AGU SAVES THE DAY FOR LIONS WITH LATE WINNER

Khin Maung Lwin had given Myanmar the best of start with the lead in the 13th minute before Aleksandr Duric found the equalizer on 62 minutes as Agu then grabbed the winner for the Lions right at the very end.

“The AFF Suzuki Cup has turned out to be great for spectators but not good for coaches,” quipped Singapore chief coach Radojko Avramovic afterwards.

“We made some mistakes in the first half where we failed to keep the ball and when you can’t do that, it is hard to score goals. Credit to Myanmar for their teamwork but at the very least we won all three points after dropping two in the last game.”

With the unavailability of regular centre back Daniel Bennett due a knee injury, his place was taken over by the lanky Emuejeraye Precious, who had a tough time in keeping the nippy Myanmar forwards at bay.

And following their humiliating defeat to Vietnam in the opening game, Myanmar were a lot more determined this time round as they defended in numbers and had just the right players to go in search of the early goal.

As Yan Paing were left to deal with Emuejeraye in opening up the Singapore backline, it allowed the more pacey players like Khin Muang Lwin and Aung Kyaw Moe the chance to get forward.

It did not take Myanmar long to carve out their first goal as off a seemingly innocuous cross from the right off Nyar Na Lwin, the opportunistic Maung Lwin had the time and space to deliver a wicked curling grounder into the Singapore goal to beat Hassan Sunny.

Under pressure, the Lions pushed hard in search of the goal as chief coach Radojko Avramovic became increasingly agitated at the failure of their midfield to stamp their authority with their best chance coming in later in the first half with a header from Emuejeraye.

Two changes at the half with the introduction of Mohd Khairul Amri Kamal and Casimir gave more strength at the centre of the park and after some persistent pressure which even saw a disallowed goal finally allowed Singapore to score the equalizer.

A short pass from Agu saw Duric blasting the ball into the Myanmar goal.

In the 69th minute, Yan Paing almost scored the second goal for Myanmar but his attempt came off the crossbar instead.

Myanmar chief coach Tin Myint Aung then made several changes by bringing in Aung Myo Thant and Kyaw Khing Win in his attempt to give more composure to his fast tiring backline.

And while they did try hard to keep Singapore at bay, there were no denying them their first three points of the campaign this year when Agu struck the winner late in the deep game for the full points.

“I have to give credit to my players as they played real hard today and gave everything,” added Myint Aung.

“But Singapore deserved to win as they never gave up and really pressured us in the second half. It has been a tough AFF Suzuki Cup this year and after two losses, we are out of contention for a place in the next round.”

SINGAPORE
Hassan Sunny, Mohd Ridhuan Muhamad (Mohd Khairul Amri Kamal 46th), Baihakki Khaizan, Mohd Isa Abdul Halim (Shahdan Sulaiman 62nd), Mohd Noh Rahman, Emuejeraye Precious, Mohd Noh Alam Shah (Agu Casimir 46th), Aleksandr Duric, Mustafic Fahrudin, Mohd Shahril Ishak, Jumaat Jantan.

MYANMAR
Thiha Si Thu, Zaw Lynn Tun, Moe Win, Khin Maung Lwin, Aung Kyaw Moe (Aung Myo Thant 72nd), Yan Paing, Yaza Win Thein (Kyaw Khing Win 77th), Yan Aung Win, Nyar Na Lwin (Kyaw Ko Ko 68th), Aye San, Mai Aih Naing.

AFF SUZUKI CUP 2010, FINAL ROUND RESULTS and FIXTURES

Group A – Jakarta, Indonesia (GELORA BUNG KARNO STADIUM, JAKARTA)

1 Dec THAILAND 2 LAOS 2/ INDONESIA 5 MALAYSIA 1

4 Dec THAILAND 0 MALAYSIA 0/ LAOS 0 INDONESIA 6

7 Dec Malaysia vs Laos (1930hrs at Jakabaring Stadium, Palembang) / Indonesia vs Thailand (1930hrs at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, Hanoi)

Group B – Hanoi, Vietnam (MY DINH NATIONAL STADIUM, HANOI)

2 Dec SINGAPORE 1 PHILIPPINES 1/ VIETNAM 7 MYANMAR 1

5 Dec SINGAPORE 2 MYANMAR 1/ Philippines vs Vietnam (1930hrs)

8 Dec Myanmar vs Philippines (1930hrs at Hien Truong Stadium, Nam Dinh) / Vietnam vs Singapore (1930hrs at My Dinh National Stadium, Hanoi)