Safuwan Baharudin feeding off the energy from the home crowd, 26 December 2024.
SINGAPORE, 27 DECEMBER 2024 – It was a cagey and feisty encounter, but ultimately two stoppage-time goals proved to be the difference as Vietnam overcame Singapore 2-0 in the first of their two-legged semi-final tie in the ASEAN Mitsubishi Electric Cup on Thursday, 26 December.
The flurry of late Vietnam goals – substitute Nguyen Tien Linh’s late penalty and an instinctive finish from Nguyen Xuan Son – left the Lions with a deficit to overcome in the second leg in Hanoi.
It was a result that left much to be desired for Singapore Head Coach Tsutomu Ogura, who pointed to the late lapses of concentration which proved costly for his side, but he called for his charges to turn their attentions to the return leg on Sunday (29 Dec) in Hanoi.
“Football is not only a 90-minute game, it consists of 90 minutes plus injury time. The scoreline was 0-0 in the 90th minute, but we conceded two late goals. Even after the penalty, we still should not have conceded the second goal,” said the 58-year-old.
“We also had a few chances in the second half which we were punished for not taking. This is football and it was our fault,” he added.
“But this is only half-time. We have 90 more minutes to play in Hanoi, and we must focus to go there and fight.”
Singapore will feel hard done by the late setback as they played brightly throughout the game. Backed by the majority of the boisterous 5,223-strong crowd at the Jalan Besar Stadium, the Lions courageously persisted with their possession play even against Vietnam’s high press.
The away side looked to capitalise on the physicality of Xuan Son – the newly naturalised focal point of the Vietnam attack – as his team constantly tried to feed the ball to the Brazil-born forward. But a well-marshalled Lions defence stayed compact to keep Xuan Son at bay.
Vietnam had the ball in the Singapore net in the 19th minute and Xuan Son rattled the crossbar with an audacious bicycle kick just minutes later, but both efforts were ruled out by the flag.
The flag would also come to Vietnam’s rescue in the second half – this time penalising an early Shawal Anuar run in the 61st minute after he lifted the ball into goalkeeper Nguyen Dinh Trieu’s net.
Taufik Suparno in disbelief after seeing his effort saved, 26 December 2024.
A delicate chip from second-half substitute Taufik Suparno in the 67th minute looked to have beaten Dinh Trieu, but the Vietnamese keeper did enough to tip his effort over the bar.
Winger Faris Ramli thought he had won his side a penalty after he went down from a Ho Tan Tai challenge in the 80th minute, but the Lions’ protests were waved away by the referee.
With his threat being kept to a minimum in the second half, Xuan Son reminded everybody of his quality as he sent a rasping volley from a tight angle into Izwan Mahbud’s net. However, it was ruled out for handball after a lengthy VAR check, much to the disbelief of the 27-year-old.
Despite taking a while to settle into the game, Vietnam was eventually able to unlock the resolute Lions’ defence in stoppage time – courtesy of a few tweaks from their Head Coach Kim Sang-sik.
“We had trouble adapting to the weather and artificial pitch in the first half, which made it difficult for us to execute what we had planned. However, a few tactical changes and substitutions helped us to play out the second half very well right to the last minute,” said the 48-year-old.
One of his substitutions was the introduction of Tien Linh, who gave his side the lead from the penalty spot in the 11th minute of stoppage time. Shakir Hamzah was adjudged to have handled the ball in the Lions’ penalty area after being pushed to the ground by Xuan Son.
Xuan Son had one more ace up his sleeve, latching onto a loose ball from a corner in the closing minutes to double his sides’ advantage going into the second leg.
Lions Head Coach Tsutomu Ogura encouraging our Lions, 26 December 2024.
Ogura was quick to rally his charges and insisted that the tie was not over yet.
“We will recover mentally from this. I told my players that although the first leg has finished, 2-0 is still a dangerous scoreline,” he said.
“Anything can happen in the second leg. If we score a goal to make it 2-1, what is going to happen?”
“We need to focus on preparing for the second leg – the second half of the semi-final – in Hanoi. We need this mentality and mindset in the second leg.”
The Lions will depart for Hanoi on Friday (27 Dec) morning, with the second leg scheduled to take place on Sunday.
Shawal Anuar in action against Vietnam, 26 December 2024.
FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION OF SINGAPORE
