He witnessed the challenge play out right in front of him. His fullback made the most of it—tumbling and rolling out across the touchline. Clutching his left shin, he stayed down. Just ten minutes more to go. Victory was in sight.

The Head Coach walked over, bent down, and, with the slightest hint of irritation, nudged his player to get up. The replay showed there wasn’t much contact in the challenge, if any. You could almost hear him whisper, “Come on, get on with it.”

The player got up, and play resumed; the throw-in was taken quickly. Results matter, but how they are achieved matters too. This journey has only just begun.

18 Nov: HKG 1-2 SGP

From standing just outside the SGP penalty box (to defend a HKG throw-in), SGP forwards Song Uiyong, Ikhsan Fandi and Ilhan Fandi burst past the halfway line to make the most of a quick SGP GK Izwan long ball. The rest of the SGP calvary would eventually arrive to flood the HKG penalty box, but Ilhan decided it had to be him. History made.