The latest goings-on from Glory’s Malaysia Tour…
Day Three
The day began with Tony Popovic and Jacob Burns engaging in a fascinating Q&A session with more than 140 delegates from all over South-East Asia at the Sarawak International Football Symposium.
And it ended with Glory finding the net seven times as they cruised past local Premier League side Sarawak FA to claim the inaugural Symposium Cup.
In between, the players trained, the skies above Kuching were illuminated by yet another spectacular electrical storm and a NINE-slice toaster appeared as a prize in the half-time raffle at Stadium Negeri.
It really was quite a day.
Unfortunately, there was one decidedly sour note which was the injury sustained by Tando Velaphi during the first half of the friendly game.
The Glory ‘keeper was hospitalised and then kept in overnight to be monitored for concussion and for the damage to his eye socket to be assessed.
He is hoping to return to the hotel at some point on Monday and we will, of course, update you regarding his condition as soon as we can.
Day Four
A later breakfast was followed by a recovery session for the players and then a little down-time.
The staff, meanwhile, headed to a nearby park for a four-aside game during which, it’s fair to say, the Corinthian spirit was conspicuous only by its complete absence.
A controversial 5-5 draw was the final outcome, with embattled referee Brett Lambert expected to need intensive counselling after copping a fearful barrage of dissent from both sides.
The recriminations were still rumbling on come dinner time, but fortunately Chok Dau, Zayd Farah and Juande combined to restore an altogether more harmonious atmosphere.
As first-time tourists, Dau and Farah were both obliged to perform the obligatory song while standing on a chair in the dining area.
And perform they certainly did.
Dau was utterly unfazed and actually seemed reluctant to stop, while Farah opted to wheel out an Arabic number which went down similarly well with the rest of the group.
Birthday boy Juande was then serenaded before being presented with two [skin-fold-friendly!] birthday cakes and the players were also introduced to Sarawak FA’s executive committee who joined the group for dinner.
So it was very much an upbeat and light-hearted end to Day Four, but everyone’s thoughts are, of course, still very much with Tando.
#OneGlory
