Etoile FC showed what the fans (being the "12th Man") and sheer grit and determination would turn into at the Bedok Stadium, with the Stars stunning the Eagles 3-2 with a comeback win.
Starting with Hicham, LeFranc and Aymard back in the squad, the Stars were surprisingly over-run by the Eagles, who were featuring Daniel Hammond (ex-SAFFC), Jeon Byung Euk (ex Super Reds) and Japanese Striker Yuta Nakano. The Eagles dictated the pace of the game and finally opened the scoring when another Koprean, Kim Jae Hong (who had a very good game) broke the offside trap and nutmeg Selim Kaabi before slotting the ball past Trilles for the opener.
Wilson Grosset though, silenced the Bedok faithful, who were starting to get noisy with individual shoutings, as he slotted the ball beyond Yazid in a scramble. And scramble was the order of the day as Geylang found themselves with a freekick during 1st Half injury time as Nakano took advantage of some shabby defense to poke the ball beyond Trilles right at the stroke of half time. However, if the Eagles thought that it would be a dent to the morale of the Stars, they were very wrong.
The 2nd half started with neither sides being able to put a foothold on proceedings and the impressive defense led by Daniel Hammond showed as Etoile FC were unable to penetrate, attempting long shots after long shots. However, the Ultras Kop leader of the day, had other ideas and started to pressure Daniel Hammond. With shouts like "You Never Play for Singapore (and England)", Mike Wong was spotted telling the British Defender "Focus Daniel...". And Daniel showed how the '12th Man' affected him when he slipped as he guarded Toto, and the ex-Rangers forward back-heel the ball into the net, evading Daniel and Yazid, for the 2nd equalizer.
Game On! And the cheers and taunts continued for the Eagles from Ultras as Kim Jae Hong and Daniel Hammond were periodically pressured to perform. The breakthrough came in the last few minutes of normal play as a defense lapse from the Geylang left-back allowed Nordine Talhi to shoot the ball into the top corner of the net for the winner. Ultras 'marked' Daniel Hammond and Kim Jae Hong for the win!
Post game, the Ultras spoke to Theo Raymond, who was substituted early in the game by Nordine Talhi and the Etoile No.8 explained that he was feeling unwell. He also told Ultras that he was 'very very happy that Nordine scored'.
Also spotted was the early exit of the stadium of Coach Mike Wong and Manager Lim Tong Hai. Perhaps, they are wondering how the team allowed a 2-1 lead and 3 points in the bag become ZERO suddenly.
Etoile FC would now fix their eyes on defending the League Cup and would look to welcoming Home United. The Ultras would be there to mark the Home United players, as the '12th Man' so come and join us.
Allez Etoile, Forza Ultras!
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