By REDintern Ismail Farhan Bin Anuar
The Singapore U16s celebrate one of their goals in the 4-0 defeat of Vasco da Gama U15s in the semi-final. (Photo courtesy of FAS)
Jalan Besar Stadium, Singapore, Friday, June 29, 2012 — The Singapore Under-16s earned their place in the final of the Canon Lion City Cup after comfortably dispatching Vasco da Gama U15s 4-0 in their semi-final.
In the earlier semi-final, the Ajax U15s made an impressive four-goal comeback to stun Manchester City U15s 4-2.
Adam Swandi put in a majestic performance as he scored the opening goal in the fourth minute of the game before setting up Rashe Rahman twice to make it 3-0. A goalkeeping blunder by Vinicius de Oliveira allowed Iqram Rifqi to make it 4-0 at the 68th minute. Vasco Da Gama were unlucky to not get a consolation goal when they missed a penalty in the 77th minute.
Having lost at the semi-final stage last year, they were determined to follow the footsteps of their seniors in last year’s tournament by making it into the final. The boys also wanted to win it for their juniors, who were trashed 6-0 by Manchester City U15s on Wednesday night.
Being at least a year older than their opponents, it was no surprise to see the Singapore U16s get settled into the game earlier. Their passes were purposeful and measured, and whenever there was a 50-50 challenge for the ball, they came out on top. Amirul Adli and captain Mahathir Azeman put in an accomplished performance in midfield, always ready to receive a pass to feed playmaker Adam Swandi or target-man Rashe Rahman.
Adam was back to his best in his Trequartista role, making space for himself before threading passes for his front three forwards.
Rashe’s physical presence was causing a lot of problems for the Vasco defence. A long ball was won by Rashe at the right flank, and using his upper body strength he shrugged off the challenge of the Vasco left-back, got to the byeline before squaring it to Adam whose shot was deflected into the back of the net. It was barely four minutes into the game and Singapore U16s had earned a crucial 1-0 lead.
Noor Faridzuan nearly made it 2-0 within minutes, after some clever play between Rashe and Adam to set him up with only the keeper to beat. Vasco keeper Vinicius did well to turn the ball round for a corner.
Vasco then suffered an early blow in the 10th minute when Rodrigo Nobrega went down injured and could not continue play further. The young boy was visibly in tears as he was removed from the pitch. He was replaced with Matheus de Oliveira who slot into his centre back position.
Zulfadhmi Suzliman, scorer of the winning goal against Ajax, then easily beats Vasco left back Allan de Andrade to set up Amirul Adli from the byeline. However Amirul could only shoot straight at the keeper in his first attempt and sky his second shot.
Zulfadhmi then had a chance at goal himself when he headed a cross from Faridzuan, but he was denied by a fingertip save from the Vasco keeper. Vasco were struggling to contain the incessant pressure by the Singapore U16s.
It was not long before Vasco concede their second goal of the night from a brilliant counterattacking move by the Singapore U16s. In the 18th minute, a Vasco corner was cleared. Zulfadhmi latched onto the clearance and dribbled towards the final third of the pitch before releasing Adam. Adam cut inside, mesmerized the Vasco defender with three stepovers, found his way to the byeline before cutting it back for Rashe to shoot at goal. Rashe made it 2-0, tucking in the rebound after his first attempt was brilliantly saved by Vinicius.
Faridzuan had another chance to open his account for the tournament but his goalbound shot was blocked by Gabriel da Silva in the 28th minute.
Vasco were struggling to create real chances at goal, partly due to the imperious performance of centre-back Taufiq Muqminin. He played the sweeper role wonderfully, calmly mopping up any through balls by Vasco da Gama.
Singapore U16s went into the break with a comfortable two-goal lead and look to have one foot into the final.
In the second half, Vasco played much better and dominated possession. Singapore U16s seemed content in giving Vasco more time on the ball as they took a more conservative approach and sat back to soak up the pressure.
