World Cup Qualifier: Singapore through after 1-1 draw against Malaysia

Story by Les Tan/Red Sports and Noor Farhan/Red Sports. Photos by Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Bukit Jalil Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Thursday, July 28, 2011 — Singapore drew 1-1 with Malaysia in the second leg of their Round 2 2014 World Cup qualifier to go through 6-4 on aggregate. Singapore won the first leg 5-3.

Malaysia failed to capitalise despite having their partisan home fans pack the 87,000-seater Bukit Jalil Stadium.

Singapore missed two golden opportunities to score in the first half. In the 6th minute, a free kick found Qiu Li all alone in the penalty box with the Malaysian defenders hoping for offside. Qiu Li opted to shoot instead of squaring it for an unmarked Shi Jiayi and Malaysian goalkeeper Khairul Fahmi Che Mat saved at point-blank range.

Then Jiayi picked out striker Aleksandar Duric with a pin-point cross but the big man’s instinctive shot was again brilliantly saved by Fahmi. Qiu Li unfortunately could not connect with the rebound and the chance was lost.

Fahmi again rose to the occasion to keep the Malaysian Tigers in the game. A Shaiful Esah direct free kick was en route to the top corner of goal but Fahmi kept it out to ensure the teams went into the break at 0-0.

It was Malaysia, however, who opened the scoring in the second half, as they took full advantage of ambiguous refereeing. As the Singapore players came to a standstill expecting the Japanese referee to blow for a foul, the Malaysians continued playing and Safee Sali struck with a crisp shot in the penalty box to give his team a 1-0 lead in the 54th minute.

“We all saw the referee putting the whistle in his mouth, but whether he blew it or not I wasn’t sure, as I couldn’t really hear it,” said coach Raddy Avramovic, on the confusion surrounding Malaysia’s first goal.

However, Singapore silenced the capacity home crowd in the 72nd minute when they equalised. It was a route-one approach that involved just four touches of the ball. A free kick by goalkeeper Izwan Mahbud was headed on by Aleksandar Duric to Jiayi inside the penalty box. The Home United player took one touch to control it and another to send it past Fahmi to tie it up 1-1.

Qiu Li then missed a late chance to seal the win for Singapore when he broke through the Malaysian defense from near the half-way line to go one-on-one with Fahmi but the Malaysian keeper stuck out a hand to steal the ball.

However, the 1-1 draw was good enough for Singapore to go through 6-4 on aggregate.

When asked if the volatile atmosphere was daunting for his team, Singapore coach Raddy said,” I like playing in full stadiums like this. I always tell the players that it is better to play in front of 85,000 rather than to play in front of 85 people.”

Malaysia coach K Rajagobal cut a sombre figure at the post-match interview. When asked about his team’s performance, but singled out goalkeeper Khairul Fahmi Che Mat.

“Credit to (Khairul Fahmi), because I think he did well. Yes, I did not field him in the first match for certain reasons but I think the keepers performed well when given the chance.”

“When you look throughout the match, you cannot just blame the goalkeepers because we have to collectively take the blame (for the loss).”

Singapore Lineup
Izwan Mahbud, Safuwan Baharudin, Shi Jia Yi, Aleksandar Duric, Qiu Li, Hariss Harun, Mustafic Fahrudin, Daniel Bennett, Shahril Ishak (c) (Fazrul Nawaz 79), Shaiful Eash, Juma’at Jantan

Malaysia Lineup
Khairul Fahmi, Mahalli Jasuli, Asraruddin Putra, Fadhli Shas, Aidil Zafuan (Mohamad Muslim Bin Ahmad 22), Ismail Faruqi (Gurusamy 63), Safee Sali (C), Amar Rohidan, Abdul Hadi (Ahmad Fakri 70), Kunanlan, Amirulhadi.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_ovXTq562o&feature=player_embedded

Related posts:
World Cup Qualifier: Singapore vs Malaysia (2nd leg) — A Picture Story
Is the Singapore vs Malaysia excitement a taste of Malaysia Cup again?
Malaysians question Singapore’s policy of using naturalised players
World Cup Qualifier: Singapore defeat Malaysia 5-3 in first leg

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