SEA Games: S'pore, M'sia play to goalless draw
By Satish Cheney and Jeanette Tan in Jakarta
Singapore’s Young Lions have held defending SEA Games champions Malaysia to a goalless draw in their opening match in Jakarta.
The Young Lions were let down by poor finishing and a lack of creativity in midfield despite dominating possession for most of the match. It was watched by about 500 fans at the 88,000-capacity Senayan Stadium.
Dubbed the “Group of Death” after they were drawn with their arch-rivals Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Cambodia, Singapore’s best chance of the match came in the first half when Fazli Ayob squeezed past two defenders only to see his shot saved by Malaysian custodian Khairul Fahmi.
With both teams settling for a point each as a result of the draw, Young Lions coach Slobodan Pavkovic was pleased with the clean sheet despite seeing five of his players – Safuwan Baharudin, Safirul Sulaiman, Shahir Hamzah, Irwan Shah and Navin Vanu – coming out of the game with a yellow card each.
“It was important not to let Malaysia score against us and we did it. We reached our target and they didn’t score. I’m happy with this performance. Against Malaysia, we cannot do much better,” said the Serb.
Speaking to the media after the game, he added that he would have liked to see more of his players attacking upfront, but stressed that they needed to concentrate on defending due to the strength of the Malaysian players.
“We showed our strength, and showed that we can play against strong opponents. After this game our belief is stronger,” said the Serb.
“For us to play the SEA Games champions, Malaysia, we should be realistic and say one point is okay. There was no luck and perhaps not enough skill to score.”
Young Lions skipper Hariss Harun added that the team will be looking to improve in their next game.
“Considering it’s our first game, the fact that we were able to get a point is a good way to get going. We would have loved to take the three points but coming away with a point is still a positive start,” he said.
The Young Lions will face Cambodia in their next match on Wednesday at 8pm, followed by a battle with host nation Indonesia, and finally, Thailand.
Catch all the action from the SEA Games from November 11 - 22 in Jakarta and Palembang on Yahoo! Singapore.
