Was at the National Stadium to watch the second-leg of the ASEAN Football Championship semi-final between Singapore and Malaysia. The first leg was held in KL and it was a one-all draw. There was plenty at stake...Singapore is the current champion of the championship, previously known as the Tiger Cup and most of the 55,000 crowd in the National Stadium are hoping that the Lions will vanquish that 4-0 demon.
At the end of the match, after 90 minutes of scrappy football, 30 minutes of extra time and 5 shots each at the penalty spot - the Lions got into the final after Malaysia fluff their final kick, straight into the arms of the grateful Lionel Lewis.
Grateful he must surely had felt when he allow a feeble shot from the right wing to bob over his diving body. Grateful too he must have felt, when his counter-part across the field fumbled a header and allowed the Lions to equalised. That, basically covered what happened in that match. 3 pivotal moments, all revolving both goalies, in a rather un-eventful match.
Though the Lions won the game, there is still alot of work for them to work on. Their fitness are much better than before. Yet, old habits die hard. Ball control was not on par with our FIFA rankings. Set plays were just as bad. It was akin to watching Drogba and Ballack doing their famous ball-thru-leg routine. Tactical awareness is also missing from the Lions. Much of our complains were their inflexibility to move the ball around. Most of the time, the ball was played one 2/3 of the pitch, usually with one flank open wide with no cover. Yet, the ball was not played on that wide openness.
Secondly, it's quite frustrating to see the Lions not playing to their strengths. Like England, the Lions are sorely lacking south-paws. We don't have any authentic left sided players. But the ball kept going to the left wing, or the centre. So when they did shift the ball to the right, we got our best chances. However, that said, the cross for the equaliser did came from the left-back. So maybe we are lucky.
All in all, that night was fantastic even though the game weren't. Was there with Yann, GQ, Joel and Joyce to catch the game. The weather was just right. Though it was raining earlier, there was that window during the whole period of the game when no rain dropped, only resuming after the final whistle blew.
Only sore point that night was a fucking idiot driving a Lexus that nearly forced us off the road. So if you are driving and happen to see this Lexus on the road, keep your distance - you might be push off the road.
So we are in the final to face Thailand in another two legged game - first in Singapore this Wednesday, followed by the final game in Bangkok on Sunday. I will be there again when the Lions play their final game in the National Stadium. Hopefully, it will be a good and happy send-off for the grand old lady. The time is just right.
