Football World Cup Qualifier: Singapore lose 2-0 to Iraq at home

Story by Amir Yusof/Red Sports. Photos by Lim Weixiang/Red Sports

Jalan Besar Stadium, Tuesday, September 6, 2011 — Singapore suffered their second defeat in as many games when they were beaten 2-0 on home soil by 2007 Asian Cup Champions Iraq in their Round 3 World Cup qualifier.

Goals from forwards Ala’a Abdulzehra and skipper Younis Mahmoud in the second half were enough to give newly appointed coach Zico his first victory, leaving Singapore at the bottom of Group A regardless of the result between Jordan and China later that evening.

The Lions starting line up were missing some key players including Shi Jiayi, who was reportedly ill and thus left on the substitutes bench. Also, custodian Izwan Mahmud was unavailable after injuring his ankle in the controversial 2-1 loss to China last week.

Hafiz Rahman and Lionel Lewis were called upon to take their place as the Lions named an otherwise unchanged side to the one that displayed valour and determination in Kunming against the somewhat fortunate Chinese team.

The lions showed early intent, as intricate play down the left flank between Qiu Li and Shaiful Esah resulted in the latter producing a teasing cross across the Iraqi goal. However, the awaiting Aleksandar Duric failed to connect with the ball to the dismay of the partisan home crowd.

However, that chance appeared to be the best Singapore could conjure up in the opening 45 minutes as the Iraqis took the game to their opponents from then on. Deep defending by Singapore then allowed Iraqi midfielders space to shoot and both Khalid Salih and Mustafa Kareem saw their shots from outside the box sail narrowly over the bar.

The Lions continued attempts to play a short passing game left them frustrated as sloppy play by individuals left them vulnerable to quick counter attacks by the Iraqis. Qiu Li, in particular, seemed lost on the pitch as he dallied on the ball and was at times easily thwarted by the Iraqi defenders.

On 26 minutes, Qiu Li fumbled on the ball after being gifted a poor clearance by Iraqi goalkeeper Mohammed Kassid, and Iraqi defenders took advantage by launching a long ball to their forwards. Bearing down on goal inside the penalty box, Mustafa Kareem had a clear cut chance to score but saw his shot blocked by the reliable Safuwan Baharudin.

Safuwan again was Singapore saviour seconds later as yet another woeful pass from Qiu Li led to a golden opportunity for Iraq to draw first blood. This time, Khalid Salih saw his effort brilliantly blocked by the young defender who was easily Singapore’s best player.

Hence, through a combination of desperate defending by Singapore and inaccurate shooting by the Iraqis, the score remained goalless at half time.

At the break, Singapore made one change, replacing the unimpressive and ineffective Qiu Li with Singapore Armed Forces pacy forward Fazrul Nawaz in a bid to shore up their offensive play.

Nevertheless, Iraqi continued to lay siege on the Singapore goal early in the second half with Mustafa Kareem hitting the post with a snapshot from inside the box and Ala’a Abdulzehra forcing Lionel Lewis into a brilliant save at full stretch as the Singapore supporters grew wary of their chances of getting anything from this fixture.

The visitors were in full flight now and were duly rewarded for their efforts five minutes into the second period. Yet another high ball into the Singapore penalty area was headed in decisively by Abdulzehra, exposing Singapore’s inability to handle direct balls into their defensive third.

Now behind, Singapore became more urgent in their offensive play as they surged forward for an equaliser. Soon after, a teasing ball into the Iraqi box fell to Hafiz Rahman. Left unmarked with the goal gaping at him, Hafiz delayed in shooting and received a crunching tackle by Khalid Salih. The Lion’s players and supporters roared in unity for penalty appeals but Japanese referee Tojo Minoru was unimpressed.

Finding themselves in a less than favourable situation, Singapore now was forced to bring on their recovering playmaker Shi Jiayi for Hafiz. Positively for Singapore, Jiayi’s introduction added zest and creativity.

The Lions upped the pressure but were unable to finish off the few chances created. Although granted two great free kick opportunities outside the box, Shaiful Esah’s delivery was appalling with his lofted balls easily headed out by the Iraqi defensive wall on each occasion.

Crucially, Singapore were then again denied another penalty after Shahril Ishak was clearly brought down in the box following a cross from the left wing. Left back Basem Abbas appeared to have pulled the Singapore skipper down but the referee again ignored the vocal protests from the players and fans alike.

The Lions must have had a sense of deja vu over penalties. Against China in Kunming, China were granted a soft penalty and Singapore were arguably denied a clear one.

Demoralised and frustrated, the Singapore defence then suffered a loss in concentration. Another direct ball into the box was poorly dealt with and took an awkward bounce on the artificial turf. The opportunistic Younus Mahmoud got a final touch before the ball bounced over Lionel Lewis into the net to effectively kill the tie.

Brazilian legend, Zico, who earlier complained of the artificial turf and his team’s lack of familiarity with it, said in the post match conference: ‘We still struggled with the pitch. Yesterday, we had to shop for boots that would be more suitable for this sort of turf. But ultimately, our quality showed and we could cope with the problem.

“Yes, the pitch favoured us especially with the second goal but that’s football. Today, we are lucky but our last fixture against Jordan we were not. That’s football for you.”

When asked about how Singapore fared, the ex-Brazil international gave a frank assessment.

“Singapore need to work on their offense. Also, they defend too deep, leaving lots of space for midfielders. This was apparent tonight and also the other fixture against China.”

The Lions, meanwhile, appeared deflated with the result. Team manager, Eugene Loo who represented the Singapore team in place of the suspended coach Raddy Avramovic, said: “Our boys tried hard tonight but their two penalty claims were unjustly overruled. Again, our hard work is undone by poor referee decisions.”

Target man, Aleksandar Duric echoed his team managers’ sentiments.

He said: “We should have had at least one penalty if not two. Nevertheless we look forward to the next game against Jordan. If we can get out first team players back, especially Hariss Harun, we have a good chance of getting three points. We have not given up yet.”

The Lions will look to salvage their World Cup campaign in their next fixture when they host Jordan on October 11th.

Singapore Starting Line Up
Lionel Lewis, Daniel Bennett, Safuwan Baharudin, Shaiful Esah, Juma’at Jantan, Mustafic Fahrudin, Isa Halim (Shahdan Sulaiman 81’), Shahril Ishak(C), Hafiz Rahim (Shi Jiayi 57’), Aleksandar Duric, Qiu Li (Fazrul Nawaz 45’)

Substitutes: Jasper Chan, Afiq Yunos, Delwinder Singh, Sevki Sha’ban, Hamqaamal Shah, Shukor Zailan, Shahdan Sulaiman, Zulfahmi Arifin, Ruzaini Zainal, Ridhuan Barudin, Fazrul Nawaz, Shi Jiayi

Iraq Starting Line Up
Basem Abbas, Qusay Muneer, Nashat Akram (Saad Abdulameer Luaibi 68’), Mustafa Kareem (Ameer Sabah 66’), Younus Mahmood, Mohammed Kassid, Salam Shaker, Ali Erhaima, Smal Saeed, Ala’a Abdulzehra, Muthana Khalid Salih (Fareed Majeed 88’)

Substitutes: Jalal Hassan Hachim, Saad Abdulameer Luaibi, Fareed Majeed, Emad Mohammed, Samer Saeed, Hawar Mohammed, Mustafa Ahmed Abdulameer, Mahdi Kareem, Husam Kadhim, Ameer Sabah, Haider Raad, Amjed Radhi