Singapore U23 played out to a goalless draw against Malaysia U23 in 26th SEA Games Group A opener

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Date: 

Mon, 07 Nov 2011

The opening game of the 2011 SEA Games Men’s Football Group A fixtures held at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium on 7 November pitted defending champions Malaysia against Singapore as both teams battled to a goalless draw.

And like all matches involving these two ASEAN football powerhouses, it is not just a game but also pride at stake. Years of rivalry will be mentioned and past victories, losses and incidents will be highlighted too.

Both teams came out cagey, seemingly content to lull their opponents into making the first move and breaking out of their shell but neither goalkeeper had much to do for the opening minutes until Singapore winger Fazli Ayob almost gave the Young Lions the lead in the 14th minute but his effort was directed straight into the grateful arms of Malaysian custodian, Khairul Fadmi Che Mat.

Lions skipper Hariss Harun was the next player to attempt a shot at goal three minutes later but his shot was way off the mark before the Harimau Muda skipper, Bathtiar Baddrol replied with a thunderous free-kick that forced Izwan Mahbud into a wonderful save to keep the scoreboard as it is.

The best chance of the first-half came when Fazli’s mesmerising dribble beat three defenders before unleashing a grounder which was well-saved by Khairul Fadmi.

With the first-half ending goalless, both sides made one change each to try and freshen things up with Hafiz Sujad coming on for Safirul Sulaiman.

In the 66th minute, striker Neil Vanu broke away from his marker and played a lovely ball to Shahdan Sulaiman, who was unfortunately dispossessed by the Malaysian defender at hand.

Harimau Muda then looked again for its captain for inspiration as he launched another deadly freekick in the 73rd minute that got Izwan making an outstretched one handed save.

Singapore replied in remarkable fashion with Shahdan playing a through ball to Khairul Nizam who was brought into the game for Fazli. Nizam however couldn’t shake off his defender to get to the end of that pass.

It was then Neil’s turn to miss another glorious chance as the match moved into the final 20 minute mark. He received the ball in the penalty following a lobbing pass but was unable to find the back of the net with his shot.

Captain Baddrol got himself another chance to put his team in front with a thunderous shot that missed the target narrowly.

In the dying minutes, Singapore had the better of possession and worked hard to convert their chances. Two successive corners forced a goal mouth scramble and Young Lions’ captain Hariss, came close to scoring when he collected the ball outside the box and drove through the crowded penalty area, only to stopped by his teammate, in what seemed like an error in communication.

The match then ended with the score, Singapore U23 0-0 Malaysia U23.

Speaking after the goalless draw, Coach Slobodan Pavkovic said, “This was a game against the defending champions who have been preparing for a long time for this SEA Games, so I think it is one point gained rather than two points lost.”

He added, “I think the boys played well and executed our plan correctly. We had quite a number of chances in the game and we were in control of the game at different points. This is very positive and I am happy with my team’s performance in this match."

"We came here with 20 players. All of them are key players, no one is an individual star. This is a four-game group, which means that every game carries equal importance. Winning, drawing or losing one game will mean 25% out of 100. We will now refocus and channel our thoughts towards the next game against Cambodia.”

Young Lions team manager Ashiq Idris mentioned, “This first game in Group A brought us one point which means we have a point on the board. The team showed that they can play according to plans and we have to take it one game at a time."

"The team knew that the supporters here and back home were rooting for us throughout the match and we would like to thank them for their support. The boys will have a good rest and we will start preparations for the next game starting from tomorrow.”

Starting Line-up for Singapore Under-23: Izwan Mahbud, Safuwan Baharudin, Afiq Yunos, Neil Vanu, Safirul Sulaiman (Hafiz Sujad 45’), Shahdan Sulaiman, Irwan Shah (Yasir Hanapi 60’), Fazli Ayob (Khairul Nizam 68’), Hariss Harun (C), Shahir Hamzah, Zulfahmi Arifin

Starting Line-up for Malaysia Under-23: Khairul Fahmi, Shas Fadhli, Omar Asraruddin, Thamil Arasu (Wan Zakaria 64’), Bakhtiar Baddrol (C), G.Gurusamy, Saarani Fakri, Othman Fandi, Ibrahim Azwari (Ramlan Faris 81’), Jusoh Shukur, Ahmad Muslim