In the 50th minute, the increasingly influential Luan Martins danced past the Singapore defence before firing a shot that stung the gloves of Singapore U16 goalkeeper Heirul Suhanes. Evander da Silva was next to test Heirul, when he shot from outside the box.
Vasco looked the likelier of the two sides to score the next goal, as the Singapore U16s began to make sloppy passes from midfield and defence. Both coaches then made substitutions to freshen up the game. Azhar Ramli and Raja Zaki came on for Zulfadhmi and Aravin in the 57th minute. Joao dos Santos was then replaced with Guilherme de Souza at the 63rd minute. Faridzuan was next to come off at the 64th minute and was replaced by Khairuddin Omar.
Singapore U16s then got the killer third goal after good work from Adam Swandi who got into the penalty box after yet another stepover before laying it off for Rache Rahman to slam it into the back of the net with delight at the 66th-minute mark.
Things got worse for Vasco when a goalkeeping blunder from the otherwise solid Vinicius allowed Iqram Rifqi to dink the ball into the empty net for the fourth and final goal.
There was still time for some late drama, when Amirul Adli conceded a penalty after fouling Matheus de Oliveira. Gabriel da Silva stepped up to take the penalty but his weak shot was saved by Heirul Suhanes.
The Man of the Match award went to Adam Swandi.
Speaking after the match, Vasco da Gama head coach Sergio Bella admitted his team was outclassed.
“We played against a very good team today. I’ve seen them play and they can pass and move the ball quickly. There was a difference in size and age and we thought we could match them still, but we couldn’t convert our chances into goals.”
“I am surprised with how well Singapore can hold the ball and move it around and how fast and quick they are. It was a very good game, and I have to congratulate them,” added Bella.
NFA Singapore U16 head coach Dejan Glusevic praised his team for the manner of their win.
“This is the first time, we can match our opponents physically in terms of size and speed. I’m glad the boys were able to adapt.”
“The Brazilians showed how skilful they were, so I would like to congratulate the boys for qualifying for the finals.”
Coach Dejan also refused to give his thoughts on the upcoming final.
“I can predict what will happen in the final, but I want to allow you all to enjoy the game. It will be a game of two teams who play similar short passing football.”
Despite his good performance, Adam Swandi remained humble, dedicating the match of the match award to his teammates instead.
He said: “It’s because of the team that I won the award. Without my teammates, I wouldn’t be able to play to my full potential. The award goes out to the team.”
The U16s will face Ajax U15s on Sunday, July 1, 8.45pm, at Jalan Besar Stadium.
Final Score
Singapore U16s 4 Vasco Da Gama 0
Singapore U16s Starting Lineup
Heirul Suhanes (GK), Ehvin Sasidharan, Iqram Rifqi (Ashshiddiq Misban 76’), Amirul Adli, R Aaravin (Raja Zaki 57’), Mahathir Azeman (C), Zulfadhmi Suzliman (Azhar Ramli 57’), Rashe Rahman, Adam Swandi (Faizal Raffi 76’), Taufiq Muqminin, Noor Faridzuan (Khairuddin Omar 65’)
Substitutes
Faizal Raffi, Sadik Said, Azhar Ramli, Tham Yong Jun, Khairuddin Omar, Raja Zaki, Ashshiddiq Misban
CR Vasco Da Gama U15 Starting Line-up
Vinicius De Oliveira (GK), Gabriel da Silva, Rodrigo Nobrega (Matheus de Olivera 10’), Felipe Rodrigues, Rafael de Carvalho (C), Luan Martins (Philipe Macedo 70’), Evander da Silva, (Breno Campos 71’) Joao dos Santos (Guilherme de Souza 63’), Matheus da Silva, Matheus Oliveira (Jose dos Santos 41’), Allan de Andrade.
Substitutes
Tauan Oliveira, Matheus Souza, Matheus de Oliveira, Breno Campos, Jose dos Santos, Guilherme de Souza, Philipe Macedo
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