Singapore miss out on 2011 Asian Cup football after falling to Jordan

By REDintern Kenneth Tan

Amman, Jordan, Wednesday, March 3, 2010 - The Singapore national football team failed in their quest for Asian Cup qualification after slumping to a 2-1 defeat in front of a 17,000-strong crowd in King Abdullah Stadium.

Singapore needed only a draw against Jordan after Thailand lost 1-0 to Iran to finish second in the group, but the defeat instead left them last. Iran and Jordan qualified for the 2011 Asian Cup after finishing first and second respectively.

The Lions were missing a number of key players – midfield anchorman Mustafic Fahrudin was suspended, captain Indra Sahdan pulled out citing personal reasons and forwards Khairul Amri, Agu Casmir, midfielder John Wilkinson and fullback Shaiful Esah were injured.

Jordanian gamesmanship in the build-up to the game also saw the Lions given a pitch smaller than regulation size and the wrong footballs to train with.

As a result of the many exclusions from the squad, the Lions lined up in a less familiar formation, notably on the left side. Stand-in skipper Noh Rahman, primarily a right back, was deployed as a left back, while debutant Qiu Li, primarily a forward, lined up as a left midfielder.

The lack of familiarity could have cost the Lions and it was no surprise that the opening goal by Jordan was created down the Lions' left side. Jordan midfielder Amer Deeb twisted in and out before finding space to cross into the box from their right flank. The ball reached forward Odai Al Saify who got in front of Precious Emuejaraye and looped a header over goalkeeper Lionel Lewis. It was the perfect start for the Jordanians as the goal was scored barely eight minutes into play.

Odai was the most dangerous man on the pitch in the first half as he was constantly released into good positions by his teammates and produced several good stops from Lionel Lewis with his efforts.

The most notable save occurred in the 25th minute when Odai produced a great turn and shot in front of the 6-yard box. The ball looked destined for the top left corner of the goal before Lionel somehow came up with a superb one-handed save to tip it round the post.

The Lions were not helped when skipper Noh Rahman suffered an injury in the 28th minute after clashing with a Jordanian player. Coach Raddy Avramovic had to replace him with Home United fullback Rosman Sulaiman who has much less international experience.

The first 45 minutes proved to be a torrid one for the Lions as they failed to produce any decent passing movement within the team. As a result, forwards Aleksandar Duric and Noh Alam Shah were left isolated in front, and the latter had to drop back in a few occasions to bring the ball forward.

Singapore also resorted to punting aimless long balls up while efforts on goal were limited to ambitious long range efforts from the midfielders.

Whatever coach Raddy Avramovic said at half time seemed to work as the Lions hit back four minutes after the second half kicked off. From a long punt forward, Duric did well to hold off a Jordan defender to flick the ball on for an oncoming Alam Shah. With just the keeper to beat in the 6-yard box, he slotted calmly into the bottom left corner of the net past Jordan goalkeeper Amer Shafi.

The first 15 minutes of the second half marked the best spell in the game for the Lions as they managed to rectify their mistakes by keeping the ball on the ground and showing some good passing.

Qiu Li and Alam Shah linked up well on the left while the latter, who took the armband after Noh Rahman's injury, led by example. However the Lions failed to keep up their good work and it was all undone in the 60th minute.

From an inswinging corner whipped in from the right, Jordanian right back Bani Yaseen rose the highest to head the ball into the top right corner of the goal. Despite having a defender on the post, the Lions were unable to stop the ball from going in. Legitimate questions will be raised about who was supposed to mark Bani Yaseen as he was given a free header.

After the goal, Jordan proceeded to dominate the rest of the proceedings. Odai continued to terrorize the Singapore defence with his brilliant hold-up play and dribbling skills, while midfielder Amer Deeb linked up with him well with his support from midfield. The last significant shot of the match was produced by Amer Deeb, whose fierce drive from outside in the 75th minute rattled the bar.

"Jordan deserved to win the game. They had more will and desire to win the game," said coach Avramovic, according to the official FAS website (www.fas.org.sg). "We shouldn’t have conceded that second goal. Aerial balls were our strength and it is not acceptable that we conceded that way especially since we’ve been practicing standard situations like that all week."

"We came back strongly and didn’t expect to concede from set-pieces. The ball was difficult to judge," lamented Precious.

In the aftermath, both Avramovic and defender Daniel Bennett reflected on the reasons for missing out on qualification.

"We lost out in qualification not in this game but in the two home games against Thailand and Iran," said Avramovic.

"We were just not good enough today and throughout the qualifying campaign. To only gather 3 points at home during the campaign was just not good enough," added Bennett.

Singapore Lineup
Lionel Lewis (GK), Precious Emuejeraye, Baihakki Khaizan, Noh Rahman (29th min - Rosman Sulaiman), Daniel Bennett, Shi Jiayi, Qiu Li, Ridhuan (86th min - Shahril Ishak), Hariss Harun, Aleksandar Duric, Noh Alam Shah

Singapore National Football Team

Past Results

14 January 2009
Iran 6 Singapore 0

14 January 2009
Jordan 0 Thailand 0

28 January 2009
Thailand 0 Iran 0

28 January 2009
Singapore 2 Jordan 1

14 November 2009
Iran 1 Jordan 0

14 November 2009
Singapore 1 Thailand 3

18 November 2009
Thailand 0 Singapore 1

22 November 2009
Jordan 1 Iran 0

6 January 2010
Thailand 0 Jordan 0

6 January 2010
Singapore 1 Iran 3

3 March 2010
Iran 1 Thailand 0

3 March 2010
Jordan 2 Singapore 1

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