Singapore hold on for 0-0 draw against Vietnam in first leg semi-final of Suzuki Cup

Story by REDintern Koh Yizhe

My Dinh Stadium, Hanoi, Wednesday, December 17, 2008 – Despite being outplayed in every department, Singapore held on for a 0-0 draw with Vietnam in the first leg semi-final of the AFF Suzuki Cup 2008. The defending champions were on the back foot for much of the match, finding it difficult to keep up with Vietnam's speed.

Using their impressive speed, Vietnam sent waves and waves of attack against the Singapore backline as they struggled to cope. Singapore didn't help their own cause by giving the ball away cheaply and were never really settled.

Singapore had a goal disallowed in the second half when the Vietnamese defender headed into his own net but the assistant referee had moments earlier flagged Noh Alam Shah for off-side.

Isa Halim came into the starting XI in the absence of the injured John Wilkinson. For the first time in a competitive match, Isa Halim and Mustafic Fahrudin formed a defensive midfield partnership to keep out the speedy Vietnam attack. However, with this defense-minded formation, Singapore strikers Indra Sahdan Daud and Agu Casmir were starved of supply.

Vietnam went straight into the attack from the kick off and it took them just three minutes to craft the first chance of the match. A striker was left unmarked at the far post while a cross was swung in, resulting in a looping header that just floated above the bar.

With Vietnam's intentions well known, they continued to pressure Singapore defense by making darting runs down the flanks. Their chances came from the flanks as they attempted to stretch the Singapore defense. With the majority of possession and with amazing passing confidence, Vietnam were setting the pace of the game and were fashioning chances.

Singapore, in contrast, were having trouble getting settled. The defending champions found it hard to get their passing game going and were simply launching the ball forward, hoping it would reach a forward.

The best chance of the half came after 19 minutes when Daniel Bennett, Singapore's left back, was caught out of position. A through pass to Nguyen Viet Thang saw the striker with all the time in the world to pick his spot. Although his shot from the right side of the penalty area beat Lionel Lewis, it wasn't good enough to beat the far post and Singapore escaped. This was followed by an identical chance which flew just wide after 30 minutes.

With Vietnam given space to work their speedy magic, Singapore were barely able to keep the score goalless. The home side was pounding hard on Singapore's defense and the defending champions were extremely fortunate not to concede a goal by half-time.

A shot from distance by Isa Halim that went over signaled the start of the second half, but that would be as close as Singapore would get for the rest of the match. Vietnam on the other hand, continued where they left off in the first half as they maintained their high level of attacking play.

With Singapore's attack going nowhere, Noh Alam Shah was brought on in place of Indra at the 55th-minute mark. However, his presence in the game did little to help Singapore. It was Lionel Lewis instead who made the greatest impact for Singapore as he tipped over a free kick that was sneaking in.

Singapore, however, did manage to put the ball into the back of the Vietnamese net in the 72nd minute. Mustafic Fahrudin's cross was guided into the net by a Vietnamese defender as Noh Alam Shah lurked behind. The goal was immediate disallowed as Noh Alam Shah was in an offside position when the cross was made. A furious Raddy Avramovic went running towards to lines men to protest the call, but to no avail.

Vietnam continued to hold Lionel Lewis' goal under siege as Singapore players began to foul Vietnamese in dangerous areas. This added pressure on Lewis as he bungled a free kick but was the first to react to gather the rebound.

Despite dominating possession and passing, Vietnam found no way through the nervy Singapore back line. Although the defending champions hung on this time, they might not be so lucky during the return leg at the National Stadium on Sunday and will have to greatly improve their performance should they want to progress to the finals.

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Player Statistics

ROSMAN SULAIMAN
Age: 26 (6/11/82) Position: Defender Club: Home United Caps: 0 Goals: 0 Jersey #: 26

SHAIFUL ESAH
Age: 22 (12/5/86) Position: Defender Club: SAFFC Caps: 0 Goals: 0 Jersey #: 22

Second leg Semi-final: December 21

Final: December 24, 28