STOMPer WhatAboutTheSLeague was left disappointed after the LionsXII lost 2-1 to reigning champions Kelantan in the Malaysian Super League opener last night (Jan 11). The STOMPer also wondered why Singapore is even going back into Malaysian football if we can't match their quality on the pitch.

The Lions took a deserved lead in the 33rd minute when Baihakki Khaizan flicked on a Shahdan Sulaiman free-kick to send the Jalan Besar Stadium into raptures but Kelantan equalized on the stroke of half-time through Norshahrul Idlan Talaha before Mahmoud Ghaddar scored the winner from the penalty spot.

Replays showed that Ghaddar made the most of a soft challenge from Lions custodian Izwan Mahmud but STOMPer WhatAboutTheSLeague felt that, based on the quality of the team, fans should know better than to cry foul over the loss and wrote:

“The older Singaporean fans should have expected a poor refereeing decision to surface in the game yesterday – it’s not as if it didn’t happen in our previous experience in Malaysian competitions.

“With that said, I do not understand why the FAS would even bother sending a team back across the Causeway to play there? We got booted out of their competitions 17 years ago and have built a league that we can call our own.

"They didn't want us back then and we have went on to start our own league that is fading pretty badly now as compared to when it first started in 1996.

"Then again, we haven't been good enough recently and last night's loss summed it up -- we should really buck up before attempting to be 'king of the Causeway' and that can only be done by working hard in the S League and becoming the force like we were during the mid 2000s.

“Instead, we're forsaking a league that we have painstakingly built just to relive past glories, or rather attempt to, and then complain over decisions that we should have seen coming. Why do all this, really?"