Little to smile as Lions fail  to convince in final tune-up

Sundram  looks ahead  to Suzuki Cup  as Lions fail  to convince in final tune-up

Sports Correspondent

Nov 14, 2016 06:00 am

INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY SINGAPORE 1

(Yasir Hanapi 70)

CAMBODIA 0

V Sundramoorthy and his men had hoped Sunday night's (Nov 13) friendly with Cambodia would serve as a timely boost ahead of a tough AFF Suzuki Cup assignment.

But Singapore's 1-0 win last night at the Bishan Stadium would have hardly filled the players with confidence, ahead of their tournament opener against co-hosts Philippines in Manila on Saturday (Nov 19).

The result may have helped the Lions snap a six-match winless streak, and also avenged a 2-1 defeat in Phnom Penh in July.

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But the manner of the victory was hardly convincing, particularly in the first half.

Sundram admitted his charges "didn't look a team" in the first 45 minutes.

But he said: "Eventually, we won the game, but friendlies are friendlies.

"We can win or lose all the friendlies, but the most important matches will be the first game against the Philippines, the second against Thailand (on Nov 22) and third against Indonesia (Nov 25).

"We played well against Syria (0-2) and Bahrain (1-3), even though we lost.

ONE-OFF

"The first half (performance against Cambodia) is a one-off, and I believe with mental focus and awareness, we should be okay."

Lions ace Hariss Harun echoed the sentiment.

"We shouldn't look too much into this performance," said the midfielder, who wore the armband as skipper Shahril Ishak was on the bench.

"It's good we won... (and) Cambodia competed well and gave us a few scares, but we should move on and look ahead to the Philippines.

"They are on another level (to Cambodia) and I think our last game against Syria gave us a good indication of how the Philippines will play.

"We have to look to improve and we'll analyse how Philippines set themselves up, and we will be ready for the game."

In front of a sold-out crowd of almost 3,000, Singapore started well but it was the visitors who eventually gained control through their dangerous front three of Prak Mony Udom, Chan Vathanaka and Keo Sokpheng.

Vathanaka, in particular, was a thorn in the side of the Lions' backline with his direct running and sweet left foot, twice seizing on loose passes before going close to scoring, striking the crossbar in the 22nd minute.

Singapore defender Baihakki Khaizan, who played despite a fever, was given a reprieve when he was hauled off on 23 minutes, but the home side were still on the back foot, losing possession cheaply and looking nervous on the ball.

Even Hariss, so often a steadying influence in the engine room, was uncharacteristically muscled off the ball in the 35th minute by Chrerng Polroth, whose shot from 25 metres whistled wide.

The Lions came close to taking the lead late in the first half in spectacular fashion when Faris Ramli's rasping shot from a half-cleared corner from more than 20 metres cannoned off the crossbar.

Sundram made three changes at the break, and another early on in the second half. With Yasir Hanapi and Shahdan Sulaiman - clubmates at Tampines Rovers - combining, the Lions looked better going forward.

It was Yasir who made the difference in the 70th minute.

CRUCIAL CROSS

Left back Shakir Hamzah's teasing cross into the box saw Cambodia goalkeeper Um Sereyroth clatter into his own defender, and the ball fell to Yasir on the edge of the box.

The midfielder steadied himself before firing through a sea of bodies for his first goal in 12 appearances for the Lions.

Said the match-winner: "The win helps boost the team's confidence, and the goal raises my confidence, too.

"Right now, we can't really see too much difference (in morale), but the win is definitely something positive for us."

"The first half (performance against Cambodia) is a one-off, and I believe with mental focus and awareness, we should be okay."

- Singapore coach V Sundramoorthy

LINE-UPS

SINGAPORE (with ratings): Hassan Sunny 6.5, Juma’at Jantan 6 (Faritz Hameed 46, 6.5), Baihakki Khaizan (Madhu Mohana 23, 6.5), Daniel Bennett 6.5, Shakir Hamzah 6.5 (Mustafic Fahrudin 89), Izzdin Shafiq 6, Hariss Harun 6, Faris Ramli 6.5, Safuwan Baharudin 6 (Yasir Hanapi 46, 6.5), Hafiz Abu Sujad 6 (Shahdan Sulaiman 46, 6.5), Khairul Amri 6 (Sahil Suhaimi 53, 6)
CAMBODIA: Um Sereyroth, Sok Sovan, Nub Tola, Soeuy Visal (Nen Sothearoth 46), Cchin Chhoeun, Sos Suhana (Khuon Laboravy 76), Chrerng Polroth, Rous Samoeun, Prak Mony Udom (Tith Dina 72), Chan Vathanaka, Keo Sokpheng (Hoy Phallin 76)

STATISTICS

SHOTS: Singapore - on target 4, off target 8, Cambodia - on target 1, off target 11
CORNERS: Singapore 4 Cambodia 7
OFFSIDES: Singapore 3 Cambodia 1
REFEREE: Hadimin Shahbuddin (Brunei) 8/10
ATTENDANCE: 2,946 (sold out) l MATCH RATING: 5/10

SUZUKI CUP

GROUP A