Tue, 30 Nov, -0001
Singapore: Khairul Amri and Gabriel Quak netted second-half goals as Singapore kept alive their hopes of qualifying for the AFC Asian Cup 2015 with a stunning 2-1 win over Syria at Jalan Besar Stadium on Tuesday.
Lions goalkeeper Hassan Sunny pulled off a string of fine saves in the first half before Amri opened the scoring just after the hour and Quak struck just seconds after coming off the bench in the 82nd minute.
Syrian substitute Reja Rafe pulled one back for the visitors a minute before the end but it was not enough to prevent Singapore from picking up their first competitive win under head coach Bernd Stange, which helped them to leapfrog their opponents into third place in Group A.
Singapore had an early chance after just two minutes but Hariss Harun sent Zulfahmi Arifin’s free-kick straight into the gloves of Syria goalkeeper Mosab Balhous.
Skipper Shahril Ishak squandered a chance to put the Lions in front 10 minutes later when he sent his shot from metres out into the outer side netting after Safuwan Baharudin had knocked Baihakki Khaizan’s set play across the box.
The Middle Eastern side could not find a way past Hassan despite creating several chances in the box as the Singapore keeper rushed out to foil Ahmad Al-Douni in a one-on-one and saved low from the Syrian striker again before the break.
Syria’s failure to convert their chances saw them fall behind against the run of play in the 62nd minute when Hafiz Sujad capitalised on a mistake on the left and broke free to drill a low cross for Amri to finish inside the box.
The stunned visitors attempted to equalise with striker Sanharib Malki coming close twice. He nearly turned a cross into the net in the 70th minute and was then sandwiched by Baihakki and Safuwan as he prepared to convert a counter moments after.
Quak sealed the points for Singapore seconds after coming on as a substitute with eight minutes to go as he broke free on the right and drilled a low shot past Balhous into the far corner.
Syria replacement Rafe pulled one back in the dying minutes of the game as he drew the Lions out of position before rifling a shot past Hassan’s fingertips but it proved to be only a consolation as the hosts hung on for the 2-1 win.
Stange was pleased with the win as he sought to continue his rebuilding work with the national squad.
“It was a very hard fight and we had a very good result tonight,” the German beamed. “The Syrians were fully professional, but we brought out all of us in our game.
“We saw the attitude in our players to play for their country and tactically, we were well-organised to get the result.”
Syria coach Anas Makhlouf bemoaned his Red Eagles’ inability to convert their chances as their hopes for qualification for Australian hung in the balance after managing just one point from their first three games.
“It was not a good result for us tonight. We had many chances to score, but we didn’t convert,” he lamented.
“Singapore played compact and only had three to four chances, but scored two. They went for our players’ nerves and played long balls to force us to commit mistakes.
“To lose this match makes it very difficult for us to qualify.”
Photo: AFP