The first half was much expected with Thailand having most of the possession and Singapore contented to sit back behind the center spot. Playing a 4-5-1 with only Alam Shah in front, the Lions were constantly pegged back.
However, the Lions did put the ball in the back of the net in the first 15 minutes but was correctly disallowed as the Lion's striker Sharil Ishak was offside when the ball was played to him. The rest of the game were just waves and waves of Thailand attack. As the shots kept going in, my first impression was that the Lions won't be able to survive the half without letting in the goal. Lionel Lewis had two outstanding saves to make as the Lions defence started to crumble.
True enough, the pressure was too much for the backline when the Thai attacking trio played good one touch passing. Lions midfield were missing as the Thais attacked from the left and with a deft touch from Datsakorn Thonglao (7), the ball was lobbed into the area and Pipat Thonkanya outsmarted Aide Iskanda by cushioning a header to himself before launching a ferocious volley that left Lionel Lewis with no chance. One nil. Two-Two on aggregate.
Game is tied. More to come.
Oh! We are the Champions! We are the Champions!
Kudos to Singapore coach Raddy Avramovic for making the changes that changed the shape of the game. The Thais were given too much room in the midfield and the Lions were giving too many balls away in the first half, resulting in non-stop pressure and eventually that first goal.
But when the second half started, the Lions played a more aggressive game closing down and attacking whenever the opportunities allowed. However, it was the Thais that had the best chance to add another goal when Suchao Nutnum (14) could only stroke the ball against the thigh of Mohamed Noh (20) instead of the empty goal after Lionel Lewis was dragged out of position.
The Lions did had a good chance to equalise when S Ishak chested a cross from Muhammad Ridhuan into the path of Alam Shah right in the six yard box but he only managed to volley the ball straight to the arms of Thai keeper Kittisak Rawangpa. That gave the Lions more confidence coming forward and the equaliser did come with ten minutes to go!
K Amri, who was subbed-in for the ineffective Dickson was given ample room to run into the six yard box before unleashing a fierce volley that gave Rawangpa absolutely NO chance. I was caught by surprise myself with the room he was given and that volley was just sweeeeet! It was a surprisingly lack of focus from the Thai defence which had shut up the Lions for most of the game. That goal gave the Lions a 3-2 aggregate score after the first leg.
At the end of 4 minutes of injury time, the Indonesian referee Jimmy Napitupulu who had a much better game than his predecessor blew the final whistle and Singapore remains the ASEAN Football Champion for the second tournament in a row.
I wouldn't say it was a well deserved victory for the Lions as their play were still dreadful for most period. The group stage only saw them winning one out of three matches and that single victory was against Laos. They also scrapped through the semi-final with a 6-5 penalty shoot out victory over the Malaysians. Lastly, they won the first leg with a controversial penalty which on hindsight, shouldn't have been awarded.
HOWEVER, a victory is still a victory more so sweeter when it was away from home! Kudos to the team and the officials for putting up a good game in Thailand after all the hoopla from the first leg. Let's enjoy the moment, before we scrutinise the team over their performance in the past two weeks and look forward to the next tournament!
Again - Well done Lions!
