MSL: LionsXII beat Negeri Sembilan 3-1 in stylish victory

By Stefanus Ian/Red Sports

Jalan Besar Stadium, February 12, 2012 — Despite not having a capacity crowd, the Singapore LionsXII showcased a match that head coach V Sundramoorthy called their “performance of the season”, after they eased past Negeri Sembilan 3-1 in the Malaysian Super League (MSL).

The return of Safuwan Baharudin and the energy of Sufian Anuar propelled the home side to their biggest victory of the season. Shahril Ishak scored two while Shahdan Sulaiman scored his second goal of the season.

Within the opening minutes, the Lions bared their fangs with Juma’at Jantan sending in an inviting cross into the box. Sufian Anuar, who started in favour of Agu Casmir, clattered into Negeri Sembilan goalkeeper Farizal Marlias as he challenged for the ball in mid air.

It was the first start for the 24-year-old and he did not disappoint.

“Sufian has so much fire in training and sometimes even too much,” said Sundramoorthy when asked about his decision to field the forward in his starting lineup.

Anuar was in the thick of things early on. Within the first seven minutes, he was involved in two attacks that even included a bicycle kick attempt. The LionsXII were dominating proceedings with expansive football but lacked penetration.

The first real chance of the game fell to Hariss Harun in the 15th minute from a corner. Despite being left unmarked in the middle, the midfielder was caught unaware and could not get a clean strike.

Negeri Sembilan replied almost instantly with what was to be their best chance in the whole game. A deflected pass by Idris Karim put Ahmad Shakir clean through on goal but he inexplicably missed, firing the ball wide of the target.

Azraai Khor, Negeri Sembilan’s head coach, felt that his team struggled to adapt to the surface of the pitch. The hectic schedule of his team — Negeri Sembilan just played Terengganu T-Team on Wednesday — did not do them any favors.

“Shakir looks very tired as he missed a few sitters, which was why I took him out in the second half,” he said.

The first yellow card of the evening was shown to Baihakki Khaizan as he tussled with Jean-Emmananuel Effa just outside the box. The LionsXII were giving away unnecessary free kicks throughout the match but the visiting team simply could not make any of them count.

Effa was a handful for the home team’s defense with his size and strength. He was also impressive on the counter attack. A slip up by Shaiful Esah in the 25th minute almost proved costly when Effa managed to bring the ball into the box before cutting it back, but Shahurain Abu Samah could not keep his shot down. It was to be the last time they ever came close to taking the lead.

Just over the half hour mark, a harmless looking cross from the right led to a handball by Qhairul Anuar. The referee did not hesitate to point to the spot. Shahril Ishak stepped up confidently to convert the penalty, sending it to the bottom left corner to loud cheers from the crowd. Trailing by a goal, Negeri had no choice but to attack and the game sprung to life in the second half.

The home team grabbed the game by scruff of its neck five minutes into the second half. After some smooth passing by the Lions, they switched the ball to the right flank towards Anuar who back heeled perfectly for Shahdan to slot in his maiden goal. The goal and its build up were truly a sight to behold as the home team dismantled the opposition’s defense en route to their second goal.

Negeri Sembilan looked disoriented. In one instance, Farizal Marlias, Negeri’s custodian, rushed out to intercept the ball but had to scramble back to save a shot when his team lost possession.

At the stroke of the hour, Sundramoorthy’s men put the result of the game beyond doubt when Anuar weaved his magic once again. Picking the ball near the halfway line, Anuar scorched down half the length of the field. After cutting into the box, his measured cross found his skipper and Shahril blasted it into the roof of the net.

The 7,056-strong crowd then began to celebrate knowing that they would go home victorious. However, as they have done so in previous matches, the LionsXII took their feet off the pedal as Negeri Sembilan took control. It did not help that Sundramoorthy began to give his substitutes a run out. After replacing Shahdan Sulaiman with Yasir Hanapi, he took off his captain for Agu Casmir to loud disapproval from the fans.

Negeri Sembilan scored a consolation goal with virtually the last kick of the game when a deflected long shot was bundled in by substitute Firdaus Azizul.

After this performance, Anuar is certainly making a very strong case to be a mainstay in the starting 11 and he feels that he is ready saying that he would “love to play in the first 11 in the next game.”

With Khairul Amri and Khairul Nizam coming back soon from injury to vie for the sriker’s role, Anuar would need to show that he can deliver consistently.

The LionsXII next play Perak away on Tuesday, February 14th, 2012.

Final Score
LionsXII 3 Negeri Sembilan 1

Scorers
LionsXII — Shahril Ishak (31’& 61′), Shahdan Sulaiman (50′)
Negeri Sembilan — Firdaus Azizul

Singapore LionsXII Starting Lineup
Izwan Mahbud, Shaiful Esah, Isa Halim, Baihakki Khaizan, Shahdan Sulaiman (Yasir Hanapi 71′), Hariss Harun, Shahril Ishak (Agu Casmir 72′), Irwan Shah, Safuwan Baharudin, Juma’at Jantan, Sufian Anuar (Shakir Hamzah 86′)

Substitutes: Madhu Mohana, Agu Casmir, Raihan Rahman, Hyrulnizam Juma’at, Sevki Shaban, Shakir Hamzah, Yasir Hanapi

Negeri Sembilan Starting Lineup
Norhafiz Zamani, Zulfaizham Kamis, Kunanian Sumramainam, Shahurain Abus Samah, Jean-Emmananuel Effa, Shukor Adan, Rashid Mamud (Mahathevan Gengatharan 56′), Idris Karim (Abdul Halim, Qhairul Anuar 67′), Ahmad Shakir, Farizal Marlias

Substitutes: Tengku Qayyum, Firdaus Azizul, Mahathevan Gengatharan, Muszaki Abu Bakar, Abdul Halim, Badrulzaman Halim, Nazrin Nawi

Looking for the LionsXII’s fixtures? All here: Singapore LionsXII 2012 fixtures

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