Date: Thu, 17 Nov 2011
SINGAPORE, 17 November 2011: Singapore’s Under-23 side fought valiantly against a resilient Thailand Under-23 side to register a 2-0 win in their last 26th SEA Games, Group A match that was played at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, Jakarta, Indonesia on 17th November 2011.
Coupled with Malaysia’s 1-0 win over Indonesia in the later game, the Young Lions finished third in Group A and will not make the knockout stages.
It was always a tough ask for the Young Lions as they went into the match with the pressure of needing a handsome win over the Thais while also relying on their Indonesian counterparts to secure a victory over the Malaysians in order to progress.
With pressure mounting by the minute, Slobodan Pavkovic’s team went into the game all guns blazing and poured forward in search of the opening goal throughout the first-half.
Their efforts paid off when a wonderful lob from skipper Hariss Harun put Gabriel Quak through on goal and he finished off the move superbly to send the Young Lions into the break with a one-goal advantage.
Having made no changes, both teams came out with the intention to end the match with a win and Thailand came close to enforcing theirs in the 53rd minute but the Singapore defence did well to shut down the move early.
Things could have gotten even sweeter for the Young Lions in the 67th minute when winger Fazli Ayob missed another glorious opportunity to double his team’s lead as he missed a sitter in the Thai penalty-box.
However, Singapore kept the pressure on the Thais and were duly rewarded with just three minutes left on the clock, when Safirul Sulaiman who came on in the 83rd minute, used every ounce of energy left in him to hustle the Thai defenders into losing the ball before unleashing a shot that ensured all three points were in the bag.
The match ended 2-0 in Singapore’s favour but their efforts were not rewarded with Indonesia and Malaysia securing the top two spots which enabled them to qualify for the knockout stages.
Head coach Slobodan Pavkovic also mentioned “We would like to thank the fans both here and back home for their strong support for the team throughout the tournament. When the draw was made, we knew we were up against very good opponents in Group A and worked towards preparing the team for the tournament.
“You could see against Thailand, the team was fighting for every ball and were really up for the challenge to get the result we were searching for. Our finishing in front of goal could have been better but it was good to see the number of scoring opportunities we created throughout the match. It was a very good performance by the boys and I am pleased for them. You cannot fault their effort tonight and throughout the tournament, they followed the game plans we had and tried their very best.
We will now go back to Singapore and evaluate the positives and negatives for this campaign and we seek the fans’ understanding as we continue to help this team grow.”
After the match, Skipper Hariss Harun had this to say, “At this juncture, I would like to first thank the fans for their support throughout this campaign. It has been a tough journey for us and I apologise on behalf of the team to the fans for the disappointment of not making it to the knockout stages.
“We tried our best to pull together despite all the issues we faced here in Jakarta and back home but we still fell short. Nevertheless, we will take the lessons learnt and come back stronger for the next SEA Games.”
Adding on after his captain, Singapore custodian Izwan Mahbud said “Yes, it has been a tough tournament but I have to say, we prepared well and tried our best throughout the tournament. Things just did not go our way on the pitch but you could see how much determination we had in the matches played. We will take this huge disappointment as a learning curve and hopefully get the results in the next SEA Games that will put a smile on our fellow Singaporeans faces.
“As team manager, I can tell you that the coaching staff and players all feel the same way. We went into this match knowing that it was going to be tough and having been in the dressing room after the match, you feel for the boys and you can see from their reactions that they were determined to do Singapore proud. I have encouraged these boys to take this disappointment and channel it to the next SEA Games where I am sure many of them will be keen to go back out there and give it another shot.” said Singapore team manager Ashiq Idris.
Football Association of Singapore President, Mr Zainudin Nordin shared with us his thoughts on the 26th SEA Games campaign as he said “Despite the determination showed by our boys throughout the SEA Games Men’s Football tournament held in Jakarta, we did not achieve our pre-tournament target of reaching the final.
Coupled with our national team’s World Cup Qualifying campaign, there are positives we can take heart from but even more importantly, we have to look at some of our shortcomings in both tournaments and better prepare ourselves for future competitions.
“When the SEA Games draw was made, we knew It was going to be a tough road ahead with most of ASEAN’s strongest football nations especially at age-group level, like Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia all sitting in the same group as us.
