Versatile Lions stand tall Hariss and Shahril shine, Avramovic pleased with team's progress ahead of Jordan clash

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Football friendly

Singapore 2 Philippines 0



SINGAPORE - There were doubts over his match fitness and ability to stay sharp throughout the 90 minutes, after missing two months of football due to National Service commitments.

But Hariss Harun proved he could still produce the goods even when played out of position, as he helped Singapore post a 2-0 win over the Philippines in a friendly last night at the Jalan Besar Stadium.

"I didn't expect him to last 90 minutes, but the game gave us the answer to that," said Singapore coach Radojko Avramovic, who was pleased with the performance.

"When he was in midfield you could see that he was (lacking) games, but in the stopper position he did extremely well.

"He did much better than what we expected, and I hope he gains more confidence ... I'm happy that I have a player that can play in two positions," added the Serb.

Hariss, 20, moved to central defence after Safuwan Baharudin pulled up with an injury two minutes before half-time.

With doubts cast over the availability of the 19-year-old defender for the must-win World Cup qualifier with Jordan on Tuesday, Hariss' return could not have come at a better time.

Safuwan's exit saw veteran Noh Rahman introduced to the Lions' midfield, with Hariss dropping into defence.

Singapore have lost their first two World Cup qualifying fixtures in Group A, to China and Iraq, and will go up against a Jordan side regarded as the best team in the pool.

Avramovic remained hopeful, taking heart from the attacking performance of his side in the second half.

"In the first half the attack was cut off in the midfield, and we couldn't keep possession in the opponent's half, and when you can't keep possession in the opponent's half you can't create chances. But when we changed the position of two or three players the team looked better," said the 61-year-old.

In attack it was skipper Shahril Ishak who stood out for the home side. He played key roles in both Singapore goals; it was his short corner that set up Shaiful Esah for the latter's opener in the 51st minute, and his smart pass to release Shahdan Sulaiman on the break led to Aleksandar Duric's goal in the 65th min.

From the left attacking midfield position to the centre and even taking over the main striker's role from Duric, Shahril proved his mettle across the park.

"During the game we changed Shahril in three positions, and he did well in all those positions, and that's good. It's important for me that (all of the players) are trying," said Avramovic.

And looking ahead to the crunch game next week, he added: "There has been continuity after the (Sultan of Selangor's Cup win) in Malaysia, these have been two excellent games and I hope it gives us more confidence and more belief in ourselves for the game against Jordan."