SINGAPORE (16 Oct 2013) – A goal apiece from Khairul Amri and Gabriel Quak gave Singapore a lifeline in the qualifying round of the 2015 AFC Asian Cup when they beat Syria 2-1 last night at the Jalan Besar Stadium.
A string of fine saves preceded Amri’s opener just after the hour mark before Gabriel nailed the second goal in the 82nd minute.
Syrian substitute Reja Rafe pulled one back for the visitors a minute before the end but it could not prevent Singapore from picking up their first win and moving up to third in Group A.
“It was a very hard fight and we had a very good result tonight,” said Singapore coach Bernd Stange. “The Syrians were fully professional, but we brought out all of us in our game.
In the meantime, Malaysia held Bahrain to a 1-1 draw at the Shah Alam Stadium with striker Norshahrul Idlan Talaha scoring the equaliser in the 70th minute for them to remain on third in Group D.
Group leaders Bahrain went ahead in the ??? when Abdullah Ahmed Saleh with a smashing curler but it was not enough for them to pick up their win on a trot.
“Overall, I am satisfied with the players’ commitment on the field, especially Norshahrul. They gave their very best and I am proud of their performance today,” said Malaysia coach K. Rajagobal.
“As a coach, I am disappointed with the goal we conceded in the first half, but that is football. We bounced back with a quicker tempo in the second half and that gave us the equalizer.”
In Jakarta, Indonesia produced a spirited second half display to hold China to a 1-1 draw at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium.
Wu Xi’s close range effort in the 36th minute gave China the lead at the break before Indonesia captain Boaz Solossa netted the equalizer with a half volley in the 67th minute for both teams to share points.
“We’re very grateful that we can take our first point in the competition. It was quite an interesting match as we played differently in the first and the second half. We had a chance to win, but we only managed to get a draw,” said Indonesia coach Jacksen Tiago.
Elsewhere, Thailand fell to a 2-1 loss Iran at the Azadi Stadium in Teheran with two second half goals from Hosseini and Ghoochannejhad. Striker Teerasil Dangda pulled a goal back for the visitors with ten minutes left on the clock.
“We came to Tehran to get at least one point to give us something to build on for our return match in Bangkok but things didn’t proceed as we expected,” said Thailand coach Surachai Jaturapattarapong.
In Tashkent, Uzbekistan beat Vietnam 3-1 at the Pakhtakor Stadium.
Rashidov found the back of the net in the 59th minute before an own goal from Vietnam defender Au Van Hoan doubled Uzbekistan’s advantage.
Nguyen Trong Hoang then pulled a goal back in the 76th minute before substitute Igor Sergeev restored Uzbeskitan’s two goal advantage six minutes to the end.
“Uzbekistan had 80% possession, but they are not big team, they are just a strong team,” said Vietnam coach Nguyen Van Sy.
“Our aim was to take a point from this game, but we have no points after three games. We will now try to beat Uzbekistan in Vietnam next month.”