“From our initial roster of players under consideration for the SEA Games squad, a number of our key players like Hariss Harun, Safuwan Baharudin, Fazli Ayob, Gabriel Quak and Raihan Rahman were unable to train on a regular basis due to their national service commitments, which we acknowledge comes first.
“We fought against time as the team officials worked hard to formulate tactical plans and prepare the team while awaiting clearance for these key players to be excused from national service duties so as to ready themselves competitively to participate in the tournament.”
“Also, the constant changing of the match fixtures and scheduling did not help our cause but despite all these factors, the team showed up at every training, full of commitment and drive to try and do their best to make Singapore proud.
“It was no mean feat for the boys to go out there in the game against Thailand and secure a 2-0 win over an opponent of this calibre, with all that pressure on them to perform. Their bravery and desire showed throughout the match and it is this very same commitment that will see them grow into future national players at the highest level.
“We did well to have qualified for the 3rd Round of the World Cup qualifiers but in all fairness the Lions could have done better. Along with the inability to meet the SEA Games target of getting to the final, we would like to apologize to the fans for the disappointment and we will now wait for the technical staffs’ tournament reports before evaluating and deciding on the next course of actions.”
Final Score: Thailand Under-23 0-2 Singapore Under-23
Starting Line-up for Singapore Under-23: Izwan Mahbud, Afiq Yunos, Gabriel Quak (Safirul Sulaiman 83’), Hafiz Sujad, Shahdan Sulaiman, Irwan Shah, Yasir Hanapi, Fazli Ayob (Zulfahmi Arifin 73’), Hariss Harun (C), Firdaus Kasman, Khairul Nizam (Faris Ramli 53’)
Starting Line-up for Thailand Under-23: Seeket Madputeh, Attapong Nooprom, Ronnachai Rangsiyo (C), Naruphol Ar-Romsawa, Isarapong Lilakom (Chalemnsak Kaewsooktae 63’), Kroekrit Thawikan, Phonlawut Donchui, Sutjarit Jantakol, Pokklaw A-Nan, Ukrit Wongmeema, Komkrit Cumsokcheak
SINGAPORE, 17 November 2011: Singapore’s Under-23 side fought valiantly against a resilient Thailand Under-23 side to register a 2-0 win in their last 26th SEA Games, Group A match that was played at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, Jakarta, Indonesia on 17th November 2011.
Coupled with Malaysia’s 1-0 win over Indonesia in the later game, the Young Lions finished third in Group A and will not make the knockout stages.
It was always a tough ask for the Young Lions as they went into the match with the pressure of needing a handsome win over the Thais while also relying on their Indonesian counterparts to secure a victory over the Malaysians in order to progress.
With pressure mounting by the minute, Slobodan Pavkovic’s team went into the game all guns blazing and poured forward in search of the opening goal throughout the first-half.
Their efforts paid off when a wonderful lob from skipper Hariss Harun put Gabriel Quak through on goal and he finished off the move superbly to send the Young Lions into the break with a one-goal advantage.
Having made no changes, both teams came out with the intention to end the match with a win and Thailand came close to enforcing theirs in the 53rd minute but the Singapore defence did well to shut down the move early.
Things could have gotten even sweeter for the Young Lions in the 67th minute when winger Fazli Ayob missed another glorious opportunity to double his team’s lead as he missed a sitter in the Thai penalty-box.
However, Singapore kept the pressure on the Thais and were duly rewarded with just three minutes left on the clock, when Safirul Sulaiman who came on in the 83rd minute, used every ounce of energy left in him to hustle the Thai defenders into losing the ball before unleashing a shot that ensured all three points were in the bag.
The match ended 2-0 in Singapore’s favour but their efforts were not rewarded with Indonesia and Malaysia securing the top two spots which enabled them to qualify for the knockout stages.
Head coach Slobodan Pavkovic also mentioned “We would like to thank the fans both here and back home for their strong support for the team throughout the tournament. When the draw was made, we knew we were up against very good opponents in Group A and worked towards preparing the team for the tournament.
