Lions must get rival fans roaring

TWO hours before last Saturday's Malaysian Super League (MSL) clash between hosts Kedah and Singapore, fans were milling around outside Alor Setar's Darul Aman Stadium, checking out the roadside food on offer.

That was when a group of young Kedah fans, clad in their football team's trademark yellow- and-green jerseys, approached me. One of them asked: "From Singapore?"

I nodded and was immediately shown a middle finger. Before I could react, the group of fans - who could not have been more than 20 years old - roared in laughter as they ran away.

It may be unsavoury but, as far as fan intimidation goes for Singaporeans in away MSL matches in Malaysia, this was considered extremely mild. At least the Kedah fans were laughing, more at their audacity than at my shock.

Indeed, for the 120 Singapore fans who made the long trip to Alor Setar, they might have expected a fiercer atmosphere at the Darul Aman, given the history of rivalry between Singapore and Kedah.

Back in the 1990s, when Singapore assembled a formidable side to challenge for the Malaysian league and Cup honours, Kedah were the best team in the league, not the Lions' archrivals, Selangor.

With the Darul Aman's reputation as an intimidating fortress, Kedah were a potent combination of stylish football and never-say-die mentality, and they beat the star-studded Lions in the 1993 Malaysia Cup final.

The Darul Aman has since increased its capacity from 21,000 to 35,000, and its reputation as a tough place for away teams remains.

Yet, last Saturday's match was tepid when it should have been a rip-roaring, heart-pounding skirmish between two fierce rivals.

The stadium was not full - only a paltry 12,000 turned up. And there was hardly any venom directed towards the Singapore fans, with only a small section of the home crowd belting out noisy chants and songs.

The match was also an overly cautious 0-0 affair, as both sides were eager to avoid a second straight defeat to start the MSL season.

"Better safe than sorry," was what LionsXII coach V. Sundramoorthy said after the game. Indeed, had it been a match during the 1990s, a point gained at Darul Aman would have been celebrated as a great achievement.

Last Saturday's draw, however, felt like a winning chance lost. Kedah were a pale shadow of their former title-winning incarnations, and were mentally brittle after suffering a 0-3 walloping by T-Team in their previous match.

More troublingly, Singapore's return to Malaysia Cup football has not exactly set the Malaysian fans' pulses racing.

Perhaps it is understandable, as Singapore are returning after a 17-year absence. Whatever hostilities there may have been diluted by time.

Rude hand gestures aside, few nasty words were exchanged and skirmishes were non-existent. While these are commendable improvements, it is disappointing to note that not many Kedah fans were nostalgic enough to fill their stadium and watch the return of their old rivals.

After all, Alor Setar is hardly a bustling city filled with exciting attractions. In fact, save for a few shopping malls, its residents have only these MSL football matches to keep themselves entertained.

Perhaps, if winning football was on show, there would have been a better crowd.

Singapore's return to Malaysian football, therefore, is not the instant success everyone was hoping for.

It could yet scale the heady heights of yesteryear, but only if the LionsXII team begin to contend for the league and Cup just like the old national sides did in the 1990s.

But this is hardly a surefire bet - the LionsXII players are young and inexperienced, and the whole team struggled to create scoring chances.

Last Saturday's first away game at Alor Setar showed that Malaysian fans are adopting a wait-and-see attitude on whether the Lions are worth watching.

For the Lions' return to Malaysian football to succeed, they must convince these fans to flock to their home stadiums and holler their hearts out to fire up their teams for an exciting battle against the Lions.

Only then will this return truly be a success for both countries.

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