By Dan Azmie/Red Sports. Photos by Les Tan and Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports.
Singapore’s Dhukhilan in tears at the end. (Photo 1 © Les Tan/Red Sports)
Jalan Besar Stadium, Monday, June 29, 2009 – Emotions ran high as our Singapore Cubs were beaten 4-1 on their own turf by Thailand in the Asian Youth Games football final round.
However, the scoreline provided scant justice to the actual proceedings on the field. It was a closer fight than the score suggested, but individual mistakes proved to be the team’s Achilles’ heel.
Despite the loss, there is still a mathematical possibility for Singapore to qualify for the semi-final. If Singapore can actually beat the People’s Republic of China by five goals, and Iran does them the favour of beating Thailand, the Cubs will move on.
However, this was the last thing on their mind at the final whistle. Some of the Cubs were shedding tears and barely able to contain their emotions as they trudged off the field.
When you tried your best, but got undone by four unlucky goals, its hard not to ignore the lack of luck.
Singapore coach David Sivalingam was frank in his assessment of the game.
“We never expected to lose by this score. We did everything, but for one or two mistakes by the keeper. The team never closed down the Thai players, especially the captain (Charoenruen Insiri).”
When asked whether the goals were preventable, he said:
“Yes. They shot from 30 metres, and Fashah (Singapore goalkeeper) should have had a better game. However, we should give him some chances. At half-time he felt down, and we talked to him. After the third goal, he made some good saves for us.”
He felt that the team did not stick to the set game plan.
“We gave away unnecessary free-kicks. The Thai captain (Insiri) is very good with free-kicks.”
Singapore’s goalkeeper Fashah Iskandar twice spilled speculative free-kicks from distance by Insiri.
The visibly affected Fashah looked down as he talked about his feelings regarding the game.
“I am disappointed at myself, but I will continue to work hard again. I think the goals were my mistake.”
He showed courage to stand up and be counted by refusing to blame the wet pitch or slippery ball.
“No, its myself, my psychology wasn’t right.”
At the press conference, a red-eyed Jeffrey Lightfoot, the Cubs’ team captain gave his thoughts on the match and lamented the missed opportunities.
“We need to think about how we played. How we could have done better. How we could have bettered the performance.”
“I didn’t expect us to lose. I think we did okay but we didn’t convert our chances.”
Singapore midfielder Adri Adnan could attest to the lack of luck. In the previous match against Iran, he had a shot hit the bar, and in the game against Thailand, he was unlucky yet again. His swerving 30m blast fooled the keeper but smacked the crossbar.
That moment could have turned things around for the Cubs had it gone in, but alas, it was not meant to be.
“We were very unlucky. I tried but both times (against Iran and Thailand) it hit the bar. I guess luck was not on my side,” said Adri.
Despite the missed chances, Adri showed an upbeat optimism to turn things around for his team in the next game.
Despite the defeat, he smiled and said: “Yes, I am sad, but at the same time, we should be glad. We controlled the game, and played very well.”
The boys are only in their early teens, and they can only get better if they continue to play against such quality opposition on the Asian stage and beyond.
We at Red Sports fully believe in the boys and will support them every step of the way. Come on Cubs, we can turn this around!
Captain Jeffrey Lightfoot attempts a long-range pass. “I didn’t expect us to lose. I think we did okay but we didn’t convert our chances,” said a red-eyed Jeffrey after the game. (Photo 2 © Les Tan/Red Sports)
Mudh Adri Bin Adnan (Singapore, #19) challenges for the ball. Despite the defeat, he smiled and said: “Yes, I am sad, but at the same time, we should be glad. We controlled the game, and played very well.” (Photo 3 © Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports)
Goalkeeper Fashah (in green) had a forgettable game. (Photo 4 © Les Tan/Red Sports)
Ammirul helps teammate Dhukhilan to his feet after the game. (Photo 5 © Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports)
Singapore’s lone goal scorer Muhaimin Suhaimi (#26) was a tearful wreck after the match. (Photo 6 © Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports)
Team manager Jita Singh (right) and unused substitute Sunny Ng console Dhukhilan. (Photo 7 © Les Tan/Red Sports)
Hey there azmie thanks, cool u hv done ur research here is a piece of story for u, from what i heard just a few week before the AYG started, an insided source from FAS reveals to me that while selection were being done to scouts for players for players to be drafted to the shortlist of 30 boys who made it into the NFA-U14 side, it is actually a waste of resource and time constraining. Cos as said by the source that we have actually a pool of players that within the same age grp, but left it for granted for 1 year unattended. So if ur meetin with Jita or Siva or anyone from FAS u ask them: We had the best batch of 18 U-12 players representing Singapore in Saitama in 2007,and they did very well coming in 12 position the best in our country so far. Yet the period of 1 yr in 2008 this boys were left unattended, citing to the source no budget, different programms from FAS and the Sports School so many redtape which i am sure if all the reasons would have been put aside we would have already had at least 2 to 2 an a half years of preparations and i am very sure we would have fare so much better.
