Lions earn morale-boosting 2-1 friendly win over Tokyo Verdy

TOKYO – The Lions got a much-needed morale booster ahead of the Asean Football Federation (AFF) Championship as they beat Tokyo Verdy 2-1 on Oct 11 in the second of three friendlies against J1 League opponents in their Japan training tour.

However, in a second-period collision, midfielder Jacob Mahler suffered a right knee injury that makes him doubtful for the Dec 8-Jan 5 tournament. He had to be taken to hospital for a magnetic resonance imaging scan to assess the damage.

Many have questioned the wisdom of playing friendlies against club sides during an international window, but other than missing potential Fifa ranking points that could help them climb the world rankings – these could be minimal if they beat lowly ranked teams or zero if they lose to another national team – Singapore have gained much from these games.

The J1 League is regarded as one of the best domestic leagues in Asia, and FC Tokyo, who beat the Lions 4-0 on Oct 7, are sixth, while newly promoted Verdy are eighth in the 20-team league. On Oct 14, Singapore will play 12th-placed Yokohama F. Marinos, who were 2023-24 Asian Champions League finalists.

Lions coach Tsutomu Ogura, who is still highly regarded at Verdy, where he was assistant coach in 2022 and 2023, said: “These are training matches, but we must play every match to win.

“It is also important how we play. Today, our defensive organisation, fighting spirit and concentration were okay. We didn’t concede early and late in the game, which would have made things difficult for us. But we must improve when we have the ball and build up more in the attacking third.

“Today we had just three chances and scored two goals, on another day we had 10 chances and couldn’t score.”

Verdy coach Hiroshi Jofuku said: “It was difficult for them to play against us, but they kept patient and managed to find breakthroughs. We tried to attack, but they kept their defensive shape quite well.”

As Verdy did not have any players with the national team, almost all their key first-teamers were given significant playing time across three 35-minute periods at the 800-capacity AGF field.

Remarkably, around 500 supporters, who learnt about the match from the club’s social media, turned up for an 11am kick-off on a weekday.

Among those who braved the midday sun were families and hardcore fans decked in the club’s kits and scarves, as well as former S-League players Seiji Kaneko, Kenji Arai and Akihiro Nakamura. One supporter even brought Tampines Rovers, BG Pathum United and Johor Darul Takzim jerseys for the Lions to sign.

What was less surprising was how Verdy were quick and strong on the ball, even though that did not stop the Lions – who started with a back three of Hariss Harun, Jordan Emaviwe and Ryaan Sanizal – from pressing high through striker Abdul Rasaq Akeem, with Farhan Zulkifli and Ryhan Stewart also lively on the flanks.

It was through the high press that the Lions forced the hosts into a hurried clearance which deflected off Shah Shahiran, allowing fellow midfielder Hami Syahin to fire past Verdy goalkeeper Matheus Vidotto from range in the 15th minute.

While Emaviwe impressed with his strong and timely challenges, it was goalkeeper Rudy Khairullah who helped Singapore preserve the lead in the second period with a string of instinctive saves and blocks.

Both teams made more changes in the final period, as the Lions responded well to Ryosuke Shirai’s equaliser. With seven minutes left, Faris Ramli seized on a back pass to send a looping shot past Keisuke Nakamura, before Amirul Adli thumped just wide late on.

Ogura fielded 26 out of his 29 players, including naturalisation prospect Kyoga Nakamura, resting only goalkeeper Izwan Mahbud as well as Irfan and Ikhsan Fandi as an injury precaution.

Hami felt the win was a confidence booster ahead of the AFF Championship, saying: “It gives us the belief that we can go out there to play to the coach’s philosophy and get a result.

“The J1 teams are much more aggressive and the speed of their game is two or three times faster than our league.

“It’s good to play such games to improve individually and as a team.”