Date: Tue, 11 Oct 2011
It was billed as a pre-tournament friendly which will show which team will go into the 2011 SEA Games as hot favourites for the gold medal. Choa Chu Kang Stadium was the venue, 7.30pm was the time. Once the referee blew the whistle to kick off proceedings, it was all guns blazing.
It took the Young Lions just 25 seconds to signal their intentions with Hafiz Sujad getting the first goal with virtually the first shot of the match. Capitalising on the early lead, The Singapore U-23 team surged forward in search of a second goal but were left to rue their luck when Thailand equalized through an Isarapong Lilakorn-inspired goal in the 35th minute.
The Young Lions continued their push for glory and were duly rewarded in the 41st minute when Fazli Ayob tapped in his team’s second goal after receiving a brilliant through pass from teammate Gabriel Quak. The Young Lions went into the the break with a good lead whereas the Thailand U23 had to rethink their game plan. Coming out for the second half, the Thai were the better team as captain Ronnachai Rangsiyo led them in a bid to level the score. Rangsiyo’s industry was duly rewarded in the 70th minute when he found the back of the net to put the score evenly balanced at 2-2.
New legs were introduced by both sides to gain the upper hand as the clock ticked away. Fortunately, both custodians kept the ball out of their nets with tremendous displays of goalkeeping.
But it was the Young Lions who prevailed as substitute Shahfiq Ghani scored with a stunning shot that curled its way into the Thai net to seal the win in the 91st minute.
Speaking to at the post-match press conference, Head Coach Solbodan Pavkoic said “I am happy with the performance of all the players. It was important for us to see how we fare on the international stage. I am happy with the result.”
When asked which player impressed him the most, he confidently said “It will be unfair to say that as the team played well. Credit to all of them. And we work on a long period of fighting spirit and winning mentality, and it is not easy, you know. As a team, we improved.”
Final Score: Singapore U23 3-2 Thailand U23
Singapore U-23 Starting Line-up:Fazli Ayob (Fadhil Noh, 67th), Shahir Hamzah (Gary Loo, 83rd), Faris Ramli (Nigel Vanu, 67th), Hafiz Abu Sujad (Shahfiq Ghani, 75th), Irwan Shah (C) (Ali Hudzaifi, 84th), Raihan Rahman (Safirul Sulaiman, 75th), Gabriel Quak (Nazrul Nazari, 67th), Firdaus Kasman (Fairoz Hasan, 75th), Jasper Chan (Syazwan Buhari, 83rd), Al-Qaasimy Rahman (Yasir Hanapi, 84th), Abdul Hadi (Emmeric Ong, 84th)
Thailand U-23 Starting Line-up: Seeket Madputeh (Wasan Homsaen, 58th), Chalermkiat Boonnet, Sarach Yooyen, Ronnachai Rangsiyo (C), Isarapong Lilakorn, Natarid Thammarossopon (Adisak Kraisorn, 60th), Sutjarit Jantakol (Ekkasit Chaobut, 58th) (Anusak Laosangthai, 86th), Pokklaw A-Nan (N. Arromsawa, 59th), Somphong Yod-Ard, Komkrit Comsokcheak (Chalermsak Kaewsooktae, 59th), Phonlawut Donchui (Weerawut Kayem, 81st)
No comments:
Post a Comment