Check this link out,
http://www.fas.org.sg/default.asp?V_DOC_ID=2646&pgID=1480
Out of the 30 boys in the NFA-U14 boys, 13 were present in Saitama of the 13 boys, only 12 make it to the provision squad of 20 to 22 where they went for overseas trips and trainin to the very last day before the commence of AYG. The 12 boys 9 came from Sports School and 3 from Mainstream schools, only 7 boys from Sports School made it into the team with the same 3 mainstream boys.
There were 18 boys which represented, 13 are in Sports School consiting of 11 of them Sec 2 and the other 2 are in Sec 1, the remainin 5 are 3 of them from mainstream and the last 2 status unknown.
OK there is all for now feel free to comment.
I be back for more next time round…..
yup, we have to remember that this is just under-14 age group, I talked to Mr. Jita Singh recently and he said that there has been considerable changes at the grassroots level for under-13 and beyond, but they only started recently.
Well can’t tell you details, but lets just wait and see whether it works. Under-13 did well against Philippines and HK under 14 sides (a draw and a win) so I guess thats a good start. =)
Maybe people think that its naive to believe, but i guess for such a small country (compare ourselves to Taiwan, HK, jury is out whether their football is on par?) we are taking big strides.
There is so much potential, maybe Jita’s plan can help us, so far.. let us see. Hariss Harun, Khairul Amri , i say let these players get exposure against overseas opponents, send the best and most adaptable players overseas.
If South Korea player Suh( a 14-year old) is already playing in Portsmouth, maybe we can send a few to feeder clubs to get the exposure?
Even the Philippines had a few in the Younghusband brothers who played in Chelsea youth..maybe we can try that? To prepare them mentally, and make them more resilient, cause its going to be tough to be all alone there, make it a learning experience.
My only hope for the boys is to aim higher, the only criticism from speaking and getting to know them is that some of them (but thankfully not many) are resting on the laurels of getting selected. Its as if since they are already selected for the national team, the job is done.
For this team, the weaknesses are clear. We had no shots on target against China. We need a decent centreforward.
And we can’t play the passing ball on the ground game. Didn’t work even against Thailand. We have to be realistic here.
There will be another selection for YOG, I hope the boys step up their game. But there are a few with potential in the current crop. Muhaimin (26)has a good first touch ( i still think he cannot play as a centreforward cause of size, maybe convert him to winger?)
Radhi (4) has good positioning for a defender.
Hanafi (10) has skills, but he needs to know where to dribble the ball (awareness) cause he is the standout player of the lot, and there is a lot to expect from him.
I’m very impressed with Adri , but i still think his best position is as a support striker.
And oh, I didn’t go to Perth, but i did my research =)
Feel free to comment.
hey azmie u went australia is it?? the last trip the cubs went?
haha thanks azmie u got me good, yup fav movie in my all time selection, maybe this boys can take a note how to play football from begbie lol..cos the thais were playin rough but then again its a contact sport so wat do u expect, our boys played real clean football against them as they are still young and pure in heart,watch out next year u see them transform to play rough when the tough get goin. seriously the iran team played passin football that y we lost, then for thais they were using rough tactics, and china their of the ball movement is really good.
Kudos to the young cubs for doin their best, well boys this is football we have to get along with it, u win some u lose some but as long u stand your ground!
This is a foot’ball’ game. What do we expect. The game is like a ball, sometime it up and sometime is down
This boy’s is only under 14. Beside nervous, they also stress inorder to fullfill the coach expectation and also to make S’pore proud (especially playing in home ground).
The match with Thai is just not the CUB LUCK.
The Thai is taking revenge after losing to China.
We can’t totally blame on the keeper (Fashah). He had a good game with Iran. Even though he confess his mistake, atleast he show his courage to stand up.
