Fandi happy with Madhu-Afiq, despite LionsXII's tour record
They played three friendly matches in Male, the capital of Maldives, going down twice while winning one game.
Despite the dismal record, coach Fandi Ahmad is pleased with the LionsXII's progress over the past week.
As part of their pre-season preparations for this Malaysian Super League (MSL) season, which kicks off on Feb 7, the Singapore side competed in the People of Maldives Invitational Soccer Cup, a quadrangular also featuring two local teams and Malaysia's PDRM FC.
The LionsXII lost 2-1 to Maziya Sports in the first match, beat New Radiant 3-1 in their second encounter and were edged out 1-0 by fellow MSL team PDRM (yesterday morning, Singapore time).
Speaking to The New Paper over the phone yesterday, Fandi singled out the good understanding being forged between centre backs Afiq Yunos and Madhu Mohana as one of the success stories of the tour.
The duo will be the first-choice pairing at the heart of the LionsXII defence this season as star man and team vice-captain Safuwan Baharudin is set to join Australia's Melbourne City.
DEFENCE OKAY
Said Fandi: "As long as there are no lengthy injuries during the MSL season, we should be fine in defence.
"I could see the understanding between Madhu and Afiq improve here from the first to the last game.
"They are both strong and tall, but it will still be tough for them against the foreign players we will face in the MSL.
"PDRM played three of their four foreigners against us, and (the two defenders) did well. Madhu also scored two goals in this tournament."
The LionsXII will kick off their season against PDRM - champions of the second-tier Premier League last season - at the Jalan Besar Stadium on Feb 7.
PDRM, coached by former Malaysian international Azman Adnan, may have pipped the LionsXII in Male, but Fandi was encouraged at how his young charges fared.
"We should've won the game," said the 52-year-old. "We dominated the first half but failed to take our chances. Nazrul (Nazari) missed two sitters and (Khairul) Amri missed one.
"Then early in the second half, we conceded a penalty and Isa (Halim) was sent off. But even with 10 men, we still attacked them."
The defeat meant the Singapore side finished third out of four and missed out on today's final.
The squad of 20 will return to Singapore on Friday.
"This tour was a very good experience for the boys," Fandi said.
"The team are shaping up well and I was happy with how (midfielder) Zulfahmi (Arifin) played. Izzdin (Shafiq) and Christopher (van Huizen) also looked good.
"The confidence level is good now, but a lot will depend on how we do in our opening game. If we lose that, it will be tough for us because after that, we have three away games."
NEW SIGNINGS
Winger Gabriel Quak, 23, said the Maldives tour was particularly important for the new squad members - Izzdin, van Huizen, Wahyudi Wahid, Faris Azienuddin, Zakir Samsudin and goalkeeper Zharfan Rohaizad.
Shahdan Sulaiman and Sahil Suhaimi are the other two new players, but Shahdan is out for the long-term as he recovers from a broken ankle, while Sahil is in Turkey with the Singapore Under-23 squad as they prepare for June's South-east Asia Games.
"The new guys are all young players, so the last three games were important for them to get used to how we play," said Quak, who is into his third season with the LionsXII.
"PDRM played three of their four foreigners against us, and (the two defenders) did well. Madhu also scored two goals in this tournament."
- LionsXII coach Fandi Ahmad on Madhu and Afiq doing well in the 1-0 loss to PDRM in the Maldives quadrangular
Wahyudi stamped on, but escapes serious injury
BLATANT: LionsXII's Wahyudi Wahid (on the ground) being stamped on the head by New Radiant's Mohamad Rasheed in this shot taken off the video clip.
"At first, when I got hit, I was just shocked... after the physio treated me, I felt okay." - Wahyudi Wahid (above) on the incident
Just watching the video clip of LionsXII defender Wahyudi Wahid getting a boot to his head is enough to make one flinch.
The 25-year-old was blatantly stamped on the head by New Radiant defender Mohamad Rasheed during a clash with the LionsXII in the POMIS Cup in Maldives last Saturday.
Unbelievably, Wahyudi suffered only a headache.
Singapore's Malaysian Super League side won the match 3-1, but the incident in the 77th minute ensured an ugly end to what was already an ill-tempered contest.
Following a well-timed sliding challenge by right back Wahyudi, the New Radiant player leapt to avoid contact, and stamped on the Singapore's player head on his way down.
OUCH
The impact was enough to cause Wahyudi's head to rebound off the pitch.
A number of LionsXII players, including captain Isa Halim and Khairul Amri, rushed to confront the New Radiant defender, but the rest of the Maldives team and the match officials intervened to prevent a free-for-all. Rasheed, 29, was duly sent off.
The match ended with two red cards - LionsXII winger Gabriel Quak was also sent off after two cautions- and 10 yellow cards.
After receiving treatment for five minutes, Wahyudi managed to play on until the final whistle.
"They were losing 3-0 at the time and I guess the player was either angry at us or his team," Wahyudi told The New Paper.
"Throughout the game, he was spitting at me, Nazrul (Nazari), and Madhu (Mohana).
"At first, when I got hit, I was just shocked. I never lost consciousness, and after the physio treated me, I felt okay to continue the game.
"After the game, I felt a bit of a headache, but nothing serious."
"Thankfully, I turned my head before contact.
"If not, he would have (hit) my face and I would no longer be handsome," quipped the defender.
Coach Fandi Ahmad said New Radiant sent the LionsXII an e-mail apology after the match, and revealed that the tournament committee had banned the player for the rest of the tournament.
Wahyudi is one of eight new players in the LionsXII squad, and featured in all three of the team's games in the Maldives as regular right back Faritz Hameed is injured.
- ALI KASIM
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