Things kicked-off on Monday with Singapore A and Perth North battling out a tense 1-1 draw. Perth South got their campaign off on the right foot by defeating Adelaide B 2-1, while Adelaide A went down 2-0 to Singapore B. The following day the two J.S.A. sides met with Perth South coming out on top 1-0. Singapore B also maintained their 100% record with a 3-1 triumph over Adelaide B, while Singapore A and Adelaide A drew 1-1.
While Singapore's humidity was a new experience for many of the boys, the sides also had to contend with some playing surfaces that were less than desirable, but full credit to all the Australian sides who adapted well to both. Wednesday saw both J.S.A. teams involved in scoreless draws, Perth North with Adelaide B and Perth South with Adelaide A. In the derby between the hosts, Singapore B came out victors 4-1. Perth South kept alive their hopes of winning the event the following day with a commanding 3-1 win over Singapore A. Perth North ended the perfect record of Singapore B by holding them 2-2, and Adelaide A beat Adelaide B 3-0.
The final day of competition started with two draws, Singapore A and Adelaide B ending 2-2 while it was 0-0 between Perth North and Adelaide A. As it turned out the last scheduled fixture would decide the winner of the mini-tournament, Perth South scoring the only goal of the game - in the final minute of play - to edge in front of Singapore B who finished in second place. For Daniel Simcox, a member of the Perth South squad, the tour was something to cherish. "I hope that I can do it all over again in 2002 and have the same success," the Swan I.C. junior said. "Playing for your State is the greatest honour you could have."
Mick Tetlow, coach of the Under-14 South Development Squad, said he was over the moon with his team's performance in Singapore. "It was excellent, a really good competition for the boys," he said. "As the week went on we seemed to get better. We were obviously tired at the end of the week because five games in five days is a big ask in the humidity and the heat over there, but we accepted the conditions and just got on with it. In the last game as we needed to win while the Singapore national team only needed a draw, although we were both on the same points they had a superior goal average. And we ended up winning 1-0 by scoring with about three minutes to go, it was really good."
Fixtures and Scores
Round 1: 13th Aug 2001
Singapore A 1 vs Perth North (JSA) 1
Adelaide A 0 vs Singapore B 2
Perth South (JSA) 2 vs Adelaide B 1
Round 2: 14th Aug 2001
Singapore A 1 vs Adelaide A 1
Perth North (JSA) 0 vs Perth South (JSA) 1
Adelaide B 1 vs Singapore B 3
Round 3: 15th Aug 2001
Singapore A 1 vs Singapore B 4
Perth North (JSA) 0 vs Adelaide B 0
Perth South (JSA) 0 vs Adelaide A 0
Round 4: 16th Aug 2001
Singapore A 1 vs Perth South (JSA) 3
Perth North (JSA) 2 vs Singapore B 2
Adelaide B 0 vs Adelaide A 3
Round 5: 17th Aug 2001
Singapore A 2 vs Adelaide B 2
Perth North (JSA) 0 vs Adelaide A 0
Singapore B 0 vs Perth South (JSA) 1
Final Table
P W D L FOR AGST GD PTS
1 Perth South (JSA) 5 4 1 0 7 2 +5 13
2 Singapore B 5 3 1 1 11 5 +6 10
3 Adelaide A 5 1 3 1 6 6 +0 6
4 Perth North (JSA) 5 0 4 1 3 4 -1 4
5 Singapore A 5 0 3 2 6 11 -5 3
6 Adelaide B 5 0 2 4 4 10 -6 2