What has the defender DO to help him !
Midfielder can’t hold the ball longer and pass the ball right.
Why can’t the stiker do a good job to increase goal ?????
Overall, the team has tried their best and none to be blame.
Everyone has the right to give comments.
My question to KARIM and LALA, has you ever play football to represent Singapore ? If you are damn good, why don’t you be the coach !
To the CUB, be proud of yourself. You got talent and brave enough to ‘fight’ for Singapore.
Walk straight up with pride and good luck to face China today.
Let us support our SINGAPORE CUB.
Mem Lempo
yes, mark renton. thanks for your comments. you can find out about the squad list and their schools here: http://redsports.sg/2009/06/12/asian-youth-games-football/
Number 9 you mentioned is Nurhidayat from Northlight school.
For the Thailand game, the players found it hard to push up quickly and hit the Thais on the counter, because with that kind of formation, it required the wingbacks to zip up and down to support in attack (the closest model I can think of is that of Barcelona’s formation, where they used Dani Alves to achieve that effect and with 2 defensive midfielders in Xavi and Yaya Toure).
Against Thailand, it didn’t happen as the wingbacks are not attacking in nature, so it was perhaps a wrong call.
Adri Adnan, in my opinion, is more of a box to box player, he is suitable in playing just behind the striker in a 4-4-1-1 formation, which was the position he played in the tour of Australia where he scored. In the Thailand game, asking him to be a creative midfielder was probably a big ask, that task could have been given to Brandon instead, who played well against Iran.
I was quite surprised when I saw that only 3 out and out strikers were chosen for the squad, so maybe having an extra centreforward could help to replace #11, who has not performed in this competition.
p.s. trainspotting is a good movie
In regards to what A said,
1. Yes i agreed to player number 2 who cannot even pass the ball properly, yet alone the throw in OMG primary school kids can do better, he was the culprit for the second iran goal for not closin them down. But i tot number 23 had a fair game on his part not fault on him i must say but lack the overlapping. The defence department lacks the depth to back up when their original right back number 9 is injured.By the way they are not from singapore sports school, the right back number 2is from hong kah sec where else the left back 23 is from punggol sec.
2.1 Yes he played the wrong tactics, pressure by the press to play player number 10 was really a wrong move, he should have play his usual first 11 right from the start. Which goes to show that the coach is not mentally strong to control the urges to pls the crowd.
2.2 Players like number 10 and 26 are impact players should have been kept to be use in the last 30 mins.
3. This tournament for football are only for those born in 1995, have u not been readin the papers or watch the news, hey here is 2 words for u WAKE UP!! but i must say the u13 selection did very well against the philipine to draw them, and just yesterday morning sports school u13 boys did well which they won the game 1-0 against hong kong.
4.Yes i agree with u he is relatively quiet on the pitch but the 2 center back conpliment each other well just like yin&yang. He just has to work on rallying his team mates just like the player he adore England captain John Terry.
5. No its not 70% sports school its 50-50 which mean 9 sports school and 9 main stream. With 2 goals produce by sports school.
Thanks & have a nice day 🙂
All the best for the boys against china, majulah singapura!!!
i thought the keeper was pretty good in the iran match but was unlucky in the thai match. Hanafi should be played in the centre in my opinion as i see he is one of the only players able to hold the ball and make quick decisions. against the thais it seemed as if we were playing with 2 defensive midfielders in an attacking position. one of the most visible mistakes were not closing down their captain easily. this team is good but just some tactical flaws and are quite unlucky
they are not out yet.. there is still a chance =) stay positive !
if u cnt take any opinions or views tat the others give..u better kip to urself..isnt nice to say all tat in here..
yes..there are lots of postive to take from it..but as we noes tat if they wan to challenge the top boys in asian or sSEA they nid to improve fast..
don wori even thought they are out..im will be there to support them n the others athletes tat are participatin in the AYG!! come ON SINGAPORE!!!
I think both games it exposed the fast that we have a pretty poor keeper who seemed slow(Which is okay if one reacts fast) but that was not the case in the Iran second goal where he was slow to react. His physical build was also a doubt.
To A and Karim –
You guys do not need to choose who the coach is, who the players are. I think you guys cant even play soccer as good as those under 14 players.
Hi A and Karim, appreciate your comments. The team may have some setbacks but I think that there are a lot of positives in the team to look out for.
