ASEAN Football Championship: Clueless Lions lose 1-0 to 10-man Vietnam and fail to make semi-finals

By Les Tan/Red Sports. Photo credit: www.affzusukicup.com

Video copyright of World Sport Group

Hanoi, Wednesday, December 8, 2010 — Singapore went down 0-1 to Vietnam and failed to qualify for the semi-finals of the ASEAN Football Championship (AFF Suzuki Cup) for the first time since Raddy Avramovic took over the Lions in 2003.

Despite playing with a man advantage for the remaining 25 minutes, the Lions were left as red faced as their new Nike jerseys as they showed an inability to break down a Vietnamese team playing in front of 45,000 home fans.

Naivety in defense had earlier gifted Vietnam their only goal in the first half. Caught on the counter-attack after a corner in the 31st minute, the Lions defense were torn to shreds by the fast attacking Vietnamese. Singapore’s Rosman Sulaiman completely lost track of Nguyen Vu Phong while backpedalling and the Vietnamese, left wide open, coolly stuck the ball past a stranded Hassan Sunny from the top of the penalty box.

The few chances the Lions had they fluffed or the back up Vietnamese goalkeeper saved. The best chance in the first half fell to Agu Casmir who stole the ball from a dawdling Vietnamese defender in the box but with only Bui Tan Truong to beat, shot straight at the keeper.

Even that chance though was against the run of play, with the Vietnamese having the majority of the attack, and they walked off at half time with a deserved 1-0 lead.

With Khairul Amri on for Safuwan Bahrudin for the Singapore, the Lions had more attacking impetus in the second half. A lucky chance fell to Aleksandar Duric when Agu Casmir’s shot trickled through the legs of a Vietnamese defender but the big man’s snap shot was well saved by Bui.

Two incidents then changed the nature of the game. First, Vietnam were reduced to 10 men in the 65th minute when Nguyen Trong Hoang, who looked like he was trying to get himself sent off for a two-footed stamp on Juma’at Jantan earlier in the 57th minute, finally got what he was looking for by repeating his two-footed tackle again on the luckless Juma’at in the 65th minute. One yellow card for each offense led to the red and he was gone.

Whatever psychological lift the Lions may have had from that seem to disappear into the cold Hanoi night when substitute Khairul Amri could not continue because of an injury and had to be substituted himself by Md Ridhuan.

Whatever attacking sparkle Singapore had up to then fizzled out after that. Apart from one good cross from Ridhuan from which Duric managed to get his header on target, the Singapore fullbacks and wingers could not hardly send in any useful crosses, as the team showed how much they missed the skills and footballing brains of John Wilkinson and Shi Jiayi.

In fact, if the television commentators did not keep bringing it up repeatedly, you would not have guessed the Lions were playing against 10 men, so lacking were they in penetration.

One final chance fell to Singapore in the 90th minute for Duric but Shahril Ishak messed it up. Duric received the ball from a cross and was primed to take the volley in the six yard box, but Shahril got in the way with a feeble header that the Vietnamese goalie gratefully scooped up.

In the end, match commentator Abbas Saad could only say of the Lions: “They are not very smart.”

On the basis of not just tonight’s display but also how they have performed in their three group games, he is quite right. And to think they were gunning for a place in the final.

Singapore Lineup
Hassan Sunny (GK); Precious Emuejeraye, Baihakki Khaizan, Rosman Sulaiman, Juma’at Jantan; Mustafic Fahrudin, Shahril Ishak, Safuwan Baharudin (Khairul Amri 47′, Md Ridhuan 71′); Noh Alam Shah, Agu Casmir, Aleksandar Duric

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