NO GRAND ILLUSION FOR SUNDRAM

The team which is being prepared for the SEA Games in Korat, Thailand at the end of the year played two international matches as part of their week-long training camp.

The Singapore U23 team drew with the Malaysian Under-21 side 2-2 before scoring a morale-boosting 1-0 win over the Indonesian national team preparing for the Asian Cup 2007 next month.

“Basically, the boys played quite well and worked hard especially in defence,” said the former international.

“To be fair, it wasn’t Indonesia’s full team as they started with only five regulars. But then against a team preparing for the Asian Cup, the game was always going to be difficult for us.”

But Sundram reiterated that the win over Indonesia should be seen in the bigger context which is the SEA Games in Korat, Thailand.

“I’m happy with the victory, but we must always remember our goals. We need to make sure our boys peak at the right time and that’s at the SEA Games,” he stressed.

“We must do well in the SEA Games because that will do much good for Singapore football. Games like this one are just small and steady steps we are taking to prepare ourselves to make the big step that really matters.”

Fazrul Nawaz, who had scored one of two goals for Singapore in their 2-2 draw against the Malaysian Olympic squad, was again on target when he delivered an early third minute penalty conversion for the only goal of the encounter against Indonesia.