Football
Kelvin Leong 8y

Syria's Al Mawas, Alaa Al Shbli better than Keisuke Honda - Shakir Hamzah

Singapore left-back Shakir Hamzah reckons Syria's right-sided duo of Mahmoud Al Mawas and Alaa Al Shbli were tougher to play against than Japan's Keisuke Honda.

The Lions lost their second consecutive game in the AFC World Cup Group E qualifying campaign, a 3-0 loss to Japan last week, before going down 2-1 at home to Syria on Tuesday night.

Striker Omar Khribin's brace was sandwiched by a Safuwan Baharudin penalty, but it was the supply chain coming off the right wing that gave Singapore plenty of problems throughout the 90 minutes.

"I played in the last three games, Cambodia, Japan and now Syria." said Shakir. "If you ask me, Syria's No. 9 [Al Mawas] and their right-back were my toughest opponents of the three games.

"Al Mawas was very tricky and lightning fast. He gave me a lot of problems at the start but it wasn't just him that was coming at me.

"When he cut in onto his left foot, the right-back [Shbli] would overlap and that guy seemed to have an extra boost on him.

"We tried as a team to shift around and hold them off because they were putting in crosses for the other Syrian strikers to attack. One of the toughest two players I came up against as a left-back on international stage."

Despite Syria's dominance -- 14 shots as compared to Singapore's four -- Singapore kept their composure even after Madhu Mohana was given a straight red in the 54th minute and went on to equalise through Safuwan, only to be stung by a last-gasp winner from Khribin in the dying seconds.

Shakir, who won the penalty when his header struck Shbli's arm, could not believe that Syria managed to get all three points, especially with only seconds left on the clock. He added:

"When Saf put the penalty in, we thought it was one point in the bag since there was very little time left.

"Then they somehow managed to shoot at goal and it went in. So they got the three points and it was painful and very heartbreaking. But we can only look forward and analyse this game to see what we can take away from it."

German tactician Bernd Stange was in defiant mood after the game, and had nothing but praise for his players who gave their all, as they continue to close the gap on more illustrious Asian powerhouses like Japan and Syria.

He also seemed to suggest that Singapore players must find a way to play overseas, and think outside of the usual S.League and Malaysia Super League environment.

"A few minutes after coming from the changing room, there is a disappointment but my congratulations to Syria ... I'm still very proud for our Singapore team for what they did and I think I am not alone in this because the fans were cheering Singapore, Singapore so we must be doing something right." he explained.

"If I have four, five more players away [playing overseas], we will improve first. That's why it is up to us to perform and work harder. I am absolutely convinced that we need more games at this level. Playing 65 games here at our level and in the S.League is not enough. We need international experience and planning."

With Singapore not in action till March next year -- they travel to Tehran, Iran to take on Afghanistan -- Shakir has urged his teammates not to dwell on this loss and realign their focus towards their club commitments.

"We cannot sit here and think too much because we have some big games to play at club level. For the LionsXII, we have to prepare for the two quarterfinal matches against Pahang next week," the 23-year-old said.

"It is all about recovery at this stage of the season. If we allow ourselves to relax now, then we are not being professional to our club commitments. So we all must concentrate until the Malaysia Cup season ends."

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