Singapore to face Thailand in Asia Oceania Floorball Confederation Cup final

SINGAPORE – Singapore will face a severe test in their quest to retain the men’s Asia-Oceania Floorball Confederation Cup, with Thailand setting up a date with the hosts in the final at Our Tampines Hub on Saturday (7pm).

The Thais, who cruised to a 4-1 win over South Korea in Friday’s semi-finals, have beaten the Republic in their last three meetings.

Thailand coach Kenneth Koh, a Singaporean, will be seeking a fourth win on the trot.

While he said he “is prioritising other aspects other than just results”, Koh added: “Obviously as players, the aim is always to go and try to win. I am positive my players will be eager and ready to do exactly that.

“The Singapore team looked good and hungry to win on home soil. As for us, it will be a good opportunity nonetheless to see how our younger players and debutants step up to the occasion.”

The Thais, who have several youth players in the team, opened their account within two minutes through Pheeraphong Khambanlue.

Veerasak Pimpa’s brace then extended their lead to 3-0.

Kim Yong-tae pulled one back for the South Koreans in the third period but Thailand captain Pawat Thaidit made it 4-1.

The Singapore A team defeated Singapore B 7-3 in a fiery second semi-final. The A team comprised mainly senior players, with Under-19 players dominating the B team.

For 60 minutes, friendship was put aside as both sides battled it out for bragging rights.

Singapore A stormed into a 4-0 lead within 13 minutes with goals by Lim Jian Hong, Darwish Aiman, Gerald Tan and Vignesa Pasupathy, before the B team pulled one back through Lee Chee Yong.

The teams battled fiercely in the second period, with several players sent sprawling by strong body tackles.

The B team managed to narrow the deficit to 4-3, thanks to R. Sathish and Irwan Shaiful’s strikes, but three goals in five minutes in the third period via Azhari Saputra Mustafa, Cheang Jia Qing and Ethan Wong sealed the final spot for the senior side.

Singapore assistant coach Syazni Ramlee lauded the winning mindset of both teams, saying: “It was a really exciting game, the start was very close. The mentality of wanting to win and go to the final that the B team had was amazing.

“In training, it has been very competitive, they know the strengths and weaknesses of each other, so it was a matter of who wanted it more.”

Singapore A captain Thaddeus Tan said his side managed to calm their nerves down in an intense match and gave a good fight.

“Eventually, we managed to get to the final,” he added. “So for that, I’m very proud. But kudos to the B team’s boys, they really put up a good fight.”

On meeting Thailand in the final, Tan said: “We have faced them a couple of times. But the difference now is that we have a few changes, new additions to our sport, younger players.

“We are very, very good, technically a lot better. So we are looking forward to the fight. At the end of the day, we are just going to try to play our best game, reduce our mistakes and go according to the coach’s plan.

“This is what we envisioned... hopefully, with that process, we can get the right outcome.”

Singapore had won the last edition of the AOFC Cup in 2019 in the Philippines by beating a young Thai side 17-1 in the final.