Jordan were also riding high after scoring two back-to-back wins in the two group matches against Iraq and China.
The match got off to a slow start in front of 3,799 roaring fans with both sides seemingly content on stroking the ball around and waiting for an opening.
Singapore’s first chance at goal went to Fazrul Nawaz while the Jordanians were kept at bay with Izwan Mahbud putting in a good display between the sticks for the Lions.
Izwan was left staring into space when a dangerous cross from the right, found Abdallah Deeb totally unmarked at the far post as he headed the ball into the net to give the visitors a 1-0 lead in the 10th minute.
With head coach Radojko Avramovic suspended from the team bench, assistant coach V.Sundramoorthy tried valiantly to rally his troops and they did create a number of opportunities, only to be let down by the final ball before the referee blew for half-time.
The start of the second half saw the introduction of Shahdan Sulaiman and Isa Halim replacing Hafiz Rahim and Shi Jiayi respectively. Shahdan made an instant impact with an inswinging cross that was met by Fazrul. The resultant header forced the Jordan goalkeeper, Amer Shafi to tip the ball over the bar.
Jordan’s No.19, Anas Bani Yaseen extended his side’s lead in the 54th minute with a goal that gave the visiting fans more bragging rights. Within 11 minutes, they got themselves another goal through No.10, Ahmad Hayel and it was 3-0 to the visitors.
The Lions den started to fear the worse but credit to the Lions, they never gave up and continued to press forward in search of a consolation goal which almost came in the 77th minute when Hariss Harun played a quick free-kick to Shahril ishak who found the back of the net, only for the referee to rule it offside.
With the clock ticking away fast, the Lions did all they could turn the game around and keep their World Cup dreams alive. Unfortunately, it was just not meant to be. The match ended with the scoreboard reading, Singapore 0-3 Jordan.
Speaking at the post-match press conference, Assistant Coach V.Sundramoorty “I think we did not take our chances and it is important at this level to convert chances when you have them. I think with time, with these young boys, we have a future. We have three games left and mathematically, if we get maximum points from the remaining games, we will still have a chance.”
Adding on, he said “We are developing this team and they are a young team. We started the game positively and should have minimised our mistakes. The players fought till the end and they tried their best.”
Jordan’s Head Coach Adnan Ahmad “I am very happy that the team played well and got a good result. And we are closer to the fourth round now. We respect the Singapore team and that’s why we played a good game. The players deserve the result.”
Final Score: Singapore 0-3 Jordan
Starting Line-up for Singapore: Izwan Mahbud, Safuwan Baharudin, Shaiful Esah, Shi Jiayi (Isa Halim 45’), Aleksandar Duric, Fazrul Nawaz (Khairul Nizam 61’), Hafiz Rahim (Shahdan Sulaiman 45’), Hariss Harun, Daniel Bennett, Shahril Ishak (C), Juma'at Jantan
Starting Line-up for Jordan: Amer Shafi, Baha' Abdelrahman, Bashar Bani Yaseen (C), Ahmad Hayel (Mahmoud Shelbaieh 81’), Khalil Zaid KH. Baniateyah, Abdallah Deeb, Shadi Abu Hashhash, Basem Fathi, Hasan Abdel Fattah (Anas Hijah 84’), Anas Bani Yaseen, Odai Al Saify (Amer Deeb 73’)
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