AFC U22 Football Qualifiers: Singapore edge out Timor Leste 2-1

 
Pekanbaru, Indonesia, Thursday, July 5, 2012 — The Singapore Under-22 football squad kicked off their Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-22 qualifying campaign with a 2-1 victory over Timor Leste in front of a 3,000 odd crowd at the Riau Main Stadium.

The first real chance of the match came in the 21st minute when Singapore’s midfielder Aqhari Abdullah swung in a goal-bound free-kick. His attempt went straight to the Timor Leste goalkeeper, Ramos Saozinho, and they responded with a quick counter-attack over on the other end of the pitch, which was dealt calmly by the Singapore custodian Syazwan Buhari.

Singapore almost broke the deadlock in the 36th minute when Safirul Sulaiman squared the ball to striker Fareez Farhan, but the Gombak United player shot straight at the goalkeeper.

Singapore’s efforts paid off a minute before the half-time interval when Fareez Farhan pounced on a rebound from an initial shot by Faris Ramli. His simple tap-in made it 1-0, and they almost added a second a minute after the restart when Faris’ free-kick forced a finger-tip save from Saozinho.

The second half saw Timor Leste pressing hard in search of the equaliser, and they were duly rewarded in the 64th minute when Singapore defender Delwinder Singh handled the ball in his own penalty box. Diogo Santos Rangel coolly converted the spot-kick to make the score 1-1.

Singapore were hungry for the win and the game winner came in the 80th minute when defender Madhu Mohana rose highest for a corner and headed the ball into goal.

Singapore’s coach Mike Wong said after the game: “It’s a tough match for a first game and Timor Leste gave us a good fight. What was important for us was to collect the three points and the win. We were tactically disciplined throughout the match and I believe that the team deserved the win.”

Goal scorer Fareez added: “Credit to Timor Leste for giving us a good game. It was not as easy as we expected, but what was important for us was to get the win, especially in our first game. Hopefully with this win, it sets a positive tone for the Singapore team for the rest of the tournament.”

Final Score
Singapore U22 2 Timor Leste U22 1

Singapore U22 Lineup
Syazwan Buhari, Al-Qaasimy Rahman, Delwinder Singh, Madhu Mohana, Samuel Benjamin (Shamil Sharif 38′), Faris Ramli, Aqhari Abdullah (Farhan Rahmat 90′), Sheikh Abdul Hadi, Raihan Rahman, Fareez Farhan (Amy Recha 76′), Safirul Sulaiman

Timor Leste U22 Lineup
Ramos Saozinho, Ramon de Lima, Theodoro Soares Bau, Paulo Helber Rosa, Jose Carlos, Nicolao Higinio, Diogo Santos, Adelino Trindade (Frangcyatma Alves 79′), Januario (Henrique Cruz 62′), Marcos da Conceicao, Jose Martins (Raimundo Jose 55′)