Jordanians give Singapore small pitch and wrong balls for Asian Cup football qualifier preparation

Amman, Jordan, Wednesday, March 3, 2010 – If Singapore come away with a draw against Jordan in their final group game today and Thailand lose to an already-qualified Iran, Singapore will qualify for the 2011 Asian Cup football tournament for the first time in her short history.

Singapore won the home fixture 2-1 at the National Stadium in January 2009.

After the game, there was a fight in the tunnel after taunts were exchanged. A Jordanian official was quoted as saying: “You come to Jordan, you die!”

While that was certainly only a figure of speech, the Lions have had to put up with Jordanian gamesmanship over the last few days in Amman. For their match preparation, the hosts gave the Lions a pitch that was smaller than regulation size as well as the wrong footballs.

"We are disappointed that we have not been given the basic requirements such as a proper pitch for our training so far. Even the balls they gave us to train with were the wrong ones,” said national coach Raddy Avramovic at the pre-match conference, according to the FAS website (www.fas.org.sg).

"It was not until the match commissioner arrived at our training venue yesterday that they brought out the official match balls to pass to us when we were more than half way through what was an official training session two days before the match.

"I hope the games will stop and the only game played will be between both teams of players on Wednesday," Avramovic added. “Our strength is our team work and team spirit and in the end, it's the 11 players on the pitch who will make the difference. And of course, it also depends on the match officials in the game as they can also make the difference."

A Singapore loss tonight may mean the break up of the current squad and the end of the international careers of senior players Noh Rahman and Noh Alam Shah.

“This is a very big game for us, probably the biggest game in our careers,” said 29-year-old defender Noh Rahman, the captain of the team. “We can expect a hot atmosphere on Wednesday but it all boils down to who wants it more. And we certainly want it.”

“The cold could be a huge factor but don’t forget, Jordan will also be playing in the same weather,” said striker Alam Shah, who has 34 goals to his name. “We must be awake and switched on for this game. And we have to be switched on from day one … and not just only on match day. We must stand up and withstand anything thrown at us in the game, be disciplined and get the three points we need to get through.”

“It is the biggest game of my career and the responsibility to lead the team from the front in such a game is a real honour. (Qualifying) will be a huge step for the younger generation.

“They (Jordan) may want revenge, but we have something better. We want to create history by being the first Singapore team to qualify for the Asian Cup,” said Alam Shah on the FAS website (www.fas.org.sg).

China-born striker Qiu Li will probably win his first cap for Singapore against the Jordanians after fulfilling his five-year residency in Singapore.

“I am ready. I have waited five years for this day," said Qiu Li who will play in an unfamiliar left midfield role.

"It's the first time I'm playing on the left right from the start. I have no problems attacking but I am slightly worried about defending as that is the role I have to perform in that position. I will have to be alert and track back to cover (Noh Rahman),” added Qiu Li.

Coach Avramovic feels the pressure is on Jordan playing at home.

“There is a lot of pressure on Jordan as they need to defeat us. I hope we can use that to our advantage,” said Avramovic on the AFC website (www.the-afc.com).

The Jordan vs Singapore match will be shown live on MediaCorp’s Channel 5, Wednesday, March 3, at 11.55pm.