By Les Tan/Red Sports
Hamqaamal Shah takes a strike at the Phnom Penh Crown goal in the first half. He was eventually substituted in the second half. (Photo 1 © Les Tan/Red Sports)
Jurong West Sports Complex, Monday, May 4, 2009 – The Young Lions lost 0-2 to Phnom Penh Crown FC of Cambodia to crash out in the first round of the 2009 Singapore Cup.
With this win, Phnom Penh Crown will next face Bangkok Glass FC in the quarter-finals of the Singapore Cup.
Two goals by Jean Lappe Lappe (#14) of Phnom Penh saw off an abysmal Young Lions team that struggled to string any decent attacks together.
Young Lions coach Terry Pathmanathan cut a frustrated figure on the sidelines as he watched his team of four months labour against a Phnom Penh Crown team that cut them open for the opening goal in the 25th minute.
An exquisite exchange of passes between Jean Lappe Lappe (#14) and Oscar Mpoko (#20) left the Young Lions defense for dead and Lappe finished off the move with a hammer shot that went past the despairing dive of Young Lions goalkeeper Izwan Mahbud.
The few chances that fell to the Young Lions in the first half saw China-born striker Yang Mu (#24) and Gabriel Quak (#7) sky their chances.
Phnom Penh Crown doubled their lead through Jean Lappe Lappe again in the 60th minute. Lappe met the header with force and Young Lion Irwan Shah (#10) could only watch in agony as the ball bounced off his left knee and past his stranded keeper Izwan into goal.
A good cross by Young Lion substitute Eugene Luo bounced out nicely to Khairul Nizam (#26) who hit it way over the bar, much to the agony of the Young Lions supporters.
While Young Lions Yang Mu and Fairoz Hasan (#5) managed two shots on target the rest of the half, they could not mask the inadequacies of the Young Lions as an attacking force.
“They can’t pass the ball. There was no bite in attack whatsoever,” lamented coach Terry Pathmanathan after the game. “Some of them are not up to competitive level. They don’t meet the minimum level. We could hardly threaten the keeper.”
The team is expected to undergo a major overhaul in June. Given tonight’s performance, some of them will be lucky to survive that cull.
Young Lion Gabriel Quak (right) shows some good footwork to get around Tieng Tiny of Phnom Penh but his cross was cleared. (Photo 2 © Les Tan/Red Sports)
Gabriel Quak can’t get to the ball fast enough to prevent the Cambodian defender from clearing his lines. (Photo 3 © Les Tan/Red Sports)
Young Lion Yang Mu chases down a loose ball. He had few chances in the game and only one shot on target. (Photo 4 © Les Tan/Red Sports)
Young Lion Irwan Shah rides a Phnom Penh Crown tackle. A header by Jean Lappe Lappe found the net via his left knee. (Photo 5 © Les Tan/Red Sports)
Shahir Hamzah connects with a header for the Young Lions but the effort did not find the target. (Photo 6 © Les Tan/Red Sports)
Jean Lappe Lappe (left) attempts to beat Rabbani Sudalman. He was the hero for Phnom Penh as he scored a brace to help his team to a 2-0 victory. (Photo 7 © Koh Yizhe/Red Sports)
Oscar Mpoko blasts the ball into the side netting. He set up Jean Lappe Lappe for the beautiful first goal. (Photo 8 © Koh Yizhe/Red Sports)
Jean Lappe Lappe celebrating his first goal with a little jiggle. (Photo 9 © Koh Yizhe/Red Sports)
Peng Bunchay of Phnom Penh Crown watches as the ball bounces out of play. He had little to do throughout the match as the Young Lions struggled to string together a successful attack. (Photo 10 © Koh Yizhe/Red Sports)
A Phnom Penh Crown player jumps into Izwan Mahbud as he goes off his line to clear the ball. (Photo 11 © Koh Yizhe/Red Sports)
Players from both sides get physical in the middle of the pitch. (Photo 12 © Koh Yizhe/Red Sports)
Leave A Comment