DID Stuart Young take a dramatic dive? Or did the Home United striker feign a foul to earn his team the penalty which he himself converted for the equaliser last night?

The Tanjong Pagar dressing room was convinced that the English striker did.

"It was not a penalty," said Jaguars (Tanjong Pagar's nickname) coach Tohari Paijan.

"I spoke to Subramani. He said he never fouled Stuart. It was just a dramatic dive."

But the Home team had no doubt that Stuart was airborne as a result of Subramani's challenge.

"It was a clear penalty. He was clearly fouled by Subramani," said coach Robert Alberts."

Opinion in the press box and among a number of S-League officials was divided.

But it was the penalty which ensured a fair result. Neither team deserved to lose. After a cautious 40 minutes, the game had exploded into a thriller.

Though Nicodeme Boucher scored two goals for the Jaguars, it was Vlado Bozinoski who stood out with his domination of the midfield.

Alberts, who was coach of the Jaguars before switching to Home, made it known during the press conference that it was he who had brought back Bozi.

"Bozi made the difference, both to the game and to Tanjong Pagar. He was brilliant," said Alberts.

Crowds back for action and goals

IT was an exceptional weekend as the Tiger Beer Singapore Cup matches came alive, both on and off the field.

On the field, it was pure action. All four semi-finalists dished out exciting stuff.

Who would have expected unrated Sembawang Rangers to hold mighty SAFFC Warriors?

If the Stallions (Sembawang's nickname) had been a little luckier, they might even have pulled off a sensational victory.

Over at the Bishan Stadium last night, the Home United-Tanjong Pagar game exploded into non-stop action after a slow start.

It produced four goals, five yellow cards, lots of goalmouth action...

All watched by nearly 3,500 fans - one of the biggest turnouts this year.

On Saturday, almost 1,500 paid their way into the Yishun Stadium to watch the Sembawang Rangers-SAFFC clash. That was the highest attendance at Yishun this season.

As Home coach Robert Alberts pointed out: "This match had all the ingredients any football match could have. The stadium was filled, the two teams played their hearts out, there was good technique, lots of action, lots of goals, lots of bookings, lots of challenges... the atmosphere was tremendous," he said.