"Jakarta, Monday, November 7, 2011 — Singapore drew 0-0 with defending champions Malaysia in their opening game of the South-east Asian (SEA) Games Under-23 football tournament. Singapore finished third at the last SEA Games in 2009.
In another Group A game, hosts Indonesia thrashed Cambodia 6-0 to set the early pace in what has been dubbed the Group of Death. Group A also has powerhouse Thailand.
In Group B, Timor Leste are the surprise early leaders with two wins out of two. Myanmar and Vietnam are tied on points but the former are second in the table because of a better goal difference.
Singapore have never beaten Malaysia at the SEA Games U-23 level and lost 2-0 to the Malaysian U-23s in January 2011 at home. At the last SEA Games, Singapore and Malaysia also played out a 0-0 draw.
Singapore picked up four yellow cards in this game and they run the risk of losing players to suspension in their upcoming matches.
Malaysia had what looked like a legitimate appeal for penalty turned down in the 55th minute when Fandi Othman was clipped at the heels.
Singapore were not adventurous going forward and their attacks often faded away because there were not enough players running into the Malaysian penalty box to give their teammates options.
Singapore had two good chances in the first half, both falling to Fazli Ayob (#12).
Captain Hariss Harun (#14) picked out Fazli in the box with a good pass in the 14th minute. The striker chested it down but mis-hit the shot which flew straight into the grateful arms of Malaysia goalkeeper Khairul Fahmi.
Fazli created the second chance on his own in the 40th minute, going past three men before unleashing a shot that Fahmi got down to save and turn away for a corner.
Malaysia asked questions of Singapore’s goalkeeper Izwan Mahbud (#1) a few times in the first half from long range.
A 25th minute direct free kick by Malaysian captain Baddrol Bakhtiar was well saved by Izwan and Baddrol almost scored in the 35th minute with an audacious attempt that just flew past the left upright with Izwan stranded.
Just before half time, Izwan was again called into action, saving a direct free kick by Malaysia’s Saarani Fakri (#13).
The second half was a poorer spectacle than the first for the most part.
Singapore did not have any chances to speak of until the 67th minute when Nigel Neil Vanu (#5) turned his man on the wings and drove into the box. However, Shahdan Sulaiman (#9) could not control his layoff to him and the chance disappeared.
Malaysia’s captain Baddrol again tested Izwan from long range, this time in the 74th minute. The free kick was heading out but Izwan took no chances and put it around for a corner.
Vanu again created another chance for Singapore in the 78th minute but substitute striker Khairul Nizam (#19) did not have the pace to get to his through ball.
The hardworking Vanu again created another chance in the 81st minute. He made his way down the right flank into the penalty box but Nizam was not in the 6-yard box to finish off his cross. The Singapore bench erupted in frustration, knowing that it was a good chance wasted.
It was the turn of the Malaysian bench to rue a miss when their captain Baddrol got on the end of a headed knock down in the 83rd minute but his shot from the edge of the box flashed just wide of the post.
The match ended with a flurry of activity with Singapore getting a corner in the 90th minute. Hariss Harun created a chance, driving through from the edge of the box but his own teammate, Safuwan Baharudin, got in the way, and the Malaysian defence cleared.
“This was a game against the defending champions who have been preparing for a long time for this SEA Games, so I think it is one point gained rather than two points lost,” said head coach Slobodan Pavkovic on the fas.org.sg website.
He added, “I think the boys played well and executed our plan correctly. We had quite a number of chances in the game and we were in control of the game at different points. This is very positive and I am happy with my team’s performance in this match.”
“We came here with 20 players. All of them are key players, no one is an individual star. This is a four-game group, which means that every game carries equal importance. Winning, drawing or losing one game will mean 25% out of 100. We will now refocus and channel our thoughts towards the next game against Cambodia.”
Singapore next play Cambodia on Wednesday, November 9th and the match will be broadcast live on MediaCorp Channel 5 at 7.55pm.
Singapore U-23 Starting Lineup
Izwan Mahbud (#1), Safuwan Baharudin (#2), Afiq Yunos (#4), Nigel Neil Vanu (#5), Safirul Sulaiman (#6) (Hafiz (#8)), Shahdan Sulaiman (#9), Irwan Shah (#10) (Yasir (#11)), Fazli Ayob (#12) (Khairul Nizam (#19)), Hariss Harun (C, #14), Shahir Hamzah (#18), Zulfahmi Arifin (#17)
Malaysia U-23 Starting Lineup
Khairul Fahmi, Shas Fadhli, Omar Asraruddin, Thamil Arasu, Bakhtiar Baddrol (C), G.Gurusamy, Saarani Fakri, Othman Fandi, Syahrul Ibrahim Azwari, Jusoh Shukur, Ahmad Muslim
With regard to Singapore's 0-0 draw with Malaysia at the 2011 SEA Games football tournament ..."
Next game on weds!
Guess What Timor Leste is top on group B
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