Football: LionsXII crash 1-2 to Kelantan in MSL opener

By Amir Yusof/Red Sports

Jalan Besar Stadium, Tuesday, January 10, 2012 — The Singapore LionsXII were narrowly beaten 2-1 by defending champions Kelantan in their 2012 Malaysian Super League (MSL) curtain raiser.

After Kelantan’s Norshahrul Idlan goal just before half time had cancelled out Baihakki Khaizan’s 33rd minute opener, referee Mohd Nafeez Bin Abdul Waha awarded a controversial penalty to the visitors when Mohmoud Ghadar was judged to have been fouled by Izwan Mahbud in the box. Ghadar then made no mistake with the spot kick to claim a victory for the Red Warriors.

The match kicked off with a cacophony of drums and cheering contributing to an electrifying atmosphere as Singapore marked a return to Malaysian football after a long 17-year hiatus. However, the quality of play in the opening 10 minutes failed to match the pre-game hype as both sides started tentatively with neither team developing any sort of passing fluidity to their play.

The game only burst into life when a Shahdan Sulaiman free kick from outside the box was met by the head of Hariss Harun. Unfortunately, the tenacious midfielder failed to make solid contact with the ball and it lobbed over the goal.

A minute later, Agu Casmir saw his scuffed shot sail wide of the goal after he collected the ball from Yasir Hanapi. The Lions direct style of football clearly suited Agu who was a constant thorn to the Kelantan defence the entire evening with his hold-up play and relentless running.

Following the resulting goal kick, it was the Warriors’ turn to have a go at Izwan Mahbud’s goal. Ghadhar received the ball to his feet and displayed impressive skill before squaring it to Nurul Azman. However, the winger could only shoot wide after good pressure by LionsXII right back Juma’at Jantan.

Ex-Malaysian international Indra Putra then tested Izwan with a stinging shot from outside the box. The Singapore custodian was equal to the effort and parried it away.

As the game approached midway in the first half, ex-Geylang United winger Yasir Hanapi hit a shot that sailed just inches over the crossbar. Yet again, it was Agu Casmir displaying upper body strength to hold off centre back Subramaniam Sooryapparad before laying the ball off for Yasir to take his shot.

Thereafter, the rain began to pour down as the thousands of Lions XII spectators began to hide beneath their umbrellas.

Despite that, their mood soon improved. A superb free kick from the right wing by Shahdan Sulaiman was met by Baihakki Khaizan who managed to lose his marker and direct his header into the far corner of the goal, to the delight of the record 7,500 capacity crowd.

The Lions, buoyed by the opener, proceeded to venture into Kelantan’s half in search of a second. Shahril Ishak came close when the skipper turned his marker brilliantly just outside the box before dispatching a grounder that sailed agonizingly wide.

Instead of protecting their lead, the Lions were bold in looking for the killer blow. Unbelievably, given their domination, they allowed Kelantan to equalise just before half time.

The defence failed to clear their lines from a harmless throw in and a resultant cross whipped in was outstandingly volleyed home by Norshahrul Idlan. It was a cruel equalizer and dealt the Lions a psychological blow they never seemed to recover from.

The second half was a much more ponderous affair with the game clearly lacking the ferocious intensity of the opening period. Both sets of defences marked their respective opponents closely as bodies started to tire.

The only shot the LionsXII could muster in the second half was a tame effort by Hariss Harun from 30 yards out that was saved comfortably by Kelantan custodian Khairul Fahmi Che Mat.

20 minutes into the second period, Kelantan’s new signing, Lebanese Mahmoud Ghaddar showed glimpses of his immense talent when he skipped past four bodies from midfield before unleashing a venomous shot that was parried away by Izwan.

The Lions appeared to be struggling and to the surprise of many, skipper Shahril was substituted by the relatively-unknown Sufian Anwar in the 73rd minute.

Ghadar continued to look menacing and 10 minutes from the end, he latched onto a through ball in the box and after prodding the ball too far ahead and losing control, the Lebanese forward fell theatrically after the slightest of contact with Izwan. Although there admittedly was some contact, Izwan looked to have just grazed the shoulder of the imposing forward before he dropped onto the ground with arms raised.

Referee Mohd Nafeez had a good look at the challenge before awarding a penalty to the fury of the home support and LionsXII players. Izwan was particularly disgusted with the decision but his protests were in vain.

Inevitably, it was Ghadar who stepped up and converted the spot kick into the left corner, sending Izwan the wrong way.

The LionsXII struggled to attain possession for the remainder of the game, and despite bringing on Khairul Nizam for Yasir Hanapi in the 82nd minute, could not create any chances to level the game.

Lions coach V. Sundramoorthy though refused to blame the referee for the defeat and insisted his team will soldier on.

“The MSL season is a marathon and this is only the first of many games to come. Of course I am disappointed as I felt we deserved at least a draw but the team have to take things in their stride and learn from this experience. In the previous Malaysia Cup campaigns, we had foreigners who made up the spine of the team. However, today the team is fully Singaporean and these boys are young. The team will take time to gel and soon the results will come,” said Sundram.

His Kelantan counterpart, Peter Butler, praised the Lions performance.

“Agu was dangerous in the first half and Baihakki was also good. The team certainly has the pedigree of a top-five team based on that first-half performance,” said Butler.

Despite an unfortunate start to their campaign, the LionsXII must now look forward to their next fixture away to Kedah on Saturday.

Final Score
LionsXII 1 Kelantan 2

Scorers
LionsXII — Baihakki Khaizan (33′)
Kelantan — Norshahrul Idlan (45′), Mahmoud Ghadar (80′)

Singapore LionsXII Starting Lineup
Izwan Mahbud, Isa Halim (Firdaus Kasman 71’), Baihakki Khaizan, Shahdan Sulaiman, Agu Casmir, Hariss Harun, Shahril Ishak (C) (Sufian Anuar 73’), Irwan Shah, Safuwan Baharudin, Juma’at Jantan, Yasir Hanapi (Khairul Nizam 82’)

Substitutes: Fazli Ayob, Raihan Rahman, Hyrulnizam Juma’at, Khairul Nizam, Sevki Sha’aban, Firdaus Kasman, Sufian Anuar

Kelantan Starting Lineup
Khairul Fahmi, Subramaniam Sooryapparad, Farisham Ismail, Shakir Shaari, Norshahrul Idlan, Aziz Ismail, Nurul Azwan (Norfarhan Mohammad 63’), Indra Putra, Daudsu Jamaludin (Zamri Ramli 85’), Badhri Radzi, Mahmoud Ghadar (Denny Antwi 91’)

Substitutes: Nik Mohd Shahrul Azim, Norfarham Mohammad, Zamri Ramli, Rizal Fahmi, Denny Antwi, Syazwan Yusof, S Chanturu

Looking for the LionsXII’s fixtures? All here: Singapore LionsXII fixtures

 Loading ...