AFF Championship: Brave Lions lose Ilhan but gain valuable point from Vietnam draw
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Singapore's Ilhan Fandi advancing with the ball in the first half before coming down with an injury.
ST PHOTO: ARIFFIN JAMAR
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SINGAPORE – It is advantage Lions as they need only a draw against Malaysia at Bukit Jalil Stadium on Tuesday to progress to the Asean Football Federation Championship semi-finals, after they held title favourites Vietnam to a 0-0 draw at Jalan Besar Stadium on Friday.
But they will have to do so with another blow to their strike force after Ilhan Fandi limped off injured in the 45th minute.
Attempting to latch onto Hariss Harun’s 38th-minute long ball, the 20-year-old crumpled in the Vietnam box clutching his left thigh. He punched the artificial turf before trying to play on, but went down again just before half-time.
He refused to be carried off on a stretcher but ruefully shook his head as his campaign looks to be over. This comes after his brother and fellow national striker Ikhsan Fandi and midfielder Adam Swandi also sustained serious knee injuries during the 3-1 friendly win over the Maldives on Dec 17.
Ilhan’s fighting spirit, however, rubbed off on his teammates as they held out for a crucial point against opponents whom they have now not beaten in their last 14 matches since a 1-0 win in the 1998 final.
His eldest brother and Man of the Match Irfan Fandi said: “It is sad that we have lost a few players to injury along the way, but we will manage because we have other good players.
“Again, we rose to the occasion and we will continue to go all out for our injured teammates and every Singaporean.”
While Singapore coach Takayuki Nishigaya felt it was not the best result as they wanted a win, he said it was still a “positive point”.
“Vietnam are strong individually and as a team, but we managed them well,” he said.
Captain Hariss added: “We met our minimum target of getting at least a point, but it’s not over yet. We still have a job to do at Bukit Jalil and the talk has to be done on the pitch.”
As expected, even after making eight changes from the starting XI who beat Malaysia 3-0 on Tuesday, world No. 96 Vietnam dominated possession and controlled most of the proceedings.
However, the 160th-ranked Lions, who made five changes themselves, kept their defensive shape well, putting 10 men behind the ball when necessary, as they restricted the visitors to long-range shots at Hassan Sunny.
Singapore were no better in attack, feeding on scraps as they were not quick enough to transition from being on the back foot.
Two counter-attacks were all they had to show for in the first half, with left wing-back Christopher van Huizen’s passes not finished off by Ilhan on both occasions.
Following Ilhan’s injury, Nishigaya decided to play out the last few minutes of the first half with 10 men and brought on Shawal Anuar and Song Ui-young for Ilhan and Faris Ramli respectively in the second half. While their energy brought some initial excitement for the 5,434 fans, it reverted to one-way traffic later.
While Hariss, Irfan and Shakir Hamzah marshalled the defence well, the Lions also rode their luck as Nguyen Hoang Duc’s long shot cannoned off the post in the 84th minute.
With the point, Vietnam remain top of Group B with seven points from three games, ahead of Singapore on goal difference, while Malaysia are a point back. The top two will qualify for the two-legged semi-finals.
Analysis
If Singapore is serious about its footballing ambitions, the authorities have to look into the impact of playing on artificial pitches, consider switching to natural turf, and leave nothing to chance after Ilhan became the third Lion to fall victim to the Jalan Besar pitch in two weeks.
Hariss has long been a proponent of natural turf, while Myanmar coach Antoine Hey also said that major football competitions should not be played on artificial pitches as it can pose a danger to players.
On Friday, the Lions put their bodies on the line to secure a hard-fought draw, and Ilhan’s injury means his KMSK Deinze debut in Belgium may be delayed. Surely, they deserve better.