Lions fall 2-1 to Chinese Taipei in Asian Cup qualifier
Just how much worse can it get? This must be the question on most Singapore football fans’ mind after the Lions fell 2-1 to Chinese Taipei in the Asian Cup qualifying match on Saturday (10 June).
While the visitors were ranked three spots below the Lions, it certainly did not show as Singapore were outplayed on the Jalan Besar Stadium pitch.
Chinese Taipei’s head coach Kazuo Kuroda, who had said prior to the game that Singapore were the better side in all aspects, felt that the Lions may have been too complacent.
“Maybe Singapore thought they were a bit stronger, maybe this is a problem for them. If we play the game, we don’t worry about result,” the Japanese coach said.
What made the result harder to take was the fact that it was Singapore who drew first blood in the game, and it did not take that long for them to do so.
Hariss Harun, the Lions’ captain for the night, rose highest to meet Shahdan Sulaiman’s corner and sent a thumping header into the net in the sixth minute.
Chinese Taipei comeback
But everything went wrong after that. Instead of going for the kill, the Lions seemed content with their one-goal lead and started to sit back, deep in their own half. Apart from some weak headers at goal, the Lions hardly troubled their counterparts.
The visitors, having been allowed possession of the ball for extended periods, grew in confidence and looked more dangerous with each passing minute.
The Lions were given a warning sign in the 28th minute, when Yen Tavio forced a stunning one-handed save from Hassan Sunny. But the Singapore side failed to take heed of it and just barely two minutes later, Chinese Taipei was allowed their equaliser.
A free-kick from Chen Hao Wei was blocked by the wall and the rebound fell nicely for Xavier Chen, who needed no further invitation to volley past the hapless Hassan.
Singapore head coach V. Sundramoorthy elected to send on Hafiz Sujad in place of Faris Ramli early in the second half to spark a change, but it was Chinese Taipei who seized the initiative instead.
The Taiwanese went ahead in the 60th minute, after both Hassan and Irfan Fandi got in each other’s way while trying to clear a cross, allowing Chen Chao-An a free header just in front of an open goal.
Staring at defeat, the Lions finally attacked more. But Hafiz could only fire a tame effort after Safuwan knocked down a deep cross, before the lone striker headed a Madhu Mohana long throw narrowly wide.
Hassan then made another vital stop after a lapse from the back saw Chu En-Le released through on goal. The Lions were unfortunately not given a penalty in the 83rd minute when substitute Khairul Nizam was pushed as he was pulling the trigger.
There were few other opportunities created as the long balls Singapore played hardly resulted in any chances, allowing Chinese Taipei to bring complete a huge upset.
Sundram: Unfair defeat
Despite the defeat, Sundram felt that the result did not reflect what “an even game”.
The 51-year-old coach, who indicated that both goals conceded by Singapore were unfortunate, said: “You see the first goal we conceded, we defended the free-kick well; the ball hit the wall.
“The second goal, it could have gone slightly past the post, it could have hit the post and went out, but it hit the post and went in.
“A draw should have been a better result, but it’s football. We take responsibility and we move on. I think the boys tried, but we need to do better.”
When asked about the lack of ideas his players had displayed when they were chasing the game, an issue that has been plaguing the team, Sundram simply replied that it is “the fastest route to goal”.
He did admit that the team did concede too many free-kicks in dangerous positions and paid the price for it, and called for the team to start improving.
“There are no more easy games at the international level. We must start to push, that’s important. We need to work extra to get the points,” Sundram stated.
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