Singapore demolish Cambodia 5-0 to start defense of ASEAN Championship title

By Les Tan

Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, Friday, December 5, 2008 – It took so long for Singapore to score the first goal that the Cambodians must have thought they got the defending champions on a day off.

But after Agu Casmir scored a messy first goal just before half-time, the floodgates were opened in the second half and Singapore piled on four more to get their defence of the ASEAN Football Championship (AFF Suzuki Cup) title off on a winning note.

Agu Casmir eventually scored two goals, both from within the 6-yard box, to show that his predatory instincts are finely tuned for the tournament while Indra Sahdan came off the bench to score a scorcher of a goal from just outside the penalty box in the 70th minute.

Mustafic Fahrudin, captain for the day, scored from the penalty spot in the 60th minute after Noh Rahman was brought down clumsily in the box by Chan Rithy of Cambodia and Alam Shah finished off the game at the death with the fifth for Singapore after Shi Jiayi put him clear through on goal with a lob.

The first half was agonising for Singapore fans as the Singapore team did everything except score in the first 44 minutes, with Aleksandar Duric hitting the woodwork twice.

The first was when Aleks showed nice close control when he turned a marker and slipped past another. He got to the byeline but his shot from a tight angle hit the bar and bounced out. The second was a header that hit the left upright.

He finally managed to put the ball into the net after Shi Jiayi found him with a cross but he was rightly ruled for offside.

Agu Casmir too had his fair share of chances, his best one was a ball that flew agonisingly across the face of an empty goal after he had burst past two defenders and shot beyond the keeper.

The Cambodian resistance finally fell just before half-time when the Cambodian keeper Samreth successfully got the ball in mid-air but then fell over his defender and dropped the ball as a result. The ball bounced out to Baihakki who headed it back in. The ball was blocked but fell loose and Agu Casmir was first to the ball to stab it home.

It was a messy but psychologically important first goal for Singapore.

When Mustafic Fahrudin buried the second goal from the penalty spot, the team settled down and the only thought was how many more they could score.

Things turned worrisome for Singapore when a sly rake of the calf by a Cambodian defender on Aleks Duric saw the big man suddenly stop in his track and then collapse to the ground. He could not carry on and was replaced by Indra.

Although Indra had a quiet game, he did enough to score a brilliant third goal from Singapore to show that his scoring prowess is still intact. Receiving the ball at the edge of the box with his back to goal, he turned and made space for himself before burying an angled shot past a diving Samreth to bury the ball in the back of the net for a 3-0 lead.

Coach Raddy Avamovic then brought on Noh Alam Shah and while most were expecting Agu Casmir to come off, it was a surprise to see Precious Emuejeyare come off instead.

Coach Raddy was obviously going for goals with three attackers now and the pressure was now even greater on the Cambodians who could not muster a single shot on target during the whole game.

The fourth game duly came when Shahril Ishak, on for Muhd Ridhuan, broke clear on the right inside the penalty box and cut it back for Alam Shah whose first time shot hit the post. The ball bounced back and first to the ball was Agu who poked it in for his second of the night and a 4-0 lead.

The fifth goal by Alam Shah at the death means Singapore have built a meaningful goal buffer should they need it in their remaining two games against Myanmar and Indonesia. The pressure will now be on the other two teams to rake up the score against Cambodia to avoid losing out on a semi-final place on goal difference.

Baihakki Khaizan had a good attacking game for a defender with three shots on target throughout the game. One of his shots looked like a sure goal but the Cambodian keeper Samreth saved superbly. Baihakki played a role in the lead up to the first goal by Agu and will be pleased with his outing.

Checking in with Aleks Duric after the game, he told Red Sports: “Not so good now. I hope I will be ok in 2 days.”

It wasn’t so obvious on television that he was fouled but Aleks confirmed that he was. “My calf. The Cambodian player hit me from behind. Very bad tackle.”

If Aleks doesn’t recover in time, Coach Raddy will have to decide on whether Indra or Alam Shah should partner Agu Casmir up front. Agu’s two goals will make him an automatic first choice for the next game.

Singapore next play Myanmar on Sunday and Red Sports will provide a live play-by-play account at 5.45pm.

Singapore Starting Lineup
Lionel Lewis (GK), Noh Rahman, Baihakki, Precious (Alam Shah, 64), Bennett, Ridhuan (Shahril, 69), Jiayi, Wilkinson, Agu, Duric (Indra, 55)

Goal Summary
Agu Casmir (44)
Mustafic Fahrudin (pen 60)
Indra Sahdan (71)
Agu Casmir (72)
Noh Alam Shah (90)

Selected Player Stats

Noh Alam Shah – Goals scored: 1 Assists: 1 Total shots: 5 Shots on goal: 3 Shots off target: 2

Indra Sahdan – Goals scored: 1 Assists: 0 Total shots: 1 Shots on goal: 1 Shots off target: 0

Aleksandar Duric – Goals scored: 0 Assists: 0 Total shots: 5 Shots on goal: 2 Shots off target: 3 Offsides: 3 Fouls committed: 2

Agu Casmir – Goals scored: 2 Assists: 0 Total shots: 3 Shots on goal: 2 Shots off target: 1

Shi Jiayi – Goals scored: 0 Assists: 0 Total shots: 4 Shots on goal: 3 Shots off target: 1

Baihakki Khaizan – Goals scored: 0 Assists: 1 Total shots: 3 Shots on goal: 3

Lionel Lewis: – Saves: 0 Goals let: 0 Total shots against: 3 Shots on goal faced: 0

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Player Statistics

ROSMAN SULAIMAN
Age: 26 (6/11/82) Position: Defender Club: Home United Caps: 0 Goals: 0 Jersey #: 26

SHAIFUL ESAH
Age: 22 (12/5/86) Position: Defender Club: SAFFC Caps: 0 Goals: 0 Jersey #: 22

Television schedule for Singapore games

Singapore vs Myanmar
Sunday, December 7th, 2008
Channel 5 & Channel 24 (live)
5.57pm

Indonesia vs Singapore
Tuesday, December 9th, 2008
Channel 24 (live) 8.27pm
Channel 5 (delayed) 10pm

Semi-finals: December 16, 17, 20, 21

Final: December 24, 28