As for point #2, I beg to differ. I don’t think a 4-2-3-1 formation is attacking, it is a counter-attacking formation at best, with 2 holding midfielders (possibly employed to shackle Insiri)
Point #3: Only under-14 players are allowed. For instance, Myanmar could not field 3 of their players as they were 13.
If anything, i guess the defensive midfield did not close down Insiri fast enough as he was allowed to score 2 goals from distance.
As for Fashah (the goalie), I think that this game was just a blip in his performance. He did well in Perth and in the Iran match as well, so you can’t judge him from just one match.. That is just my humble opinion.
The boys are young, and there is much to improve development-wise.
If anything, I wish more Singaporeans can come down tomorrow at Jalan Besar to cheer on the boys. There is nothing more heartening and motivating than the boys to see their crowd egging them on. Trust me, it does make ALOT of difference =))
6.Abdullah Noor would be my prefer choice to lead this AYG squad
Agree tat on tis due to the fact tat he lead the sports school team to the asian youth tournamet..there are lots to do for the team if they wan to be on the top..the goalie nid to changed..hes too static n has poor both game..the two lost can be blame on him..the center mid are too slow in makin decision..they look like they are playin in the local league..they have to up the tempo of the game..n the forward..we nid to support the lone frward..hanafi has a great tournament so too lightfoot..but the rest?? they nid to up their game if they wan to better their self during YOG…
Actually the heading should be WHERE IS DAVID SIVALINGAM?
The team played well. The coach alone should take the entire responsibility for the lost.
POOR TACTICS!
Why No 26 Muhaimin Suhaimi came on as a substitute? He should be a first team player. From his first game against Iran, you can see that this player can tear down the defense. Together with No 10, one on the left and one on the right flank, there is plenty of room for creative plays. Why do you discriminate against short players? And he scored a goal. You start with the best players and everything will be a different story.
No 19. Every time he received the ball, and the team moved forward for the attacking play, guess what – he passed the ball back to the defenders. This is a self-defeating attitude. No. 19 should not be in central mid-field. More like a defender.
Of course, I can go on …
BAD DECISIONS!
This is where the game is lost.
On the goal keeper, when he is mentally down, why did not YOU replace him? How can you put a young child who is psychologically down, to go through the agony?
The first 2 goal were clearly his mistakes. From then on, it is ALL YOURS.
As a custodian to our country future hopes in football, your bad decision is potentially damaging to his self-confidence.
SIVALINGAM -WARMING THE BENCH!
Come on – when the team did not shut down the Thai captain, did you shout instructions to the field? NO!
I see you warming the bench throughout the whole game! No instructions, no directions, no inspiration. WHERE WERE YOU?!?
POOR TRAINING
In both games, the goal keeper was unable to deal with high balls. Where is your preparation in this area?
AND I Can go on …
SIVALINGAM – FIRST TO THE TUNNEL
These are young kids, when the team cried after the game, what did you do? No consolation. Instead, you choose to walk straight into the tunnel, and save yourself the embarrassment. Only Jita Singh went forward and console the boys.
Coach are likely fatherly figure for young players. Surely you should be man enough to walk into the field and give them a little pet on their shoulders and rally the team together.
DAVID SIVALINGAM – your leadership is totally missing.
This brings the next question, how was DAVID SIVALINGAM chosen to be the AYG football coach? He seems to be overwhelmed by the occasion. Unprepared and unsuitable and inexperience.
Why didn’t FAS choose someone with a track record and was a player before. There are so many of them.
FAS – please NO more DAVID SIVALINGAM.
1.Weakness expose in both wing back num 2 and 23…num 2 can’t take the throw-in,wrong decision making,bad first touch…num 23 who often break the passing game by sending the ball up to no man land and his poor attacking stance has left lightfoot look bad as a defender…by the way are they from the sports school
2.David Sivalingam played the wrong tactic just to please the crowd by attacking
3.Where are the Sport School U-13 players?They weren’t not found in this AYG squad?
4.Lightfoot is too quiet but contain well compare to his partner num 4 in the defence who is a tough tackler which the thai attackers avoiding him by attacking their wing back
5.This squad is contain only 70% of sports school players but they are some better CENTRE MID in sport school
6.Abdullah Noor would be my prefer choice to lead this AYG squad
*just my truthful assessment and for reading purposes
thanks