But Lions have a hard slog ahead, says coach
International Football Friendly
Singapore 4 Maldives 0
SINGAPORE - There were no long balls punted hopefully into the box, no defensive lapses, no toothlessness in front of a goal.
Indeed, there was no need for the Lions to even get out of second gear at the Jalan Besar Stadium last night, where they beat the Maldives 4-0.
This was the first international fixture for Singapore since December's ill-fated AFF Suzuki Cup campaign that prompted a revamp of Radojko Avramovic's squad. And despite the gulf in standards between the sides last night, the signs were promising.
Led by Qiu Li, Shahdan Sulaiman and Shi Jiayi, the Lions got their pass-and-move groove on, at least in the first half, which saw three goals before Avramovic rung the changes.
Qiu (13th minute penalty, 19th), Shi (30th) and the evergreen Aleksandar Duric (48th) found the net for Singapore, but there were good showings all over the park.
Skipper Hariss Harun, who normally plays in midfield, was sturdy in central defence, Isa Halim and Ismail Yunos turned in assured performances, while the nine substitutes sent on gave decent accounts of themselves.
Said a pleased Avramovic after the game: "We have tried to play like this for a long time... but sometimes players forget what we want to do when we go on the field. This is the first game after six months and you can't expect everything, but I was happy with the first half performance. We saw many of the good football elements that we are trying to build in this team, there was good passing, good movement and a lot of chances created that way."
Avramovic singled out Shi and Shahdan for their inventive attacking play, along with the 30-year-old Qiu, whom the coach said can turn a game with a moment of brilliance.
Maldives coach Diego Andres Cruciani shared the Serb's sentiments, saying: "(Qiu) is a fantastic player… he can be a playmaker, striker and even played very well without the ball. It's not easy to find a player like him."
It could be easy to get carried away with such a victory, but Avramovic is aware that the Lions are still a work in progress, especially with the likes of Khairul Amri and Shahril Ishak still missing from the lineup, and about a month away from July's second round World Cup qualifiers.
"At the moment we need to build our team, our way of playing, if you have a tougher opponent, they won't give you the opportunity to try to do what you are preparing to do. Gradually when players are more familiar with their duties, you will look for quality opponents to improve your way of playing," said Avramovic.
The Lions' second half performance, which allowed the Maldives to attack significantly more than in the first period, illustrated the fact that they are indeed a work in progress.
But yesterday, the revamp was not only seen on the Jalan Besar green. The stands saw only 2,166 fans, with a group of about 20 diehards attempting to change the way they supported their team.
Jumping up and down, they started singing 20 minutes before kickoff and did not stop.
Equipped with chants, taunts and songs for their team, the fans won the hearts of the Lions.
Said 20-year-old Hariss: "It's very nice, gives a full feeling for a player. Even though (the stadium) was not full, I think it's the beginning of something new."
Avramovic was also full of praise for the fans, saying: "It's the first time I'm seeing people trying to cheer and help the team - it's a good sign."
The players and the football they played was also a good sign for the Serb.
"This group of players can play for a long period of time for the national team. I just hope we have enough time to sort out a few things before the World Cup qualifiers," he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment