Rhyan Stewart of Singapore taking a shot during the Asean Championship semi-final first-leg match against Vietnam at the Jalan Besar Stadium on Dec 26. - ST
SINGAPORE: The Lions suffered two sickening stoppage-time blows on Boxing Day as they lost 2-0 to Vietnam in the first leg of the Asean Championship semi-finals at the Jalan Besar Stadium on Dec 26.
Post-match, Singapore coach Tsutomu Ogura felt his team were unlucky but needed to improve in terms of stamina, focus and consistency, after they conceded a debatable 101st-minute penalty, before what looked to be a 104th-minute knockout punch.
In the group stage, they also let in two goals in added time to lose 4-2 against defending champions Thailand, although they held on outstandingly to draw 0-0 in Malaysia to qualify for the last four.
The 58-year-old Japanese said: “Football is not only 90 minutes, I always tell the players. Football is 90 minutes plus injury time. In this kind of situation, we saw the difference between Singapore and Vietnam.
“Sometimes we are lucky, sometimes we are unlucky.
“This is football, we need luck, but we also need more hard work. Okay, we conceded an unfortunate penalty, but we didn’t need to concede another goal, so this is our fault.
“But this game is finished. Today we made it difficult for Vietnam, and they beat us. It will be a difficult game in Hanoi too, so why can’t we do the same against them? We will now prepare for the ‘second half’ in Hanoi.”
After a resolute display in regulation time, the match turned on a couple of controversial video assistant referee (VAR) decisions.
Following sustained pressure in the second half, Singapore had a penalty claim in the 80th minute rejected by the VAR and South Korean referee Kim Woo-sung after Ho Tan Tai looked to have hauled down Faris Ramli in the box.
While he declined to comment further about the incident in the mixed zone, Singapore skipper Hariss Harun agreed his team were robbed and should have had a penalty.
The VAR then correctly chalked off a goal from Vietnam as Rafaelson’s superb goal on the turn was voided for handball in the 88th minute, with Vietnam coach Kim Sang-sik booked for his protests.
Then came the visitors’ breakthrough in added time.
Lions goalkeeper Izwan Mahbud and Shakir Hamzah failed to deal with a cross from the left, and after the VAR adjudged the defender to have handled the ball in the box, Nguyen Tien Linh successfully dispatched the resulting spot kick.
Three minutes later, Nguyen Hoang Duc’s corner was flicked on by Pham Xuan Manh for Brazil-born Rafaelson to help his adopted country bring a two-goal advantage to the second leg at the Viet Tri Stadium in Phu Tho on Dec 29, with the away-goals rule not in effect.
Kim acknowledged that some decisions were “unfortunate” for both teams.
The 48-year-old South Korean added: “We had trouble adapting to this new environment with the weather and artificial pitch. The first half was very difficult for us to play out what we planned. But through tactical changes and appropriate substitutions, we were able to play out the game well to the last minute.
“There will be more hardships and it will be tougher from now on. Hopefully, we can prepare our team mentally for a better match.”
The first leg was played at Jalan Besar as a late schedule change meant the National Stadium was unavailable for the game and the rest of the tournament, also known as the Mitsubishi Electric Cup, having already been booked for concerts during this period.
With 5,233 noisy fans turning the compact 6,000-seater arena into a sea of red, the hosts played up the feel-good vibes before kick-off by parading members of the 1998 Tiger Cup winning team onto the pitch and launching into a rousing rendition of Kit Chan’s Home.
They also paid tribute to former Lion Adam Swandi, who recently announced his retirement due to a heart condition.
Fans attending the Asean Mitsubishi Electric Cup semi-final first leg match between Singapore and Vietnam at Jalan Besar Stadium on Dec 26, 2024. ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM dlsoc26
The first leg was played at the Jalan Besar as a late schedule change meant the National Stadium was unavailable for the game and the rest of the tournament.ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM
But it was the visitors and their 300 Ultras Vietnam fans who had something to cheer about when Dinh Thanh Binh had the ball in the net after 10 minutes, only for the goal to be overruled for offside.
Rafaelson then rattled the bar with a bicycle kick from an offside position 10 minutes later.
Yet, for all their individual quality, world No. 114 Vietnam set up with a cautious-looking back five and never really settled on the artificial pitch.
Meanwhile, the 160th-ranked Lions had suffered a late setback with Japanese-born playmaker Kyoga Nakamura sharing on social media platform X earlier in the afternoon that he would not be able to play in the first leg.
It was originally thought that no players from either team were suspended, as none were sent off or accumulated two yellow cards in the group stage, according to statistics from the Asean Football Federation’s tournament website.
However, it was confirmed at the match coordination meeting that Nakamura was indeed booked in the 0-0 draw in Malaysia, and would be suspended as this was his second yellow card following an earlier caution in the 4-2 home loss to Thailand.
Ultimately, the local-born Lions stepped up, with much-maligned Lionel Tan winning his individual battle against the highly rated Rafaelson, and Safuwan Baharudin leading by example in defence and attack.
Impressively, Ogura’s men went for the kill after the break by bringing on Taufik Suparno and Faris for Glenn Kweh and Ryhan Stewart respectively and were so nearly rewarded.
Singapore could have pinched a win to snap their 26-year winless streak against their rivals, after Taufik stole the ball from Do Duy Manh, only to see his goal-bound shot tipped over by Nguyen Dinh Trieu in the 68th minute, before the late drama unfolded to leave the Lions’ hopes of a fifth Asean Cup final hanging by a thread. - The Straits Times/ANN
