By Chee Seong – AFF Singapore correspondent
While their compatriots huffed and puffed against a disciplined Singapore side, former Celtic and Charlton Athletic midfielder Zheng Zhi as well as Yu Dabao came on as second half substitutes, to break the hearts of the Singapore players with an inspired display.
Yu Hai scored the winner for China
This hard fought win meant that former Real Madrid player and Coach Jose Antonio Camacho got their 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign off to a winning start, despite having the team together for slightly more than a fortnight.
Despite playing a team which is ranked 60 places above them, Singapore started the brighter side as 41-year-old Tampines Rovers’ forward Aleksandar Duric put the Lions into the lead in the 33rd minute of play. It was a move started and finished by the current second top scorer in the S.League.
Duric intercepted a pass off China’s skipper Li Weifeng and set Qiu Li free through the middle. With a two on two situation, Qiu Li feigned and faked a back peddling Du Wei who fell flat. Instead of shooting, which he normally would, the Chinese-born midfielder teed Duric up for the number nine to place the ball home.
While the Lions held the Chinese for almost 70 minutes, Chen Tao was unlucky to be denied a chance to be on the score sheet as the woodwork prevented his attempts from finding the net on two occasions.
Singapore had their own chances to double their lead, but Shahril Ishak and Safuwan Baharudin were both caught offside when they were through on goal. The Lions were not given much space throughout the game and was on the losing end in terms of possession as well. While the boys from the Singapore were on the back foot most of the night, it is the discipline that they showed in their defending, which kept the score line in their favor as the teams headed into the break.
China started the second half strongly when Chen Tao struck the wood work, with Izwan Mahbud well beaten in goal. In the 54th minute, Izwan fell awkwardly and suffered a bad twist to his ankle and called for a replacement.
Five minutes later, Daniel Bennett mistimed a hopeful ball into the defensive third of the Singapore half and allowed Chen Tao to go through on goal. Lionel came charging into the Chinese striker, only for referee Andre El Haddad to award a spot kick to the Chinese. Up stepped Qu Bo, and Lionel redeemed himself, as well as Bennett’s slip up, with a fine save much to the delight of the Singapore players.
Singapore was then on the end of some controversial refereeing decisions when El Haddad amazingly pointed to the spot, as Yu Dabao fell in attempt to reach the ball. Yu and Shaiful Esah were running side by side and it was evident that the ball was too long for Yu to reach it. The substitute who came on in the 66th minute then took a tumble without anyone touching him but El Haddad awarded the spot kick to China, bringing strong protests from the Singapore contingent.
Zheng Zhi, another substitute who came on before this incident, stepped up and fired past Lionel Lewis to bring the scores level at 1-1. Singapore coach Raddy Avramovic was eventually sent to the stands by the man in the middle after protesting the decision on the sidelines.
The pair combined yet again to complete a comeback win. Holding the ball on the left side of midfield, Zheng Zhi went past a Singapore defender, and sends in a delightful diagonal ball onto the path of Yu Dabao, who forced a brilliant save out of Lionel Lewis. However, an onrushing Yu Hai was given plenty of time and space, to get into the box, to smash home the rebound.
The goal sent the 17,000 strong crowds in the Tuodong Stadium wild. They Chinese knew that they had done it, so too did their fans.
Singapore had a strong claim for a penalty when Qiu Li was brought down in the Chinese penalty area with 10 minutes to go but El Habbab waved away any forms of protest. The Lions tried to find a way back into the game in search of an equalizer but it all proved too late.
The win was no doubt an important one for China, and Head Coach Jose Antonio Camacho was quoted as praising his side for their never-say-die attitude.
“We didn’t give up after missing a few good chances, including two shots against the woodwork. It was a tough game,” he said after the game.
The former Spain manager must have breathed a sigh of relief as the expectations from fans of the largest nation in Asia will be nothing less than qualification from this group. In last night’s win, he has cleared the first hurdle while another potential tricky tie, away to Jordan in Amman. awaits him on Match Day 2.
Singapore coach Raddy Avramovic faces a daunting task as he prepares his side for the visit of 2007 Asian Cup winners Iraq at the Jalan Besar Stadium on 6 September. Raddy was quoted as saying that his side could have better fortunes had the finishing been better.
“I have expected the result tonight. If we scored another goal in the first half, we would have finished the game.”
While the result cannot be overturned, one name will definitely be dangling on the back of Singapore fans’ mind. The fans have every reason to do that, as the awful decision making by Andre El Habbab could prove costly come end of this group stage.
No comments:
Post a Comment