SINGAPORE - If the main aim of the Singapore's international friendly against Solomon Islands was to ensure their new coach Tatsuma Yoshida started his tenure with a win, the Lions got the job done. Barely, with a 4-3 win at the National Stadium on Saturday (June 8).
But if the larger objective is to get the Lions to play possession-based attacking football, then Yoshida has a lot of work to do after celebrating his 45th birthday on Sunday, as he rated the performance "six or seven out of 10".
To be fair, the Japanese was appointed only on May 30 and had just four training sessions with his team.
He said: "It is a good result and a positive start. Our boys played a little nervously, made some mistakes, and we have to improve on some things, but they showed good attitude.
"We couldn't control the play and couldn't stop the opponents' attack in midfield, and we panicked a little. We didn't interchange well and we need to learn to hold our defence first.
"I'm used to seeing players who train well but become nervous in games. These are things we cannot improve on in one or two days but I trust my players and we need to keep going."
Singapore, who started off with a 4-1-4-1 formation, got off to a flyer in front of around 1,500 fans when Faris Ramli headed home Shahdan Sulaiman's cross, following a well-worked move in the fourth minute.
After the bright start, Singapore strangely sat back as both sides lacked ideas and urgency.
Â
Â
Â
Â
Gabriel Quak had a one-on-one goalscoring opportunity in the 33rd minute but took one touch too many before shooting straight at Philip Mango.
But Solomon Islands looked the likelier team to score towards the end of the half and Izwan Mahbud had to be alert to thwart Joses Nawo twice in two minutes.
The Lions did not take heed of the warning signs and were made to pay just three minutes after the restart when Feni Gagame cut in from the right and fired across Izwan into the bottom corner.
It got worse for Singapore when Adam Swandi's poor first touch allowed Andrew Abba to give the visitors the lead with a left-footer in off the post.
Singapore equalised in the 67th minute when Shahdan's free-kick eluded everyone and beat Mango. But the Lions continued to display poor technique in the second half as Zulfahmi Arifin's casual pass in the 75th minute resulted in a fast break for the visitors, and Benjamin Totori beat Safuwan Baharudin and Izwan at the near post to restore the Solomon Islands' lead.
The Lions replied almost instantly, when substitute Khairul Amri threaded Gabriel Quak through to make it 3-3.
Izwan then had to be brave to deny Nawo after Hariss Harun's sloppy backpass in the 78th minute, which resulted in a head injury for the Singapore goalkeeper who was then replaced by Hassan Sunny.
Hariss then made amends in the 85th minute when he slotted in from close range after Mango dropped Quak's corner to ensure the hosts got the win that should help the Lions improve their world ranking of 160 and secure a better seeding for next month's World Cup qualifiers draw.
Solomon Islands coach Wim Rijsbergen said: "We gave a couple of goals away and allowed Singapore back into the game. We have guys who come from very low standards and we have to learn in international football, every mistake can lead to a goal."
Hariss, who grabbed his 10th international goal, was pleased with how his team fought their way back to win, but urged for a better showing against Myanmar on Tuesday.
He said: "It is important we got the win. We did it the hard way, which is not ideal.
"We have to work on controlling the game better. I think it was a case of being comfortable and overconfident after the early goal and we were punished.
"The boys enjoy playing such attacking football but we need to remember our defensive responsibilities too, so tonight was a good lesson we have to learn from."
Chelsea face a partial closure of Stamford Bridge However, UEFA will decide on Friday whether to open its own disciplinary case. The European football's governing body's regulations state that
The punishments Chelsea could face after UEFA charge for
The home of Saudi Arabia Football on BBC Sport online. Includes the latest news stories, results, fixtures, video and audio.
China dreaming of Asian and World Cup double, says official
MADRID, Spain (AFP) — Atletico Madrid needed Thomas Lemar to come off the bench and score an 85th-minute winner against Eibar yesterday as they stretched their lead over Real Madrid to seven
Football: Atletico extend lead over Real with narrow win over
Ten-man Schalke draw blank ahead of Manchester City clash in
Australia's professional female footballers secured a landmark pay rise Friday that will see them receive the same minimum wage as their male counterparts. Under a new collective bargaining agreement unveiled on the eve of the World Cup in France, the base annual pay for players in the W-League was hiked 33 percent to Aus$16,344 (US$11,393).
Australian female footballers to earn same base pay as men
Leicester axe Puel, target Rodgers as successor Wilfried Zaha scoring the second goal for Crystal Palace who beat Leicester 4-1 on Saturday. The Foxes dismissed manager Claude Puel after the club
Claude Puel sacked by Leicester as club target Brendan
Iran and Iraq are neighboring countries, sharing a long history. In the contemporary era, especially during the reign of Saddam Hussein, the two countries had bad relations and fought the Iran-Iraq War for 8 years. In 2001, for the first time in decades, an Iran-Iraq match was not held at a neutral venue.
Iran - Football - BBC Sport
A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on March 05, 2019, with the headline 'Sarri slammed over Kepa but says issue settled'. Print Edition | Subscribe Topics:
Sarri slammed over Kepa but says issue settled | Sports-Life-News
sports-life-news.com/soccer/sarri-slammed-over-kepa-but-says-issue-settled/
LONDON • Former Liverpool manager-turned-pundit Graeme Souness has blasted Maurizio Sarri's decision to recall Kepa Arrizabalaga but, as far as the Chelsea manager is concerned, the Spaniard has "paid the price" for his insubordination.
Axed Kepa's still my number one, says Sarri - Breitbart
Raheem Sterling blamed "silly mistakes" for England's defeat to Netherlands in the semi-finals of the Nations League. England were beaten 3-1 in Guimaraes despite having taken a first-half lead
Mo' Salah was the last man standing from final shortlist of three players - Sadio Mane, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Mohamed Salah. The Egypt and Liverpool forward was presented the prize last night in Dakar Senegal by former World and African footballer of the year George Weah. Salah has now won the award for the second time in a row.
BREAKING: Mohamed Salah retains CAF player of the Year award
TEAM NEWS: Reds retain Kerevi, warned of Shark attack if defence doesn't improve 17 Apr 2019 Super Rugby reds captain Samu Kerevi has been named to face the Sharks despite speculation he would be
Reds: ok to attack or not? : X4Foundations - reddit.com
N'Golo Kante was the hero as he scored the only goal to help Chelsea beat Crystal Palace, and increase the gap between themselves and fifth-placed Arsenal. Kante scored the only goal of the game in the 51st minute when he broke forward from midfield to convert David Luiz's throughball.
Kante strikes as Chelsea beat Palace - webverzeichnis24.net
Bangladeshi authorities have arrested a senior member of football's world governing body Fifa for allegedly defaming the country's prime minister. Mahfuza Akhter Kiron, a Fifa Council member, was
Bangladesh FIFA official arrested for 'defaming' PM Sheikh
Football: Aston Villa into playoff final after shootout win over West Brom Aston Villa's Jack Grealish (left) and John McGinn celebrate after winning the penalty shootout against West Bromwich on
Villa into playoff final after shootout win over West Brom
0 comments:
Post a Comment