Getting to Larkin meant once again crossing the Woodlands checkpoint and after my recent experience, I wasn’t too keen on that. And this time round things did go a lot smoother. After a non-stop bus ride to the border, we quickly cleared immigration on both sides and soon found ourselves at the Larkin Bus Terminal. From there it is a 15mins walk to the stadium. Unfortunately tickets cannot be bought online but they were still selling them at the stadium for either MYR30 (€8) for the grandstand or MYR10 (€3) for open seats. Naturally we went for the latter.

JDT vs Kelantan F.C., 18.04.2015

Fans tend to go to the stadium fairly early and when we got there around 90mins before kick-off, the stands were already quite crowded. It was quickly evident to us why it is worth to go early: inside the stadium barely any food was sold but outside there was a large night market for food and (original and original-copy) merchandise. After filling our stomachs and making sure we blend in with the latest fan gear, we entered the stadium. Malaysian hospitality was great and we managed to get great seats. The game started soon after a prayer and the singing of the regional anthems of Johor and Kelantan. The stadium seemed to be more or less sold out and there was also a large crowd of Kelantan supporters. The JDT fans kept completely quiet when Kelantan was singing their anthem which was a sign of mutual respect.

Food and merchandise before the game

Stadium view

The Grandstand

JDT fans

While last week’s 0-0 was not the most exciting game I had ever seen, this week’s match proved to be much better. Kelantan was up 0-1 after 10mins which was a bummer. However by half-time JDT managed to turn the game around and was up by 3-1! Needless to say the atmosphere was great and we decided to make our way over to the main block of JDT supporters, a large group that basically celebrates the team nonstop for 90mins.

In the main fan sector

Celebrating the 3-1 victory over Kelantan F.C.

We didn’t end up watching much of the second half (which was fine since no further goals were scored) but instead had a great time celebrating with the fans and trying to learn some of the Malay chants. We were all impressed by how vibrant the stadium was and at the same time completely peaceful. Since no beer is sold, everyone was completely sober – a sign for me that the ban on alcohol for some games in Europe shouldn’t necessarily dampen the excitement of the fans.

To give you an idea of what the atmosphere was like, here’s a video of JDT fans in the national stadium in Kuala Lumpur:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQiKIftRJjM

Getting back to Singapore was hassle free although it does take time. By the time we were back at the Larkin bus terminal around 11.15pm there were still busses across the border and although there are no queues at immigration at this time of the day, it wasn’t until shortly before 1am that we were home.

Great experience and highly recommended to any football enthusiast!

This past weekend they played against Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT), the team based across the border in Johor Bahru. While the Lions’ stadium is usually not that well visited, we expected there to be a number of fans coming over from Malaysia for the game.

Jalan Besar Stadium

Getting tickets was straight forward and cheap at S$8 per person. We decided to join the Johor fans this time and were not disappointed. Getting into the fan sector was not so easy as we had to prove that we are truly supporters of the guests and also had to show our IDs.

Ticket

The atmosphere was great and while the quality of the game was not at Bundesliga level, it still made for a very enjoyable evening.

JDT fan sector

View of the game

We were the only mat salleh (Malay for caucasian) in the block and ended up making friends with one of the fan groups. So now we are invited to join them for JDT’s next home game against Kelantan FA in Johor Bahru. While tempting, hopefully crossing the border will be easier this time round.

By the way, the game ended 0-0.

Snack during half-time (Tiger beer now sporting the retro design for SG50)