MilkLife Strikers, Indonesia’s Girls U12 team, opened their Singa Cup 2026 campaign in Singapore with a 6-1 win over hosts Lion City Sailors.

SINGAPORE – MilkLife Strikers began its campaign in the Singa Cup 2026 youth football tournament with brilliant results.

Facing the host representatives, Lion City Sailors, the team from Indonesia won 6-1 at The Rainforest Hub, West Coast, Singapore, Sunday (1 November).

The victory in the inaugural match in the Girls U12 category could not be separated from the impressive performance of MilkLife Strikers striker, Ika Wonda.

The player from Manahan Christian Elementary School, Surakarta, successfully scored three goals or a hat-trick and became one of the key players in her team’s victory.

Since the start of the match, MilkLife Strikers had time to observe the opponent’s playing pattern, who immediately implemented a high pressing strategy.

Despite the pressure, Ika Wonda and her teammates did not rush.

They remained calm in building attacks through a combination of short passes to control the tempo of the game.

The strategy produced quick results.

In the third minute, Locita Waranggani managed to break through the Lion City Sailors defense and open up MilkLife Strikers’ lead.

This goal disturbed the home team’s concentration.

Five minutes later, the eighth minute to be precise, Keyla Azzahra Putri doubled the lead with a header.

MilkLife Strikers got further away after being awarded a penalty in the ninth minute which was executed well by Nadia Shakila Azzahra.

Before the opponent had time to improve their defense, Ika Wonda immediately showed her sharpness.

In the 10th minute, she scored two goals in the span of one minute. The 5-0 lead lasted until halftime.

Entering the second half, MilkLife Strikers continued to try to increase its goal tally.

However, Lion City Sailors managed to reduce the deficit through Hana Raiqa’s goal in the 23rd minute, or three minutes after the second half started.

MilkLife Strikers does not allow opponents to develop momentum.

Towards the end of the match, Ika put her name on the scoreboard again.

This goal also completed a hat-trick in the first match and ensured MilkLife Strikers’ victory with a final score of 6-1.

MilkLife Strikers coach, Jacksen F. Tiago, said that effectiveness in exploiting opportunities was one of the main factors in his team’s victory.

According to him, the players were able to carry out instructions not to waste any opportunity to score goals, including when facing high pressure from opponents.

I told the children that no matter how small an opportunity they had, they had to maximize it. That’s what they did today. Earlier the opposing team had done high-pressing, from there we managed to exploit the emptiness in their back line.

Jacksen F. Tiago, MilkLife Strikers coach

Jacksen also appreciated the mentality of the players who were able to overcome nervousness in the first match.

Moreover, the opponent they faced was a strong team from Singapore.

He considers the experience of competing in international tournaments such as Singa Cup to be a valuable opportunity for players to develop their abilities while increasing their self-confidence.

I’m also happy that the players were able to overcome their nervousness on the first day. Moreover, we managed to win against a strong team like Lion City Sailors. For me, them being able to come here and get playing experience is very valuable.

Jacksen F. Tiago, MilkLife Strikers coach

Apart from the playing aspect, Jacksen highlighted the team solidarity that was built during the preparation period.

Before leaving for Singapore, the players underwent an intensive training camp with one of the main focuses being building chemistry between players.

According to him, special challenges arise because the players come from different team backgrounds.

However, the process of training together allows them to mingle and eliminate barriers between each other.

Before leaving here, the players had made intensive preparations. From the start, we focused on improving the chemistry of the players on the field. As a result, today I saw that they all managed to mingle and appear unified. They managed to close the distance between each other even though they came from different team backgrounds.

Jacksen F. Tiago, MilkLife Strikers coach

Meanwhile, hat-trick scorer Ika Wonda said she was happy to be able to help the team win in the opening match.

She said these results were the result of the hard work of all the players during the training camp.

Ika also revealed that the three goals she scored were inseparable from Jacksen’s special instructions for her to carry out her duties as a striker well, namely scoring goals.

I’m certainly happy that I was able to win today. This is thanks to the hard work of all the players who trained hard throughout the training camp. Our training was quite intensive before we got here.

Ika Wonda, MilkLife Strikers forward

Today I also scored a hat-trick, this was in accordance with Coach Jacksen’s instructions, who told me that the striker’s job is to score goals. I’m happy today that I was able to do my job well.

Ika Wonda, MilkLife Strikers forward

Representative of Bakti Olahraga Djarum Foundation and MilkLife Soccer Challenge Program Director, Teddy Tjahjono, said that the positive results in the first match were good news for the sustainability of youth girls’ football development.

According to him, MilkLife Strikers’ participation in Singa Cup 2026 is part of an effort to provide experience competing at international level to the best players from the coaching of the MilkLife Soccer Challenge All-Stars 2025/2026.

It is hoped that this opportunity will enrich experience, increase match experience, as well as measure the development of players’ abilities after participating in the women’s football coaching program in the country.

This is part of our efforts to continue to develop women’s football development from the grassroots level. In the context of Singa Cup, we are trying to give the best players from the MilkLife Soccer Challenge All-Stars 2026/2027 the opportunity to compete at a more competitive level.

Teddy Tjahjono, MilkLife Soccer Challenge Program Director

He added that matches against teams from various countries are an opportunity for players to find out the quality of their opponents’ play as well as evaluate the results of the coaching that has taken place over the last few years.

Today, we are happy that the players were able to perform well and win.

Teddy Tjahjono, MilkLife Soccer Challenge Program Director

Singa Cup is an annual international youth football tournament held in Singapore since 2011.

In 2026, the tournament will be attended by 136 teams from 13 countries.

In this event, Bakti Olahraga Djarum Foundation together with MilkLife sent MilkLife Strikers to compete in the Girls U12 category.

This team is strengthened by selected players from the MilkLife Soccer Challenge All-Stars 2025/2026.

Specifically for the Girls U12 category, the competition was attended by four teams belonging to Group A. The matches used a round-robin or face-to-face league system and took place on 1-3 November 2026.

The top two teams in the group standings have the right to advance to the final, while the other two teams will compete for third place.

Victory over Lion City Sailors is important capital for MilkLife Strikers in the competition towards the final.

They are now competing at the top of the standings with Selangor FC Academy A who also collected three points.

Next, MilkLife Strikers is scheduled to face Nepal’s representative, Rato Bangala School, on Monday (2 November) at The Rainforest Hub, Singapore.

The results of this match will determine their steps in maintaining their chances of reaching the final of Singa Cup 2026. (dik)

Source: Radar Kudus

Article Link: https://radarkudus.jawapos.com/sportainment/2611020003/ika-wonda-cetak-hat-trick-strikers-menang-6-1