Man-of-the-match Heirul Suhanes is surrounded by his teammates after the match. The U16s keeper was instrumental in his side’s 0-0 draw with FC Porto, making countless saves to deny their Portuguese opponents. (Photo 1 © Tan Jon Han/Red Sports)

 

Jalan Besar Stadium, Monday, June 25, 2012 — The Singapore Under-16s secured their place in the semi-finals of the 24th Canon Lion City Cup after they drew 0-0 against FC Porto.

A crowd of 1,322 were on hand to see the Cubs’ second game.

In the seventh minute, Tiago Couto of Porto struck the underside of the crossbar to raise the excitement level.

R Aaravin replied three minutes later for the Cubs with a low shot that went just wide.

The Cubs came close once more in the 23rd minute when playmaker Adam Swandi fed a through ball to forward Azhar Ramli, but a last-ditch tackle denied him.

Porto again came close 15 minutes into the second half when Leandro Ribeiro’s shot from outside the penalty box forced Heirul Suhanes int a finger-tip save.

Three minutes before time, Porto substitute Andre Mesquita found his one-on-one opportunity pushed clear by the eventual Man-of-the-match winner, Heirul.

The match ended goalless and the Cubs are the first team to secure their place in the semi-finals of the friendly competition.

FC Porto head coach, Antonio Folha, said after the game: “It was a very competitive match between the two sides, the Singaporean team gave us a tough match throughout the 80 minutes.”

He added: “This is a learning process for the young boys, and good exposure for them. My boys tried very hard but the Singaporean goalkeeper was outstanding and he was the deserved recipient the Man-of-the-Match title.”

The Singapore U16s head coach, Dejan Gluscevic, said: “FC Porto, in my opinion, is one of the best teams in the tournaments. They are technically and tactically sound and gave us a good match.”

“The boys had exposure playing against international opposition and this helped in their preparations leading up to the tournament.”

U16s captain Amirul Adli said: “FC Porto gave us a good fight, but our boys played very well. We were pushed right to the end but we never gave up. We will now concentrate on the task at hand, which is the semi-finals.”

In an earlier match, Manchester City FC defeated CR Vasco Da Gama 2-0.

Final Score
Singapore U16s 0 Porto 0

Penalty shootout
Singapore U16s 2 Porto 1

Singapore U16s Lineup
Heirul Suhanes (GK), Iqram Rifqi (Noor Faridzuan 71’), R Aaravin, Amirul Adli (C), Mahathir Azeman, Zulfadhmi Suzliman, Muhelmy Suhaimi, Adam Swandi (Faizal RAffi 80’), Azhar Ramli (Rashe Rahman 45’), Taufiq Muqminin (Ehvin Sasidharan 76’), Raja Ahmad Zaki (Ashshiddiq Misban 67’)

FC Porto Lineup
Joaquim Silva (GK), Francisco Afonso, Sandro Fonseca, Rui Teixeira, Ruben Neves (C), Ruben Barbosa, Bruno Costa (Andre Mesquita 65’), Leandro Ribeiro, Tiago Couto (Joao almeida 51’), Luis Mata, Joao Cardoso (Paulo Alves 64’)

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