“You could see against Thailand, the team was fighting for every ball and were really up for the challenge to get the result we were searching for. Our finishing in front of goal could have been better but it was good to see the number of scoring opportunities we created throughout the match. It was a very good performance by the boys and I am pleased for them. You cannot fault their effort tonight and throughout the tournament, they followed the game plans we had and tried their very best.
We will now go back to Singapore and evaluate the positives and negatives for this campaign and we seek the fans’ understanding as we continue to help this team grow.”
After the match, Skipper Hariss Harun had this to say, “At this juncture, I would like to first thank the fans for their support throughout this campaign. It has been a tough journey for us and I apologise on behalf of the team to the fans for the disappointment of not making it to the knockout stages.
“We tried our best to pull together despite all the issues we faced here in Jakarta and back home but we still fell short. Nevertheless, we will take the lessons learnt and come back stronger for the next SEA Games.”
Adding on after his captain, Singapore custodian Izwan Mahbud said “Yes, it has been a tough tournament but I have to say, we prepared well and tried our best throughout the tournament. Things just did not go our way on the pitch but you could see how much determination we had in the matches played. We will take this huge disappointment as a learning curve and hopefully get the results in the next SEA Games that will put a smile on our fellow Singaporeans faces.
“As team manager, I can tell you that the coaching staff and players all feel the same way. We went into this match knowing that it was going to be tough and having been in the dressing room after the match, you feel for the boys and you can see from their reactions that they were determined to do Singapore proud. I have encouraged these boys to take this disappointment and channel it to the next SEA Games where I am sure many of them will be keen to go back out there and give it another shot.” said Singapore team manager Ashiq Idris.
Football Association of Singapore President, Mr Zainudin Nordin shared with us his thoughts on the 26th SEA Games campaign as he said “Despite the determination showed by our boys throughout the SEA Games Men’s Football tournament held in Jakarta, we did not achieve our pre-tournament target of reaching the final.
Coupled with our national team’s World Cup Qualifying campaign, there are positives we can take heart from but even more importantly, we have to look at some of our shortcomings in both tournaments and better prepare ourselves for future competitions.
“When the SEA Games draw was made, we knew It was going to be a tough road ahead with most of ASEAN’s strongest football nations especially at age-group level, like Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia all sitting in the same group as us.
“From our initial roster of players under consideration for the SEA Games squad, a number of our key players like Hariss Harun, Safuwan Baharudin, Fazli Ayob, Gabriel Quak and Raihan Rahman were unable to train on a regular basis due to their national service commitments, which we acknowledge comes first.
“We fought against time as the team officials worked hard to formulate tactical plans and prepare the team while awaiting clearance for these key players to be excused from national service duties so as to ready themselves competitively to participate in the tournament.”
“Also, the constant changing of the match fixtures and scheduling did not help our cause but despite all these factors, the team showed up at every training, full of commitment and drive to try and do their best to make Singapore proud.
“It was no mean feat for the boys to go out there in the game against Thailand and secure a 2-0 win over an opponent of this calibre, with all that pressure on them to perform. Their bravery and desire showed throughout the match and it is this very same commitment that will see them grow into future national players at the highest level.
“We did well to have qualified for the 3rd Round of the World Cup qualifiers but in all fairness the Lions could have done better. Along with the inability to meet the SEA Games target of getting to the final, we would like to apologize to the fans for the disappointment and we will now wait for the technical staffs’ tournament reports before evaluating and deciding on the next course of actions.”
Final Score: Thailand Under-23 0-2 Singapore Under-23
Starting Line-up for Singapore Under-23: Izwan Mahbud, Afiq Yunos, Gabriel Quak (Safirul Sulaiman 83’), Hafiz Sujad, Shahdan Sulaiman, Irwan Shah, Yasir Hanapi, Fazli Ayob (Zulfahmi Arifin 73’), Hariss Harun (C), Firdaus Kasman, Khairul Nizam (Faris Ramli 53’)
Starting Line-up for Thailand Under-23: Seeket Madputeh, Attapong Nooprom, Ronnachai Rangsiyo (C), Naruphol Ar-Romsawa, Isarapong Lilakom (Chalemnsak Kaewsooktae 63’), Kroekrit Thawikan, Phonlawut Donchui, Sutjarit Jantakol, Pokklaw A-Nan, Ukrit Wongmeema, Komkrit Cumsokcheak
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