Champions League.

To be honest, seeing South China participating in the AFC Champions League, even at the preliminary rounds, is still giving me goosebumps.

So I was in Singapore for the past couple of days for Chinese New Year, and to be able to catch South China in Singapore was something quite memorable as well.  The match between Tampines Rovers was never going to be easy because we are playing away on a plastic pitch, so I guess the lads had it the hard way.  On the terrace, there were probably about 20 South China fans (though most of them I have never seen before in my life), and we were up against about 1000 others locals.  Surprisingly, the Tampines side was so quiet that apparently my voice was the really outstanding one  in the stadium.  In a way, I guess the few of us turned this into our home ground!  Admittedly, without my usual comrades on the terraces (there were 2 who were there, so that made it 3), it was a bit hard.  There was no drum beats to follow, and since there were only those few of us who are used to singing and chanting during the match, when we got tired, we really were and there wasn’t anyone who could take over from us.  So I guess it’s very important to form a big team of supporters who would sing and chant, not just to increase the volume, but also to cover for one another!  It felt good that the few of us who made the trip to Singapore did make a little difference for the lads.

As far as the match was concerned, I think it was a fair result, though I did think the referee was a bit too much on the strict side as shown by those two red cards which I thought were not really necessary.  Having said that, I thought the South China lads played well enough, though they probably might want to practice more on their shooting because if some of those shots have turned into goals, we probably wouldn’t have to endure such a nervy time!  Having said that, I was confident that the lads would pull through.  I was certain that our lads are better than the lot from Tampines and given that we are in mid-season, our form should be better than them.  Some of those “fans” might not be happy with winning “just” 2-1, but for me, a win is a win and I’m not going to complain too much about it.  You don’t get upset or angry with your team winning matches.

As most of you would have known, South China won the game, and would be heading to Thailand to take on Chonburi in the second qualifying match.  I won’t be going to Thailand for the game, but if the lads could overcome the odds and beat Chonburi, the next stop would be Beijing, where Beijing Guo’an awaits.  If the lads do make it to Beijing, I’m gonna be there too!