SAFFC 2 (35th min, Therdsak; 98th min, Latiff) PSMS Medan 1 (50th min, Costas) (live play-by-play commentary)

By Les Tan/Red Sports

Jalan Besar Stadium, Wednesday, February 25, 2009 – Singapore Armed Forces FC take on PSMS Medan tonight at Jalan Besar Stadium. The winner of this game will get a place in Group G of the AFC Champions League, which comprises Shanghai Shenhua (China), Kashima Antlers (Japan) and Suwon Bluewings (South Korea).

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30th min: Full-time whistle goes.
28th min: Duric is left open in the box. He shoots but Markus gets down well with a save.
26th min: Costas comes close for Medan with a shot from the top of the box that goes just over. What a shocker if it had gone in.
25th min: Duric is through on a counter-attack but shoots straight at Markus. The Medan defence is gone.
22nd min: Edi Sukamto of Medan gets a second yellow for a foul on Masahiro. Medan are down to 9 men. The game is effectively over.
19th min: Medan fall asleep at a SAFFC corner and allow Mustaqim time to shoot from inside the penalty box but the shot is weak and Markus saves.
17th min: SAFFC substitute Karim loses the ball in a dangerous place at the top of the SAFFC penalty box and puts his team in danger but Medan don’t do anything with it.
20th min: Otto of Medan gets his second yellow card after he takes out Shahril in mid-flight. Ref shows him the red card and he has to walk.
8th min: Latiff scores from an almost impossible angle after Therdsak had put him through on the right side.
5th min: A Costas free-kick for Medan hits the wall and goes out for a corner kick.

Extra-time of 30 minutes to be played.

Full-time. SAFFC 1 PSMS Medan 1
89th min: A fluid SAFFC move breaks down when Mustaqim can’t control the ball.
86th min: A Therdsak corner goes to Shaiful who tries from range but is just over.
85th min: Therdsak puts Mustaqim through on the left. With Duric and Latiff in the middle asking for the ball, Mustaqim can’t make his cross count and the ball deflects off a defender for a corner.
77th min: Medan goalie Markus talks himself into a yellow card.
76th min: A Shaiful Esah cross finds Latiff with unmarked but the latter’s header just misses and flies past the left upright.
15 minutes to go and it’s still 1-1. This tie is finely balanced and Medan look dangerous enough on the break. SAFFC are struggling to find fluidity.
74th min: A Costas drive from the edge of the box is held by Shahril.
72nd min: Therdsak tries an audacious lob from near the centre circle to beat Markus but no success.
69th min: Mustaqim comes on for Wilkinson.
62nd min: Therdsak puts Latiff through on goal but Latiff can’t get there soon enough. Markus clears the ball and it falls to Wilkinson who has an empty goal to shoot at but he’s dispossessed at the last second inside the penalty box. A missed opportunity for SAFFC.
61st min: Duric earns a free-kick for SAFFC. Shaiful takes…hits the wall.
60th min: A free-kick by Elie is headed over from inside the six-yard box. Close.
57th min: Shaiful Esah skips a few Medan players but finally gets hacked down at the top of the Medan penalty box and needs to be carried off. Therdsak steps up to take the free-kick…but it hits the wall. A shame it didn’t even test the keeper.
54th min: Park Tae Won finds Latiff with space at the top of the penalty box. Latiff tries to chip the keeper but the execution goes horribly wrong.
53rd min: Duric makes space for himself in the six-yard box. He crosses for Latiff but the ball dribbles off the feet of the striker and the chance is gone.
50th min: Medan equalise through Costas after Elie ran half the field unimpeded while the SAFFC defence back tracked. Costas was left all alone at the edge of the penalty box and he beat the onrushing Shahril Jantan with a calm shot.

Half-time

45th min: Park Tae Won plays a one-two with Therdsak then skies his shot way wide.
44th min: A timely Daniel Bennett interception prevents a Medan striker from going clear on goal.
43rd min: Nice interplay between Latiff and Therdsak gives the latter a clear shot at the Medan goal but he scuffs in wide.
35th min: Latiff finds Therdsak all by himself in the middle of the Medan half. He runs at the Medan defence and unleashes a low left foot shot that finds the bottom left corner of the net despite the dive of Markus. 1-0 to SAFFC.
29th min: A timely interception by Kenji Arai prevents a Medan breakthrough.
26th min: Latiff gets a yello card for a late challenge. He protests his innocence but referee won’t hear any of it.
25th min: This time Elie sets up teammate Costas with a cross Costas does not connect cleanly and SAFFC are let off the hook.
23rd min: Captain Elie Aiboy misses a golden chance for Medan after nice work by his teammates set him up nicely just inside the penalty box.
19th min: A Shaiful Esah cross comes in and eludes both Duric and Wilkinson. Close.
18th min: Therdsak loses his marker in the middle and finds Aleks Duric with space to turn. Duric turns and shoots a low stiff grounder but the keeper saves.
12th min: Nice build up play by SAFFC sees Wilkinson put through the middle but his shot is directly at keeper Markus. No goal.
8th min: Zada of Medan with a volley that goes over. A bit of a scare for SAFFC.
5th min: A cross into the box finds Ahmad Latif unmarked who heads it across goal for…nobody! A wasted chance.
4th min: SAFFC has the more of the exchanges but have managed no shots or any serious foray into the Medan box. Defender Kenji Arai is wearing long sleeves!