S’pore U-15s, U-16s through to semi-finals
Singapore's under-15s and under-16s have qualified for the semi-finals of the 23rd Canon Lion City Cup.
The under-15 boys progressed to the final four despite losing 1-2 to Juventus FC U-15 in a thrilling encounter at the Jalan Besar Stadium on Wednesday evening, which saw two red cards issued.
There were moments where the under-15s played some brilliant 'tiki-taka' football ala Barcelona, but the Italians defence was always up to the task.
Both sides were cancelling out each other until the deadlock was broken in the 31st minute. Star striker Nicholas Varetto pulled the ball and two defenders wide to the right before squaring it to teammate Andrea Marra to slot it home.
Singapore came close to levelling the score on the stroke of half-time when Raja Ahmad Zaki had a go from 30 metres out, but custodian Giacomo Volpe managed to punch it away.
The second half saw the under-15 boys trying more long-range passes, which did not seem to work until the 62nd minute. A moment of confusion with his goalkeeper resulted in Juventus captain Niccolo Guiducci scoring an own goal from Sadik Said's long punt.
A draw seemed to be on the cards until Juventus struck again minutes before the final whistle through Fabio Gili.
Stefano Antezza, who had already been cautioned and substituted out, was shown a second yellow card for running onto the pitch to celebrate his team's winning goal.
Sadik Said was also sent off for a second yellow card offence after a rash tackle on Andrea Giannarelli.
Singapore coach Dejan Gluscevic felt that Sadik's dismissal was uncalled for.
"Sadik's red card was unnecessary, but he is learning and he will learn from this mistake," he said.
Mechanical engineer Syahrul Hatta, 25, a Singapore fan, felt that the red card was too harsh.
"I don't think there's any malice, it looked to me like he was genuinely trying to get the ball. But we'll miss him in the semis," he added.
In the second match, the under-16 Cubs were held to a 1-1 draw at Everton FC.
Everton's dominance in the height department saw Calum Dyson head in a cross from winger Daniel O'Brien in the 20th minute.
But parity was restored barely a minute later, when Hazim Hassan turned his marker to connect with Brandoh Koh's cross.
Both teams had many more chances to score, but a combination of poor finishing and heroic goalkeeping on either end left the score at 1-1.
Hazim could have bagged a hat-trick with chances aplenty, but he's not letting it affect his confidence.
"We will focus on the semi-finals and try to beat Juventus," he said.
O'Brien was voted man-of-the-match for constantly tormenting the Cubs' defence, while goalkeeper Fashah Rosedin continued to impress with his reflexes and anticipation.
With the conclusion of the group stages, Singapore under-16s will face off against Juventus while CR Flamengo meets Singapore under-15s in the semi-finals.
Both matches will be played at Jalan Besar Stadium on Friday.
