Late Faris Ramli goal seals 1-0 win for Lions over Malaysia
Singapore’s national football team beat arch-rivals Malaysia 1-0 on Wednesday (20 March) to qualify for the final of the AirMarine Cup, a four-national international friendly tournament held at Kuala Lumpur’s Bukit Jalil National Stadium.
Forward Faris Ramli netted the winner eight minutes from time, latching on a superb through ball from Khairul Amri and placing it beyond the arms of Malaysian goalkeeper Khairul Fahmi Che Mat.
It was the Lions’ first win in the last three encounters against Malaysia, with their last win against their traditional rivals also coming at the Bukit Jalil Stadium seven years ago.
1st match in charge for caretaker coach Nazri Nasir
Caretaker coach and former Lions captain Nazri Nasir, taking charge of his first match, employed an attacking 4-3-3 formation, with Faris, Amri and Iqbal Hussain leading the attack.
The strategy paid off as Singapore had the better chances in the tightly-contested match, which was played amid a sparse crowd in the 90,000-seater stadium, as many Malaysian fans reportedly boycotted the match due to the RM35 (S$11.60) admission price.
Twice in the opening 13 minutes, midfielder Yasir Hanapi had forced Khairul Fahmi into scrambling saves. The Malaysian custodian was on hand again in the 15th minute to make a close-range save from Amri.
Malaysia, runners-up in last year’s AFF Suzuki Cup, had their best chance in the 65th minute, when captain Zaquan Adha’s shot was saved by goalkeeper Izwan Mahbud with his legs.
Singapore to face Oman on Saturday
Singapore will now face Oman at the same venue on Saturday night in the final. Oman – under new Dutch coach Erwin Koeman – had thrashed Afghanistan 5-0 in their opening match. Malaysia and Afghanistan will compete in the third-place playoff match before the final.
According to New Straits Times, the tournament was organised to boost Malaysia’s ranking in hope of being ranked among the top 34 teams in Asia. However, with their loss to Singapore, the move has apparently backfired.
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