By Sobban Munyandy

Jalan Besar Stadium, Wednesday, July 27, 2011 — The Singapore Under-23 side beat the visiting Myanmar U-23 side 1-0 in an international friendly.

The match got off to a slow with both teams looking to put their game plan into place. The Singapore U-23 team got the first shot of the game but it was directed straight at Myanmar U-23’s goalkeeper, Hein Kyaw Thu.

Myanmar U-23s came close to breaking the deadlock on a few occasions but they had their chances thwarted by the Singapore defence. The same could be said for the Singapore side as they too were unable to find the back of the net.

Just 20 minutes into the first half, Khairul Nizam pulled his hamstring while chasing a long pass from his team mate, forcing him to him to be substituted by Nigel Vanu. The first half ended 0-0.

Coming back on the field for the second-half, the teams surged forward in numbers to get into the lead as both sides tried to dominate play. As tackles flew in from all corners in a highly aggressive match, Singapore were awarded a penalty in the 49th minute after Nigel Vanun was brought down in the penalty box while trying to break free from his defender.

Fazli Ayob converted the spot-kick brilliantly to give his team a well deserved lead in the second half. Myanmar responded immediately and saw their effort hit the bar after beating Syazwan Buhari, Singapore U-23 custodian.

With Myanmar chasing for the equalizer, they kept pressure on the Singapore defensive wall with repeated attacking moves from both flanks. In the 68th minute, Irwan Shah was sent off after receiving his second yellow card in the game.

The Myanmar U-23 team capitalized on the advantage of an extra man and pushed further for that elusive goal. Despite all the chances created, they were unable to penetrate.

Speaking at the post-match press conference, Myanmar Under-23 Coach Gerd Friedrich Horst Zeise said that he was extremely proud of his players and felt that they played well tonight.

“I said before the result is not so important. Of course we want to win but for me, it was more important that we prepare the team for the future.”

“We must go abroad to get more experience and we can’t keep playing in our own country and club teams. We must have challenge abroad,” said Zeise, when asked if the game was good preparation for the upcoming South East Asian (SEA) Games.

Singapore U-23 coach Robin Chitrakar was pleased with the performance.

“The boys did well and they created numerous chances throughout the game even when we had ten men on the field. And I am pleased with their performance. These boys have good potential and we can build from here definitely. Being our first real test in preparation of SEA Games, I think it was good performance and we got the result we wanted,” said Robin.