Singapore’s Under-16 boys followed up their compatriots’ 2-0 victory over Hong Kong, China in the girls’ competition of the Lion City Cup with a decisive 3-0 scalp of Cambodia on the second matchday of the boys’ competition.
The 1,004 in attendance at the Jalan Besar Stadium on Friday (11 July) revelled in a triumph that was long in the making.
“The thing that I’m most pleased about the performance is that the ball went into the net. I think it’s something we waited for almost 150 minutes for,” said Singapore Head Coach Ashraf Arifin who has watched his team dish out incisive attacking football at the Lion City Cup thus far.
But despite dominating proceedings in their opening game (on 9 July) against the Philippines and recording 28 entries into the opposition and taking 14 shots, Singapore fell 2-0.
For 77 minutes, it looked like history was repeating itself, but the players coming off the bench sparked a renewed spirit into the Singapore side.
Arifin was glowing in his assessment of the team’s collective effort, highlighting the substitutes for raising the intensity upon their introduction, with all three goals coming from bench players.
“We just played two days ago, so we had to manage the players’ fitness. Crucial substitutions like Lukyan (Tan) and the other players that came on made a lot of difference,” he said. “The boys showed in these two matches that the desire and fight is non-negotiable.”
There was little to separate the sides in a tense first half, but the teams found their rhythm in the second period.
In the 51st minute, Cambodian midfielder Poy Boty found himself one-on-one with Singapore custodian Ilhan Rezal, but the latter was quick off his line to deny Boty the opener.
Minutes later, midfielder Darwisy Johari caught Cambodian keeper Mon Vichka off his line and sent a shot looping dangerously over from 40 yards out. The 16-year-old fell to his knees in disappointment as his effort sailed over the bar.
On the hour mark, Singapore witnessed yet another agonising miss when forward Izzan Farid crashed the crossbar from close range.
But their persistence in attack reaped rewards in the 78th minute, when defender Zamir Zamri sent a hopeful lob into the area as Vichka fumbled the catch and teammate Aidan Irfan was on hand to finish.
“This is the resilience that we want to see from the players. We want to see that they don’t get frustrated and they keep trying. This is a crucial part of their development,” said Ariffin.
It was double ecstasy for the home crowd just three minutes later when Farrel Farhan earned a penalty after being hacked down by the Cambodian defence in the box. Vichka was equal to Farrel’s tame shot from the spot, but the rebound fell kindly to the midfielder, who needed no second invitation to tuck it away and extend his side’s lead.
Striker Lukyan added the icing on the cake with a long-range screamer in the 85th minute.
“I was extremely motivated to get subbed on, and I had this fire in me to really attack and help the team win the match,” the 16-year-old said. “(The goal) felt absolutely amazing because when I first came on, I missed a very good chance, so I really wanted to score to make up for it. And when I did, it felt so good.”
After preventing the home side from scoring for most of the game, Cambodian Head Coach Nicolas Grezault was defiant in defeat, insisting that “the game should have ended in a draw, or at worst, a one-nil loss”.
“It’s disappointing. The game was played in the small details, and I thought this game should not have finished with this result… We should not have lost today,” he said.
“Maybe there was a lapse in concentration, but we are working on it. These are young players, so we are here for their development,” Grezault added.
The positive result has only fuelled the hosts’ fire as they stayed in title contention, with a tantalising clash against Hong Kong looming on Sunday (13 July) at 8pm.
“If we are able to win the next match, we still have a chance to win the Lion City Cup. So I’m sure everyone’s extremely hungry and full of desire to win,” Lukyan said.
Coming off the back of 2-0 wins in their respective opening games, the Philippines and Hong Kong got off to a cagey start in the top-of-the-table clash that kicked off earlier in the day (11 July) at 5pm.
Neither side was able to unlock their opponent’s defence in the first half, but the floodgates threatened to open less than a minute after the restart. A penalty was awarded to Hong Kong with Philippines’ goalkeeper Jaime Rafael Sandejas left incredulous at the referee’s call. But Jaime found redemption as he drew on every inch of his 1.78 metre frame to get a strong hand to substitute Sephrey Ma’s shot.
Teammate and player-of-the-match Marcus Lai said: “We just talked to Sephrey and tried to give him some space. He earned the penalty by himself, and it was his fast pace that got him the penalty. We supported him as a team, and we will fight with him.”
Hong Kong continued to surge forward and claimed the lead soon after, with Marcus in the right place at the right time to calmly slot home from close range in the 53rd minute.
“When I scored, we were really excited because we were finding that goal in the first half. We had a lot of chances, but we couldn’t finish in the final third,” the midfielder said.
Aaron Thomas Long looked to have drawn his side level in the 66th minute with a well-struck effort, only for Hong Kong captain Jay Marc Chan to come to the rescue with a clutch goal-line clearance.
But Aaron didn’t have to wait long as he made good on his second attempt with a composed finish into the bottom corner, sparking thunderous cheers from the Filipino fans.
“We conceded first, and that’s a very difficult situation, but the players fought hard. After conceding the goal, we altered the tactics to a high press, and then we started to create chances and attack the goal,” said Philippines Head Coach Tetsuya Tsuchida.
Ahead of his team’s final match against Cambodia on Sunday evening, Tsuchida added: “We are focused on the next game. The result is important, but it is also a good opportunity for the players’ development. We are focused on how we play our game. We appreciate the invitation to play in this tournament and the cheers from our supporters.”
For Marcus and his Hong Kong teammates, the draw felt like an opportunity missed.
“You can tell from our facial expressions that we were really sad despite drawing the game. The opponents were quite happy. So I think we have the hunger to try even harder in the next game.”
The 1-1 draw means the title race will go down to the wire, with the team that earns the better result on Sunday (13 July) set to lift the Lion City Cup.
Hong Kong Head Coach Takuro Hosaka backed his boys to go on and win the tournament, but stressed the importance of player development.
“(Today), we managed to create chances, which was really pleasing. That is how we want to play. It’s the first international experience for the boys, and if we can keep this going, then obviously that’s what we want,” he said.
“It is good for the boys’ confidence, and it is a really good platform for the players to experience. It’s really important to win this tournament, but the future of our players is more important.”
