Football
Kelvin Leong 9y

Suzuki Cup dream alive as Singapore beat Raddy's Myanmar

It was a bittersweet victory for defending champions Singapore when they beat Myanmar 4-2 in an AFF Suzuki Cup Group B match at the Sports Hub in front of about 27,000 spectators on Wednesday night.

Shaiful Esah and Johor Darul Takzim midfielder Hariss Harun scored two goals apiece before Myanmar came back strongly in the second half. But the game was marred by a season-ending broken fibula to Shahdan Sulaiman.

The highly anticipated matchup against former Lions coach Radojko Avramovic in the Myanmar dugout started out well for the visitors when David Htan and Nanda Lin Kyaw Chit combined down the right before the latter was pulled up for offside.

The White Angels were in the ascendancy. It all began to look like a downward spiral for the hosts when Baihakki Khaizan received the match's first yellow card -- ruling the defender out of the final group game against Malaysia -- for a foul on striker Kyaw Ko Ko.

But soon after, Singapore earned a free-kick at the edge of the area in the 15th minute. Shaiful stepped up to send his cross-shot past a sea of players into the net to give the Lions a one-goal lead.

Five minutes later, a Myanmar corner saw Khairul Amri and Shahdan tangle up in their efforts to clear the ball. The latter was left reeling in pain as the medical staff sprinted onto the pitch with the Tampines Rovers' midfielder taken off and replaced by Zulfahmi Arifin.

Then came an eventful six-minute spell which started from the 35th minute. Amri released Faris Ramli down the left and his cross was cleared by Yan Aung Kyaw, but only into the path of an unmarked Hariss. He took it down superbly before sending a perfect volley past Si Thu in goal.

Myanmar began to lose their shape in defence and the hosts capitalised again in the 41st minute. A corner-kick from Shaiful was not dealt with as a thieving Hariss snuck in to fire a left footed shot into goal, sending Singapore into the break with a three-goal advantage.

The second period saw Avramovic introduce star winger Kyi Lin and the playmaker made an instant impact. Myanmar dominated proceedings, pegging the Lions back in their own half.

A series of half chances from Ko Ko, Kyaw Zayar Win and Min Min Thu saw the latter slot the ball home to silence the National Stadium crowd as Bernd Stange's bench began to look concerned.

Four minutes later, Kyi Lin showed his true worth when his magnificent lob caught the Singapore defence by surprise. Ko Ko surged towards goal only to be brought down by Safuwan Baharudin before getting up to slot the resulting spot-kick down the middle past a hapless Hassan Sunny.

Myanmar had their tails up by this point and launched wave after wave of attack on the Lions' goal. That was before another Shaiful free-kick from the left in the 74th minute was deflected past his own keeper by captain Maung Lwin to allow the home team some breathing space at 4-2.

Myanmar refused to back down and kept surging forward but just could not find the final pass. Uzbekistan referee Il'giz Tantashev ended the game after three minutes of added time to send Singapore into second spot in Group B with three points. Earlier Thailand qualified for the semifinals after a 3-2 victory over Malaysia at Singapore's Jalan Besar Stadium.

Despite the loss, Avramovic was still in jovial mood when he suggested that Myanmar gave the hosts an early Christmas present.

"I think it was a good game. Christmas came too early in Singapore, we gave some presents, three goals," quipped the Serbian. "I think we played well but the concentration in defence cost us dearly. And now, we can only look forward to the game against Thailand.

"Our plan was in the first-half to try and keep Singapore away from our goal and try to attack them in the second-half but we didn't bring it and received three easy goal. But Myanmar did well. At least they showed they can compete with teams like Singapore."

As for Singapore coach Stange, he was pleased with the way his team secured a two-goal victory over the White Angels. He claimed that any coach would be happy to have his side finishing with a 4-2 scoreline in their favour.

He exclaimed: "4-2 sounds good. It is a comfortable win, clear result and in football, there is nothing like this feeling. We achieved a win against a strong team like Myanmar. We saw two different halves. First half was Singapore and second-half, after two very bad injuries we got, we had to change and I was unable to bring on fresh legs."

He was also quick to shift the focus to the Lions' final game of the group stages against archrivals Malaysia on Saturday, calling it "a final before a final".

"The situation is very clear now. We have a final before a final. We have to beat Malaysia on Saturday and our thoughts now are on recovery. We have to find a way to bring a strong team on Saturday. We have Bai [Baihakki Khaizan] suspended, we have to fill a hole. We also have a broken fibula from Shahdan [Sulaiman] but we are a team of 22 players. We will bring a strong team against Malaysia."

The German ended by heaping praise on two-goal hero Hariss whom he claims will get even better in the coming years.

"Football is a team sport, but yes both players [Shaiful Esah and Hariss] you mentioned were above average. They were outstanding tonight. Hariss was a leader today, he made a big step. We should also not forget that Hariss is 24 years old. And that a footballer's best years are where his career starts now."

Singapore will face off against Malaysia at the Sports Hub on Saturday. Avramovic will have to lift the spirits of his Myanmar side to get a result on the artificial turf of the Jalan Besar Stadium against a Thai brigade who have already sealed their place in the semifinals.

Singapore Starting Line-up: Hassan Sunny (GK), Shaiful Esah, Baihakki Khaizan, Safuwan Baharudin, Ismadi Mukhtar, Hariss Harun, Shahdan Sulaiman, Faris Ramli, Sahil Suhaimi, Shahril Ishak (C), Khairul Amri

Myanmar Starting Line-up: Thiha Si Thu (GK), Aung Zaw, David Htan, Khin Maung Lwin (C), Yan Aung Kyaw, Kyaw Zayar Win, Min Min Thu, Tin Win Aung, Win Min Htut, Nanda Lin Kyaw Chit, Kyaw Ko Ko

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