Contributed by Visakan Subramanian

Vietnam, Tuesday, September 28, 2010 — Eugene Luo snatched a second half equaliser to help Singapore battle to an impressive 1-1 draw with Asian powerhouse Islamic Republic of Iran at the Eximbank Cup in Vietnam.

Luo got his goal after powering in a near post header off a corner to give Singapore a well-deserved point in the quadrangular tournament in Ho Chin Min City.

The Iranian Asian Games squad dominated from the start as they tried to find the opening goal but a gutsy defensive performance from veteran Daniel Bennett and Faritz Abdul Hameed kept Team Melli at bay.

But they had no answer to Aliasgaridehaghi Hamidreza as he flighted in an unstoppable free kick into the back of Lionel Lewis’ goal in the 24th minute.

Singapore could have grabbed all three points in the second half when Fadhil Noh spurned a gilt edged chance from 6 yards out. The Iranian goal keeper threw himself at Fadhil’s shot to deny Singapore a famous victory.

“The boys played over my expectations tonight. It was a difficult situation for them as this was the first time some of them are playing together,” explained coach Radojko Avramovic.

“Everyone gave 100% in this game. Daniel (Bennett) helped out immensely in defence and Faritz (Abdul Hameed) was everywhere tonight. They showed great team spirit and team work to get an excellent result against one of the stronger teams in Asia.

“Iran is a very good team as they dominated the game and I expect them to win this tournament. They were very hard and physical and it was very difficult to score but I am very happy with the overall team performance today,” added a satisfied Avramovic.

Final Result
I.R Iran Asian Games Team 1
Aliasgaridehaghi Hamidreza 24’

Singapore Asian Games Team 1
Eugene Luo 64’

Singapore Asian Games Team
Lionel Lewis (GK), Faritz Abdul Hameed, Daniel Bennett, Afiq Yunos, Shakir Hamzah, Firdaus Kasman (Eddie Affendy Chang 76’), Nazrul Ahmad Nazari (Eugene Luo 58’), Zulfahmi Arifin (Hafiz Abu Sujad 46’), Hariss Harun, Rizawan Abdullah (Fadhil Noh 54’), Erwan Gunawan (Syafiq Zainal 46’)

Upcoming Match Details

Vietnam v Singapore
Date: 30 September 2010 (Thursday)
Time: 6.30pm (local time)
Venue: Thong Nhat Stadium

Singapore v Malaysia
Date: 3 October 2010 (Saturday)
Time: 4.00pm (local time)
Venue: Thong Nhat Stadium

Vietnam is 1 hour behind Singapore.