What is your honest prediction for June 7th?

Short Ninja SG · 2008-06-05T15:18:54+00:00

euro 2008 is just round the corner!KNN people serious down here you play play

Short Ninja SG

After the Lions got thrashed I am back down to earth and realise that Singapore soccer does have its limitation.So I predict they are going to lose again but not so teruk like they did at the National Stadium last night......KNN damn malu this morning when someone asked me 'Were you from Singapore?' and I replied, 'Very close I was from Brunei'>hahaha

KrU SG

Then you might as well emigrate to Brunei. If you don't want to support your own country, f off.

Short Ninja SG

Then you might as well emigrate to Brunei. If you don't want to support your own country, f off.

Relac la brother! My joke was that I denied being from Singapore to a country like Brunei which most Japanese people never even heard of.Anyway I am not a Singaporean.....so relac la brother!

redDUST SG

Relac la brother! My joke was that I denied being from Singapore to a country like Brunei which most Japanese people never even heard of.Anyway I am not a Singaporean.....so relac la brother!

if you are not from singapore, why so malu and 2ndly, why cannot give a straight answer, `no, i am not singaporean but i live here now.'

and don't take japanese for a fool. they know where brunei is.

FirePig SG

probably lost by another 3-4 goals. I would go with 4 goals simply because UZB are just too good.

Short Ninja SG

if you are not from singapore, why so malu and 2ndly, why cannot give a straight answer, `no, i am not singaporean but i live here now.'

and don't take japanese for a fool. they know where brunei is.

It was my neighbor who was being sacastic cuz he knew I was a Singaporean 15 years ago.Please come to Japan and see if the people here can point out your country on a map.Out of 10 people you meet in the street dont be surprised if 7 dont know where exactly Singapore is.I live here for over 22 years and you dont

Short Ninja SG

probably lost by another 3-4 goals. I would go with 4 goals simply because UZB are just too good

4 goals is a very good estimation because they wacked Saudi by 3 goals and 7-3 = 4 Wow your calculation is really good>HAHAHA

xfool SG

hmmm not sure wat Raddy's plan this saturday, hopefully they play very defensive and frustrate the Uzbeks so they might get a draw.

a-Lost-9uY SG

skali TG under when every1 tink is over..haha

Short Ninja SG

A draw is worth the try but it looks likes anything less than 4 goals

zocoss SG

I think the score won't be so big next match... Maybe by 2 to 3 goals only this time...

Short Ninja SG

wonder what the bookies have to say about that

Short Ninja SG

Also wonder what Raddy had to say after that tragic match

zocoss SG

Also wonder what Raddy had to say after that tragic match

He is speechless...

Trump_Card SG

I think the score won't be so big next match... Maybe by 2 to 3 goals only this time...

x2 ... I don't think the Uzbeks would clear handicap this time ... The bookies still need to makan ...

Short Ninja SG

The bad excuse is that Singapore played Uzbekistan for the first time and the good excuse is that Singapore would try not to lose big again this Saturday.

FirePig SG

Dream-chasing Singapore were handed a sobering reality check on Monday evening as Uzbekistan claimed a 7-3 victory in a World Cup 2010 qualifying match at the National Stadium.

The result was more than enough to consolidate the central Asian side’s pole position in Group Four, as they moved six points clear of their hosts with the third qualifying phase in the Asian zone hitting the halfway mark.

On a night when only the most patriotic of fans would have expected a point at least from the Lions, they were given a glimmer of hope as Aleksandar Duric and then Fahrudin Mustafic cancelled out early strikes by the Uzbek side.

Not even a second-half goal by John Wilkinson was enough to deny the visitors their points, though, as they gave the home side and over 28,000 paying fans an illustration of the kind of football the latter must aspire to emulate if they are to become a force in Asia.

Radojko Avramovic bravely fielded an attack-minded Singapore lineup to wrest some initiative in midfield, as Shi Jiayi, Shahril Ishak and Khairul Amri were charged with manning the supply routes.

Standing at the apex of the Lions frontline was lone striker Duric, who had notched a brace the last time a former Soviet state had featured at Kallang, and who carried the burden of delivering the goals in the absence of team captain Indra Sahdan.

Duric was presented with an early chance to repeat what he had done against Tajikistan, as Shi slipped an excellent through pass into his path with just eight minutes on the clock.

But the towering striker was unable to pull the trigger decisively as Uzbekistan custodian Ignatiy Nesterov did enough to shepherd him away from goal, and the home fans could only bemoan the spurned opportunity when the visitors went ahead just two minutes later.

Uzbek star Maksim Shatskikh had earned a free kick, which was quickly delivered towards Vitaliy Denisov on the left flank. The winger promptly delivered a low pass that skidded just ahead of the entire Lions backline before reaching the far post.

There, surfacing almost as if by magic, was Timur Kapadze, and the midfielder tapped the ball into goal with consummate ease to score the first goal of the evening.

It was an abrupt end to an early honeymoon period for the men in red, and lesser teams might have been cowed into submission for the remaining 80 minutes.

But not Avramovic’s Lions, whose last competitive loss at home came four long years ago against Oman in their previous World Cup qualifying campaign, and they went on to do what no team had done before them this year – score against Rauf Inileev’s side.

The moment came just past the quarter-hour mark, when Daniel Bennett fired a powerful shot from 30 yards out that beat a flying Nesterov but crashed back into play off a post.

Duric was the first of three Singapore players to reach the rebound, slamming home from six yards as he was played onside by a defender far away from the action.

And end-to-end action it was, as the fans found themselves pleasantly surprised to be treated to some swashbuckling play by both sides, each as eager as the other to get things to swing their way.

