The Kop Comes To Asia!

It was a fantastic Sunday night yesterday at the friendly match between Liverpool FC and the Singapore Lions. I was sitting in the East'Kop'Stand for all the die-hard Liverpool supporters. The atmosphere was full of excitement and when an occasional rival fan(including two of my church friends)turned up(they bought tickets too)turned up in a rival shirt(usually Manchester United), the whole contigent of fans booed him. They wanted them to change shirts and cheered when that happened.
The match started at around 7 pm and I watched these world-famous players do their stuff. However, in the first half, there was hardly any action except for the occasional chance created by Liverpool. There was also a scare for as fans when one of Singapore's players broke through the defence but his shot was straight at Cavalieri and on the stroke of half-time, when Voronin's strike rolled into the bottom corner of the goal, the stadium erupted in cheers.
The second half started with a some of the bigger players coming on such as Albert Riera, who later scored a goal after latching on to Mascherano's cross. The crowd then was chanting the name of Torres and Benitez did not let them down, with Torres coming on for Yossi Benayoun, causing the entire stadium to erupt in loud screaming and cheering. Dirk Kuyt was also introduced soon after. Nemeth then scored from Dirk Kuyt's cross to make it three in the 73rd minute. Pepe Reina and Xabi Alonso were then introduced five minutes later. I remember sitting in the stands and seeing Reina and Alonso waiting to be substituted in, the fans started calling for the ball to be kicked out so the two star Spaniards could be brought in. When the substitutions were announced, again the stadium erupted in loud cheers. Kuyt, who created a total of three goals, then provided Torres with a simple tap-in two minutes later. The rout was then completed by Nemeth, who scored a brace. Torres also had a header headed narrowly wide. At the end of the match, after the prize presentation, the Liverpool playes walked around the entire pitch, waving at the fans. Benitez and a few others followed suit a while later.
However, there were a few things not satisfactory though. Firstly, the stadium only had one screen, which showed the score but not the match time. Also, everything, from the players assembling on the pitch to the prize presentation, was conducted infront of the grandstand. We fans in the 'Kop' Stand could hardly even see the players faces, except during the warm-up, the match and when they walked around the pitch.
Overall, it was still a fantastic experience, being able to see these world-class players in real life and every single cent of the $88 i paid was totally worth it. Oh and every ticket-holder was entitled to a free scarf(designed properly).