lionsXII vs t-team

Shahril Ishak scoring the opening goal for the LionsXII against T-Team. (Photo © FAS. Used with permission.)

Jalan Besar Stadium, Saturday, March 31, 2012 — The Singapore LionsXII beat the visiting Terengganu PBDKT T-Team 2-1 in the Malaysian Super League. The win comes after the LionsXII had lost 0-1 to Terengganu over two legs in the Malaysian FA Cup recently.

The win is the LionsXII’s fifth in their last six games and they are now second on the table behind Kelantan. The LionsXII have 7 wins, 3 draws and 2 losses for 24 points, three behind Kelantan (8-2-1).

The first half was scoreless as both teams missed chances.

The deadlock was finally broken in the 51st minute. A Safirul Sulaiman through pass found captain Shahril Ishak and he ran into the penalty box to score the opening goal.

The lead was short-lived. T-Team came back with a well taken goal by their captain Zairo Anuar just three minutes later to even things up.

The LionsXII were then give a very soft penalty after the assistant referee judged that Madhu Mohana had been fouled in the penalty box. However, Shahril missed his second consecutive penalty when T-Team goalkeeper Iqbal Suhimi saved.

The LionsXII finally got their winner in the 86th minute through another penalty. Agu Casmir was fouled in the penalty box and this time Shahdan Sulaiman stepped up to score the winner.

“It is hard when you have a tight schedule and you throw in the travelling but I am happy with the performances of the players as they are trying their best,” said LionsXII head coach Sundramoorthy. “I can’t ask for more. The team was positive despite being in a 1-1 match and kept pushing which is how we got the second penalty.”

Looking visibly disappointed, T-Team coach Yunus Alif said: “I appreciate my players’ efforts for the whole 90 minutes. We were a goal down and we came back with a goal but bad decision cost us the game. It also demoralised my players as the match went on. However, I would like to congratulate the LionsXII on their win as they managed to beat us here. There is much more to come in the Malaysian Super League for both teams and I will look to plan for the next match.”

Final Score
LionsXII 2 T-Team 1

Scorers
LionsXII — Shahril Ishak (51′), Shahdan Sulaiman (86′, penalty)
T-Team — Zairo Anuar (54′)

Singapore LionsXII Starting Lineup
Hyrulnizam Juma’at, Safuwan Baharudin, Madhu Mohana, Shakir Hamzah, Sevki Sha’ban, Shahdan Sulaiman, Shahril Ishak (Yasir Hanapi 71′), Isa Halim, Irwan Shah, Safirul Sulaiman (Firdaus Kasman 67′), Sufian Anuar (Agu Casmir 16′)

Substitutes: Shaiful Esah, Taufiq Rahmat, Agu Casmir, Khairul Nizam, Firdaus Kasman, Yasir Hanapi, Al-Faiz

Looking for the LionsXII’s fixtures? All here: Singapore LionsXII 2012 fixtures