And so Singapore beat Laos last nite at the National Stadium, 11-0! To say that it is an easy win, that we hamtam the Laotians upside down, are both understatements. It was more of us riding roughshod over young men.

The Laotian players are all amateurs in their home league, and mostly undergraduates. In short, their local league is like inter-varsity games. The players study and train after school. Their average age was around 20, making them even younger than the guys in the singapore universities. Obviously in terms of experience, they are unable to match up to the Lions. They don’t have the physique to compete at the same level as well. They don’t train enough to have the stamina to match us.

Granted, we should never slacken off in an international tournament, especially one that is of great prestige within the region. After the 9th goal, with about 20 minutes left, it was obvious that the Lions were trying to slow the game down, preferring to pass the ball within their own half. It was a marked change from the aggression shown after the 6th goal when they were pushing deep into the half of the bewildered Laotian boys. My guess is that probably we realised that a new record has been set for the biggest victory, so they were holding back.

The fans were obviously not happy and started egging the Lions on, hoping for 10. And to my disappointment, they scored 1 more. To rub salt into the already deep wound, they added 1 more just before full time. Noh Alam Shah scored 7 goals, a new national record. He was recorded as saying he doesn’t remember scoring so many goals in after-school kickabouts back in secondary school. The Laotian coach was also too distraught to attend the post-match conference.

My bet is that those Laotians would just go back home after this tournament, hang up their soccer boots and study hard instead. It could be their alternative ticket to a better life.