Story by Nicole Lum/Red Sports. Photos by Jerald Ang and Clara Yuan/Red Sports
ASEAN Para Games Football: Singapore’s Muhammad Mubarak (#11) scored the winning goal for Singapore in a 2-1 victory over Malaysia. (Photo 1 © Jerald Ang/Red Sports)
National Indoor Stadium, December 9, 2015 — A half-time talk was all it took for Singapore to get back on their feet in the second half and eventually take the bronze from Malaysia with a score of 2–1 at the 8th ASEAN Para Games.
Singapore fired off to a start as Muhammad Shafiq (#4) skillfully tapped in a corner kick by Muhammad Mubarak (#11), scoring a goal only two minutes into the game. However a long-range goal by Mohamad Sobri (#10) saw Malaysia equalize soon after. Singapore’s lacklustre performance could not break the tie and hence the score stayed stagnant at 1–1 by the half-time break.
The hosts came back stronger in the second half, gaining possession of the ball. They were unfortunately unable to successfully convert their shots with Malaysia’s Mohamad Sobri (#10) and Mohd Ariff (#7) hot on their heels. It was Muhammad Mubarak (#11) who finally ended the wait with a masterful strike from the bottom left corner, putting Singapore up to 2–1.
Singapore held on for the last 15 minutes, guarding against Malaysia’s Mohamad Sobri (#10) and Mohd Ariff (#7) who were threatening to equalize again. Eventually, Singapore claimed the bronze as the whistle blew with a final score of 2–1.
Singapore faced Malaysia in their previous game, beating their causeway rivals with a score of 4–2. “It was another tough encounter but I think our boys rose to the occasion in the second half,” said Singapore coach Mohamed Zainudeen Bin Mohamed H. “We were just not competing enough in the first half, we were not closing up. The half-time talk was a real tough one.”
“I had to get them back into their competitive spirit and the boys did well especially in taking on Mohamad Sobri (#10). I think if we gave him a bit of space, he would have killed us. He moved all around the place and connected well with Mohd Ariff (#7),” he added.
Team Singapore captain Khairul Anwar Bin Kasmani (#10) agreed that their opponents gave a tough fight. “It’s always exciting playing against Malaysia. Last year at the ASEAN Para Games, it was 3-2 and this time around it’s 2-1. They always give us a challenging and exciting game and I believe the crowd would agree too. Every minute of the game especially the tackles and the defending were so challenging and frustrating at times because we made a lot of shots but they didn’t get in,” he explained.
“Credits to coach Zai and some of the coaching staff who kept telling us to keep on trying. The half-time talk was fantastic as well. It really worked and I think coach Zai is like Alex Ferguson. We woke up in the second half and pushed Malaysia back into their own half and the goal came in,” said Khairul on the wake-up call. “I believe what made us win this game is coach Zai’s tactics and all of us followed it. We kept passing the ball around here and there and it troubled Malaysia in the second half though we struggled in the first half.”
Khairul also credited the home crowd who “gave the extra push from their cheers”. He said: “They also deserve the recognition. Thanks to them for providing us the extra strength in terms of performance.”
The National cerebral palsy football team started six years ago. “Six years back, it was just a learn-to-play scheme when we joined this team. Til today, we have made a lot of memories. I believe that this team is not just a football team. We grew as a family and we went through hard times together.,” commented Khairul.
Coach Mohamed Zainudeen hopes that the team will continue to grow in numbers in years to come. With only 13 players on the team, anyone with cerebral palsy could have walked in and joined the team.
“This will definitely encourage more people to join…We need this awareness. There’s no competition to get into this team but they train a lot,” he explained. “We put them in a lot of pressure, pressure in the sense that if you don’t commit you’re not going to represent Singapore.”
“More players will actually give them more competition so that they will buck up and if not, they won’t be in the team anymore. We have to push them all the time,” added Mohamed Zainudeen.
With this spectacular result, coach Mohamed Zainudeen anticipates more support as well. He said: “I hope this will spur people on. To know how we got this result, you have to think about the process. It’s not just coming here and winning. We all want to be part of the winning, it’s fantastic. But I think the process requires a lot of things to get in order.”
“The support leading to this was fantastic. It’s the nitty-gritty that unites the team. What we saw there was a result of the support we were able get. So, the support cannot just be there during the competition period. I hope this will be an invitation to everyone to continuously support the team,” he concluded.
Score by period
Singapore vs Malaysia
1st half: 1–1
2nd half: 1–0 (2–1)
Scorers
Singapore
Muhammad Shafiq Bin Ariff (#4) – 1 goal
Muhammad Mubarak Bin Mohd Rastam (#11) – 1 goal
Malaysia
Mohamad Sobri Bin Ghazali (#10) – 1 goal
Singapore Roster
Balasubramaniam SO Annamalai (#2), Abdul Mahdi Bin Abdul Rahman (#3), Muhammad Shafiq Bin Ariff (#4), Hitesh G Ramchandani (#5), Muhammad Taufiq Bin Baharin (#6), Suhaimi Bin Sudar (#7), Peter Kam (#8), Jeremiah Tan (#9), Khairul Anwar Bin Kasmani (#10), Muhammad Mubarak Bin Mohd Rastam (#11), Muhammad Shahidil Bin Saidi (#12), Muhammad Firdaus Bin Mohamed Noor (#13), Muhammad Danial Bin Ismail (#14)
Malaysia Roster
Muhamad Shafiq Bin Zahari (#1), Shahrul Hafiz Bin Zaini (#2), Ahmad Firdaus Shah Bin Ahmad Nasir (#3), Hamdan Bin Koderi (#4), Amirul Bin Mian (#5), Noor Mohd Ariff Bin Yusoff (#7), Zaidi Bin Abu Hassan (#8), Norsham Bin Nasir (#9), Mohamad Sobri Bin Ghazali (#10), Ramadhan Bin Ahmad (#11), Muhamaad Fairus Bin Mokhatar (#22)
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