gave SAF a 1-0 lead going into the break. It was a cruel way to end the half for Woodlands Wellington after repelling everything that SAF had thrown at them up til then.

Woodlands keeper, Yazid Yasin, a short keeper by S.League standards, was unsighted, with the tall SAF striker Aleksandar Duric standing right in front of him in the 6-yard box to block his vision. Even then, it was still a lapse in concentration that allowed Shaiful’s ball to swing into the net unmolested at the near post, with the Woodlands defender standing at the post doing nothing to block it.

The second half yielded more SAF chances, with Ahmad Latiff Khamaruddin (#6) and Therdsak Chaiman (#8) missing good chances. Yazid Yasin was a deserved Man-of-the-Match choice after the game, with numerous saves that kept his side in the game.

With SAF unable to make the game safe and score a second goal, and the game threatening to put everyone to sleep, Woodlands Wellington finally woke everyone up when Fadzuhasny Juraimi (#7) scored the equaliser off a corner in the 78th minute.

The goal would go some way in making up for the atrocious volley Juraimi executed earlier in the game. In what must be a cup final first, he hit the ball high enough to clear the immense Jalan Besar Stadium wall and into the swimming pool next door.

From then on, the game picked up a measure of speed and excitement as both teams went at it to secure the winning goal but eventually they had to settle for extra-time.

In first half extra-time, goalscorer Shaiful turned provider with a free kick that was headed home unopposed by defender Kenji Arai (#3) in the 106th minute.

Woodlands Wellington, despite the tireless running of Park Tae Won (#18), could find no penetration. A sweet Woodlands move in the late stages of the game gave Anaz Hadee (#13) a clear shot at goal but the defender managed to kick only air, much to the disappointment of the Woodlands fans.