Saturday, December 15, 2007
Overall report:Simply breathtaking. the Young Lions played their best football game in the SEA Games so far, putting an exemplary performance to obliterate Vietnam 5-0. dominating as soon as the whistle was blown, the Young Lions came for this game prepared and calm, despite missing striker Khairul Amri to thigh injury. Baihakki Khaizan returned to the singapore side to marshal his lads to the republic's second bronze medal since 1995 and the republic's first medal ever since SEA Games football became an U23 event. Vietnam was rarely given space to threaten as the Young Lions fired shots after shots at the Vietnamese defence, who eventually crumbled towards the end of the 1st half as Shahril Ishak half-volleyed the ball in to open the floodgates of goals for Singapore. end result, Singapore demolished Vietnam 5-0, with goals coming from Shahril Ishak's as appetiser, a hat-trick from Fazrul Nawaz for the main course and desserts by Agu Casmir.
Quick Breakdown:As soon as the whistle was blown, Singapore dominated the game. with captain Baihakki Khaizan back on the team, the whole team looked much more confident and braver than they were against Thailand about 3 days ago. the defence was watertight, and there was much more stability there with Baihakki in charge. Agu Casmir replaced the injured Khairul Amri, and emulated Amri's usual runnings for lost causes of the ball. his sharp crosses brought a different aspect to the game, and coupled with his timeless runnings and fights for the ball (so ala Amri), Fazrul Nawaz found himself laden with countless chances to score.
an intelligent link-up between Ridhuan Muhd, who was looking off-form at the start of the game and in the previous games, Agu, Fazrul and Shahril saw the ball flick off all the three players before the ball landed at Shahril, who slammed home a half-volley from close-range. 1-0 Singapore.
another great teamwork effort found Fazrul looping one in, despite his bad control of the ball. however, with the Vietnamese goalkeeper surging out to stop him, Fazrul randomly kicked the ball as in spun into a loop into the open Vietnamese net. 2-0 Singapore. 1 for Fazrul.
second half kicks off with Singapore leading 2-0. it wasn't long before Singapore got hold of possession of the ball and dominated the game again. this time, Shahril Ishak got the ball from a long distance, and he ran towards the Vietnamese goal, only to have the keeper and a Vietnamese defender in front of him. Singapore's most creative midfielder then crossed an elusive ball to Fazrul, who leapt towards the ball at panther's speed and neatly banged the ball into the net. 3-0 Singapore. 2 for Fazrul.
about 10 minutes later, with Vietnam growing more frantic, Fazrul got the ball and went full speed towards the Vietnamese net and placed a brilliant shot just below the bar. 4-0 Singapore. and 3 for Fazrul. Agu teamed up well with Ridhuan to produce Singapore's 5th goal a few minutes later.
Vietnam fought back and threatened to pull one back with long-range belters, only to have scored too wide, or had Baihakki's custodian, goalkeeper Hassan Sunny to catch the ball.
at the end of the day, Singapore put in a higly impressive play against the Vietnamese to break Singapore's history, and to be the first batch to bring a medal home to Singapore since 1995. they entered this match with the semi-finals as their target. they're coming back with a bronze medal.
Most Jarring Mistake:i can simply say none. but just to place some criticism, the defence gets pretty sleepy once in a while.
Stand-outs:to be fair,
every single player was fantastic. this was their BEST performance ever! but some individual deserves special mention:
- Baihakki Khaizan: with him back in the team, Singapore played actual football. in their semi-final thrashing against Thailand, Bai was suspended for one game, and the team just collapsed. with Bai back in the team against Vietnam, everything was much more organized, the defence was much more confident and the players never once stopped surging forward to score. Bai is the team's inspiration - in fact, he's the heart of the team that keeps them going, even when the odds are down. can you imagine what it would be like if Baihakki was in the team against Thailand, and the boys played this sort of top-notch quality football? they wouldn't be fighting for bronze - they'll be fighting for gold. a beautiful exit to Bai's U23 career: a bronze medal, and despite not being able to realise his dream of being the first SG captain to bring back gold, i'm certain he's proud of this.
- Shahril Ishak: Singapore's most creative midfielder in years finally shows what he's capable of. intelligent passes and neat crosses that open up the chances for the SG forwards to score. playing in his last SEA Games as well, like Baihakki, getting SG's first medal in 12 years is a sweet present.
- Fazrul Nawaz: the son of one of SG's bronze football medallist back in 1995, Fazrul has big boots to fill. Naturally blessed with footballing talent most probably inherited from his dad, Fazrul displayed his abilities well in the game. in fact, taking up the role of a boxer-shooter, just like his dad! and just like his dad, he comes back with a bronze!
- Juma'at Jantan: they should label him Baihakki's custodian no. 2. Terrific outing as he was very alert to Vietnam's dangers and cleared the balls neatly and justly. one of the unsung heroes that deserve mention. just like 10 of his counterparts, this is his last SEA Games.
- Tengku Mushadad: like in every game, the midfield general is brilliant. one of those unsong heroes from every game, tengku deserves credit for being the defensive midfield lynchpin in the team. bronze lessened the feeling of pain from being fouled all over the place throughout the whole game, and sweetened his last SEA Games.
- those among the 11 players who are playing in their last SEA Games: which is 3/4 of the squad. they played their best football in their SEA Games history. and these boys should be proud of themselves, because they are by far the best U23s assembled since the post-Malaysian Cup days, and they made their last game one of the games of their life.
special shoutout:congratulations, boys! maybe the Thailand game was a huge mistake, but you've showed them what you guys are truly made of against Vietnam. i'm so proud of you all!
1:20 am
