Story by Matthew Mohan/Red Sports. Photos by Stefanus Ian/Red Sports

singapore vs taiwan asian cup football

Singapore’s Hariss Harun (SGP #14) heading in the ball for the opening goal of the match. (Photo 1 © Stefanus Ian/Red Sports)

Jalan Besar Stadium, Saturday, June 10, 2017 — An off-colour performance from Singapore saw them crash to a shock 1-2 home defeat to Taiwan in their second Asian Cup qualification game, leaving them bottom of Group E with just one point.

Despite going into the game on a high following their 0-0 away draw with Bahrain, the Lions flattered to deceive and were second-best against a plucky Taiwan side ranked 160th in the world — three spots below Singapore.

An early goal from Singapore skipper Hariss Harun (SGP #14) was ultimately not enough as the away side netted through Tsan-Yuan Chen (TPE #8) and Chen Chao-An (TPE #10).

The win sees Taiwan move up to second in Group E while Singapore prop up the group on one point.

Early proceedings went the way of the home side and the first opportunity fell the way of Singapore as an in-swinging freekick by Shahdan Sulaiman (SGP #8) was headed clear for a corner.

But Shahdan was not to be denied, with his next corner being met with a thumping header from skipper Hariss Harun in the sixth minute for the opening goal.

Taiwan launched a salvo of their own almost immediately, with only a desperate clearance from Madhu Mohana (SG #6) preventing a clear-cut opportunity. The visitors began to see more possession, with Wen Chih-Hao (TPE #12) scything wide an ambitious effort in the 13th minute after some good work down the left from Chu En-Le (TPE #20).

With Singapore content to sit back and let the visitors dictate possession, Chen Hao-Wei (TPE #9) cut into the box but his run was halted by a last-ditch tackle from Daniel Bennett (SGP #16).

The onslaught from Taiwan continued and it was Hassan Sunny (SGP #18) this time who came to the rescue for the home side. The custodian pulled off a top class save from Tavio Yen (TPE #5), leaving Yen holding his head in disbelief.

Taiwan finally got their well-deserved equaliser in the 31st minute when Tsan-Yuan Chen fired a sweet half-volley past Hassan off a free-kick rebound just outside the box.

The second half followed in the same vein as the first as the Lions tried to get back into the game.

But it was the away side which wrestled back control of the game just before the hour mark, with Chen Chao-An capitalising on a mix-up between Hassan and Irfan Fandi (SGP #20) to tap home.

A stunned home side desperately tried to regain their composure but their aimless long balls to the front failed to trouble their opponents.

The home side’s best chance came in the 68th minute when substitute Hafiz Sujad (SGP #3) fired a tame shot in the box straight at the goalkeeper following an excellent knock down from Safuwan Baharudin (SGP #21).

Taiwan could have put the game to bed 12 minutes later but Hassan Sunny displayed excellent reflexes to tip away a shot from Chu after a sloppy giveaway in the middle of the park.

Substitute Khairul Nizam (SGP #22) was then denied a penalty when he seemed to be hauled down in the box and the away side hung on for the three points.

Despite the loss, Lions coach V. Sundramoorthy was adamant that his team deserved at least a draw from the game.

“It was such an even game only that we gave away free-kicks in dangerous areas and were punished,” said the Singapore coach. “All the teams have improved a lot and we must start to push. There are no easy games, that’s the important lesson.”

The coach also stood by his side’s defensive approach after scoring the first goal. “We were not cautious but we were tactically clever to be compact,” he insisted.

Sundram’s Taiwan counterpart Kazuo Kuroda chose to instead pay tribute to his players for the stunning upset – visibly celebrating with the bench following the final whistle.

“We did our best,” said Kuroda through a translator. “We started training three weeks ago, and we appreciate the players and coaches for their support.”

“Our good players’ experience helped our team and our younger players also supported the team’s level.”

Singapore Roster
Hassan Sunny (#18), Shakir Hamzah (#2), Irfan Fandi (#20), Daniel Bennett (#16), Madhu Mohana (#6), Izzdin Shafiq (#13), Hariss Harun (#14), Yasir Hanapi (#4), Faris Ramli (#10), Safuwan Baharudin (#21), Shahdan Sulaiman (#8)
Izwan Mahbud (#1), Hafiz Sujad (#3), Zaiful Nizam (#5), Gabriel Quak (#7), Faritz Hameed (#9), Nazrul Nazari (#11), Hami Syahin (#12), Mustafic Fahrudin (#15), Shahril Ishak (#17), Safirul Sulaiman (#19), Khairul Nizam (#22), Zulfahmi Arifin (#23)

Taiwan Roster
Chiu Yu-Hung (#18), Chen Tsan-Yuan (#8), Chen Ting-Yang (#3) , Hung Tzu-Kuei (#4), Chen Hao-Wei (#9) Chen Chao-An (#10), Wen Chih-Hao (#12), Chen Yi-Wei (#15), Chen Po-Liang (#17), Chu En-Le (#20), Tavio Yen (#5)
Tsai Tsuo-Che (#1), Lee, Jian-Liang (#2), Tsai Meng-Cheng (#6), Chen Chia-Chun (#7), Wu Chun-Ching (#11), Ko Yu-Ting (#13), Lai Chih-Hsuan (#14), Li Mao (#16), Yu Chia-Hsuan (#19), Chao Ming-Hsiu (#21), Yen Ho-Shen (#22), Shih Shin-An (#23)

Score by Half
Singapore vs Taiwan
1st half: 1–1
2nd half: 0–1 (1–2)

Scorers
Singapore
Hariss Harun (#14) – 1 goal

Taiwan
Tsan-Yuan Chen (#8) – 1 goal
Chen Chao-An (#10) – 1 goal

More photos next page