Story by Amir Yusof/Red Sports
The return of Hariss Harun (red) for Singapore was not enough to drive the Lions to a win. (Photo courtesy of Sobban Munyandy/FAS)
Jalan Besar Stadium, Tuesday, October 11, 2011 — Singapore’s 3-0 defeat by Jordan in their Round 3 World Cup qualifier left their chances of qualifying for Round 4 hanging by a thread.
The Lions had beaten Jordan 2-1 at the National Stadium when these two sides met in the corresponding World Cup qualifying fixture but they were no match for the Middle Eastern team this time around.
Goals from Abdallah Deeb, Anas Bani Yaseen and Ahmad Hayel condemned the Lions to their third successive defeat in Group A, leaving the Singapore team with no realistic chance of qualifying from this tough group.
Yet, Singapore could well have won this fixture if not for abject defending and poor finishing in front of goal. Lions skipper Shahril Ishak summed up the game accurately at the end when he said, “We made silly mistakes at the back and failed to convert numerous chances. Thus, we deserved to lose.”
What was even more frustrating for the Singapore players and fans was that, unlike the previous fixture against Iraq where the Lions were pinned back into their own half most of the game, they had a fairly large possession of the ball in this fixture and showed intent to attack the Jordanians.
Boosted by the return of Hariss Harun who was previously absent for the Lion’s opening two qualifiers because of national service commitments, Singapore dominated the early exchanges. Simply put, Hariss was a breath of fresh air. It took just three minutes for him to highlight his importance to the team with a surging run through the middle before picking out Fazrul Nawaz with a sublime pass. However, fazrul scuffed his shot just wide.
Jordan’s opener was cruel for Singapore as it came against the run of play with the Lions clearly having the upper hand early on. Intricate play down the right wing by Jordanian winger Odai Al Saify left the Singapore defence overwhelmed in their own box. As the cross came in, the unmarked forward Abdallah Deeb headed the ball into goal beyond the outstretch arms of custodian Izwan Mahbud.
At the 20th minute, Singapore were gifted a golden opportunity to draw level. Shahril Ishak delivered a peach of a cross from a corner which was attacked by centre half Safuwan Baharudin right in front of the goal. Nevertheless, the young defender failed to hit the target as his free header sailed wide, bringing about a collective groan across the stands.
The first half ended with Jordan holding a narrow 1-0 lead which seemed precarious at the time. Singapore had more of the ball and were on offensive mode in the opening half and to a large extent, did not deserve to be behind.
With the Lions’ qualification chances in jeopardy, the Singapore bench, missing head coach Raddy Avramovic through suspension, made a double change at half time. Replacing the injured Shi Jiayi and the ineffective Hafiz Rahim were Isa Halim and playmaker Shahdan Sulaiman as Singapore looked to overturn the one-goal deficit.
Unfortunately for the Lions, the substitutions failed to make an immediate impact as abysmal defending again led to another Jordanian goal. It was a case of deja vu as Singapore conceded minutes after kick off again. This time, defender Anas Bani Yaseen headed in a free kick from 40 yards out. Singapore shot themselves in the foot with poor marking.
Now facing an uphill task to get back into the game, Singapore’s situation grew even more perilous in the 63rd minute when forward Ahmad Hayel surged forward towards goal with defenders backing off. Given acres of space and time, the forward took full advantage by unleashing an accurate shot into the left corner. Any hope of a Singapore comeback were now extinguished.
Credit to the Lions though as they kept on pushing for a goal and were almost rewarded with one with 13 minutes left. A free kick just outside the Jordanian box was quickly taken by Hariss Harun. His threaded pass to Shahril Ishak with the Jordanian defenders still busy organising saw the captain unleash a shot across the face of goal that goalkeeper Amer Shafi spill past the goal line to the temporary delight of the home support.
The Jordanians protested heavily to South Korean referee Choi Myung Yong and after a brief delay, the linesman on the far side raised his flag to indicate that Shahril was in an offside position as Hariss played the pass. Conversely, television replays indicated that Shahril was on the shoulder of the last Jordanian defender. The injustice saw irate Singapore supporters hurl insults at both the referee and lineman but the goal would have still been too little too late for the Lions.
After the final whistle, Singapore assistant coach, V Sundramoorthy maintained that the team still had a mathematical chance to qualify and he stressed the importance of the experience that can be gained from this level of football.
He said, “We have a young team overall with the likes of Safuwan and Hariss still needing time to learn to compete at this level. Although admittedly we are not in a good position to qualify, we will try our best to win all our remaining games.”
The Lions will now have to secure three consecutive victories starting with the next fixture against Jordan in Amman on November 11th, 2011.
Final Result
Singapore 0 Jordan 3
Scorers: Abdallah Deeb 10’, Anas Bani Yaseen 54’, Ahmad Hayel 64’
Singapore starting lineup
Izwan Mahmud, Safuwan Baharudin, Shaiful Esah, Shi Jiayi, Aleksander Duric, Fazrul Nawaz, Hafiz Rahim, Hariss Harun, Daniel Bennett, Shahril Ishak, Jumaat Jantan
Jordan starting lineup
Amer Shafi, Baha’Abdelrahman, Bashar Bani Yaseen, Ahmad Hayel, Khalil Baniateyah, Abdallah Deeb, Shadi Abu Hashhash, Basem Fathi, Hasan Abdel Fattah, Anas Bani Yaseen, Odai Al Saify
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