Depleted S'pore team gets hard-fought win

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SINGAPORE - They were missing 18 players from their regular squad - some to National Service and others like skipper Hariss Harun and goalkeeper Izwan Mahbud on international duty for the match against Malaysia tonight.

Nevertheless, Singapore's under-23 team fought to a 1-0 win over Myanmar at the Jalan Besar Stadium in an international friendly ahead of November's SEA Games in Indonesia.

The fiery encounter saw the referee handing out one red card (Singapore captain Irwan Shah) and seven yellows. Despite numerous attempts by midfielder Faris Ramli and striker Khairul Nizam, the hosts failed to find their scoring touch in the first half.

With Courts Young Lions forward Khairul stretchered off after pulling his hamstring in the 20th minute, the situation looked bleak for Singapore in the second half.

But a foul on Singaporean Nigel Vanu by Myanmar's Ye Ko Oo saw 21-year-old Fazli Ayob slotting in the penalty in the 50th minute to put the home team ahead.

A second bookable offence by Irwan in the 67th minute saw the 23-year-old receive his marching orders from referee Abas Daud, but the 10-man squad held off the visitors.

Singapore coach Robin Chitrakar credited his side for a credible performance, ahead of the team's appearance in the Ho Chi Minh City Cup in September.

"This is the first real test before the SEA Games and they gave a good performance and got the result we wanted.

"The boys played well and created numerous chances. They showed good potential and we can win matches from here," he said during the post-match press conference.