KUALA LUMPUR - Indonesia may have been held to a shock 2-2 draw by minnows Laos in their Group B opening fixture on Sunday.
But instead of drawing confidence from that result, Singapore
coach Radojko Avramovic is bracing himself for a backlash from the 2010
ASEAN Football Federation Suzuki Cup finalists when the Lions play
against Indonesia at Bukit Jalil Stadium tomorrow evening.
While there were many who were impressed with how Laos took the lead
twice against Indonesia, Avramovic saw positives in the way the Merah
Putih came back from the brink of defeat to salvage a draw.
"I am impressed by their attitude," said Avramovic yesterday.
"They showed so much fighting spirit in coming back against Laos.
Twice they were behind but they equalised and could have snatched
victory. That's the right kind of attitude to have. Also, they have a
few outstanding individuals in their side.
"It will be
another tough match for us. Nothing is guaranteed yet. There are two
matches to play and anything can still happen."
As
expected, the Indonesians have been kicking themselves for taking Laos
too lightly, and for almost crashing to a shock defeat.
They have promised it will be a different side on display against the Lions.
"I watched Singapore play Malaysia on television and I thought
Singapore had two outstanding players in Mustafic Fahrudin and Hariss
Harun, who kept the midfield under control," said Indonesia coach Nil
Maizar.
"They were instrumental in Singapore's victory and we must not allow them to dictate the pace against us.
"Singapore were very patient too. They waited and waited ... and when they saw an opening, they went for it."
Indonesia will have a problem in goal, however, being forced to
field reserve keeper Wayhu Tri Nugroho after first choice Endra Suprapto
was sent off against the Laotians.
Wayhu is also one of
only two keepers in the squad, and the Indonesians are hoping he will
stay injury-free until Endra returns.
Singapore currently
lead Group B with three points after their 3-0 win over Malaysia, and
victory over the Indonesians will see them through to the semi-finals,
while the Indonesians also need a result to put themselves in a strong
position to qualify.
Indonesia team manager Abel Marathi admitted that the result against Laos has done the team a great favour.
"Many of my players thought Laos would be easy. After all, their
soccer development isn't that impressive," he said. "And because we took
them lightly, we paid a price. We will take Singapore very seriously
and nothing less than a wholehearted effort will be enough to beat
them."
Meanwhile, Shaiful Esah, the man whose left foot set
up Singapore's opening goal in their win over Malaysia, is set to miss
the match.
The left-back was sent to hospital for an X-ray after landing awkwardly midway through Sunday's clash.
Although he did not fracture his ankle as had been feared,
Avramovic is not prepared to risk the 26-year-old tomorrow. Instead,
Irwan Shah is set to be drafted in as cover.
Source from Today Online