Noh Rahman could have netted when he received a short pass from a Wilkinson free kick, but he barely had time to think about his side-netting finish when Victor Karpenko easily shook Bennett off and fired Uzbekistan back in front at the other end.

Nonetheless, the resilience and attacking will shown by the hosts impressed Inileev and the Uzbekistan players, and any thoughts they might have harboured of claiming a swift and clinical victory were dropped in favour of a more total demonstration of might.

The cue came, ironically, in the 31st minute, when Fahrudin restored parity for Singapore for the second time by converting a penalty Islom Inomov had conceded for bringing Amri down in the box.

Kallang erupted into cheers when the Tampines Rovers man thumped the ball past Nesterov, but were silenced within 90 seconds as the Lions, having worked so hard in attack to erase the deficit, promptly and effortlessly regained it thanks to poor defending.

In fairness to Noh Rahman, he could hardly be fingered for blame as he stopped a speculative Shatskikh shot one yard from the goalline, but Precious Emuejeraye’s lack of pace betrayed him as Server Djeparov rushed in ahead of him and scored.

Having identified the cavalier Bennett as a prime entry point, the visitors took turns to press into the space the SAFFC man was assigned to guard before illuminating Precious and Baihakki Khaizan’s limitations rather than their strengths.

Still, the Lions refused to let their heads droop as they trooped out of the dressing room after the break, and they were greeted by a sea of red in the stands as the Singapore fans chose to stay collectively for the second half rather than leave the stadium early.

But the pride of a footballing nation – even one that many had written off as no-hopers – was at stake, and if the players had been in for a humbling by one of Asia’s strongest sides, they were keen to prove they had at least earned a right to it in the first place.

And Wilkinson underlined that point 17 minutes from time, steering home the rebound from a fierce Qiu Li drive to show that even the Uzbeks had their soft spots at the rear.

There was no denying the thoroughness of the central Asians’ ruthless display, however, as they amply exemplified the gulf in class between themselves and Singapore’s upstarts, so much so that Shatskikh’s failure to put himself among the goals was mostly unnoticed.

That too was corrected two minutes from time, the Dynamo Kiev striker staying one step ahead of Baihakki before drawing Lewis out of position and lobbing the ball into the net.

Yet the feat of scoring three goals against a country of such high calibre meant they still had the sting to challenge for a place in the last ten – a point Avramovic would do well to remind his charges of as they continue to pursue their dreams of growth and success.

FirePig SG

That's the general theme summing up Singapore's performance for their World Cup Qualifier against Uzbekistan at the National Stadium last evening.

Who would have thought the Lions could put three past the previously impregnable Uzbekistan defence, that didn't concede a single goal in this third round of the qualifiers till last night's game?

And then, who could foresee Singapore conceding seven goals?

No one, not even Lions coach Raddy Avramovic.

'We came into this game with a plan for the midfield battle. Generally, it worked, but I never expected us to concede seven goals,' said Avramovic.

He added: 'But we must be realistic. Uzbekistan is a very good team.

'If anyone told me we would score three goals, I would have been very happy.

'In any other game, if we had scored three, we would have won it. But tonight, we were not good enough.

'Our midfield couldn't cope with the opponents. We didn't mark their players properly.

'We allowed them to do the late runs into the box and pressure our defence too.

'We prepared for this, but didn't do it properly on the field.'

LANDSLIDE DEFEAT

This landslide defeat comes almost four years to the day Singapore last conceded seven goals - also in a World Cup Qualifier away against Oman back in 2004.

But after Uzbekistan's 3-0 drubbing of Saudi Arabia in the last round of fixtures, didn't Avramovic and his men see a relentless assault coming?

The Lions coach explained: 'This type of international football is different from playing in the S-League and tonight, Singapore found out what we don't know.

'Playing against quality opponents in international matches, we can see and learn many things we don't know.

'We must seek solutions. We must find more quality opponents for international games.'

Avramovic also reiterated that while his team have not reached a level where they can consistently compete with Asia's best, the Lions' fighting spirit up front last night is still intact and there is hope for the future.

'We have something going on for us here, but it is not good enough yet,' he said.

'Some said before the game the final result is a given, but early in the match, we showed we could compete.

'You can't say the players didn't try their best. You can't blame the players. There were too many mistakes but I can't fault the players' will.'

Avramovic was also swift to reassure that there will not be any panic chopping and changing of his team for the remaining World Cup Qualifiers.

'Whoever is in the national team now, will stay in the squad,' he said.

'It is important to see where we go from here. Not everything that we are capable of was seen in this game.'

Singapore now face an uphill battle to progress to the next round of World Cup qualification, with away games to Uzbekistan and Lebanon sandwiching a home fixture against Saudi Arabia.

Left-back Daniel Bennett is not in doubt of the mammoth task ahead of the Lions: 'This was a game we really needed to win. Now we will have to go out there and get at least two wins and a draw.'

SINGAPORE: Lionel Lewis, Daniel Bennett, Baihakki Khaizan, Precious Emuejeraye, Mohd Noh Rahman (Juma'at Jantan 71), Shi Jia Yi, John Wilkinson , Mustafic Fahrudin, Shahril Ishak (Muhd Ridhuan 45), Khairul Amri, Aleksandar Duric (Qiu Li 45)

UZBEKISTAN: Ignatiy Nesterov, Ilhomjon Suyunov, Asror Alikulov, Hayrulla Karimov (Aleksey Nikolaev 74), Islom Inomov, Vitaliy Denisov (Aziz Ibragimov 45), Victor Karpenko, Odil Ahmedov, Timur Kapadze (Farhod Tadjiyev 60), Server Djeparov, Maksim Shatskikh

Short Ninja SG

The good coach knows what his boys can or cannot do but there is thing he will never do and that is to put full blame on the team if they fail to qualify

FirePig SG

euro 2008 is just round the corner!