Thursday, 9 June 2011 10:43 AM
South Melbourne FC was one of five invited foreign teams to participate in the 2011 RHB Singapore Cup. It is the fourteenth staging of the annual Singapore Cup tournament.
The format of the tournament remains unchanged from the previous edition in 2010. South Melbourne FC has been drawn against S League club Albirex Niigata Singapore FC. The first round match has been scheduled for Sunday 12th June at the Jalan Besar Stadium, with kick off set for 7.30pm local time (9.30pm AEST).
The first round of fixtures involve one off elimination matches, with subsequent rounds involving matches to be played over two legs.
Apart from South Melbourne FC, the other four foreign teams that have been invited to participate include:
• Pattaya United (Thailand)
• Phnom Penh Crown (Cambodia)
• Okktha United (Myanmar)
• Harimau Muda (Malaysia)
South’s opponent is a satellite team of Albirex Niigata of Japan, and its playing roster is largely comprised of Japanese players. The side joined the S League in 2004 and has attracted praise from the local media for their professional approach. Albirex Niigata Singapore FC wears a predominantly orange playing strip, with white as its away colours. Its major corporate partner is Canon. Over the previous seven years, its highest achievement has been to finish in fifth position on the S League ladder, while it finished fourth in the 2009 RHB Singapore Cup.
In 2010, South Melbourne FC reached the quarterfinal stage of the tournament. In the elimination first round match, South overcame Gombak United 2-1 with first half goals to Daniel Vasilevski and Joseph Youssef. In the quarterfinal stage, South Melbourne FC lost over two legs to the eventual champion Bangkok Glass 6-4 on aggregate.
Should South Melbourne FC be successful in overcoming Albirex Niigata Singapore FC, it will meet the winner of the match between Singapore Armed Forces FC and Phnom Penh Crown. The quarter final matches are scheduled to be played over two legs in late September.
The squad that will be travelling to Singapore is listed below:
2. Thomas Matthews (Defender)
5. Daniel Vasilevski (Midfielder)
6. Steven Topalovic (Midfielder)
8. Carl Recchia (Midfielder)
10. Kliment Taseski (Forward)
11. Jesse Krncevic (Forward)
14. Steven Weir (Forward)
16. Trent Waterson (Forward)
18. Marinos Gasparis (Midfielder)
20. Daniel Dragicevic (Forward)
21. Zaim Zeneli (Goalkeeper)
23. Sebastian Petrovich (Midfielder)
25. Kyle Joryeff (Forward)
33. Bobby Russell (Midfielder)
80. Meyer Carlos De Camargo Junior (Defender)
For any queries, please contact Nick Galatas on +61 3 9645 9797 or media@smfc.com.au
