SINGAPORE (8 Sept 2012) – Former ASEAN champions Singapore fell to a 2-0 home defeat to the Philippines in a friendly last night at the Jurong West Stadium, serving up questions on the preparedness of the squad for the AFF Suzuki Cup later this year.
“In some ways I am disappointed with the loss but I cannot fault my players. They gave their best and tried to play, especially in the first forty five minutes I was very happy with them,” said Radojko Avramovic, the chief coach of Singapore.
“We just need to practice more together and for this game, we did not have the opportunity to do that. Some players were coming back from injuries while some were still injured, but those young players who came in they showed their quality.”
Following a strong start from Singapore’s Shi Jiayi which forced a superb save from Neil Etheride, the visitors prised open the lead in the eighth minute through Emelio Caligdong.
With the score at 1-0, the Philippines doubled their lead three minutes into the second half with Philip Younghusband making good on a through ball from Stephan Schrock.
“It was a very satisfying performance from the team. We dominated the game, but should have played the counter more smartly and we could have scored more. It is a massive win for us and gives us a lot of confidence,” added Michael Weiss, the chief coach of the Philippines.
“Singapore played okay, although the final passes were missing. They moved the ball around quite a bit, but the pitch was not ideal for their kind of game. I have to praise our defence too, they worked very well and prevent them (Singapore) from getting clear chances.”
SINGAPORE – Hyrulnizam Juma’at (GK), Baihakki Khaizan, Jufri Taha, Hariss Harun (Safuwan Baharudin 59’), Daniel Bennett (Shaiful Esah 87’); Shi Jiayi (Nazrul Nazari 62’), Shahdan Sulaiman, Mustafic Fahrudin, Shahril Ishak (C) (Shahfiq Ghani 74’), Qiu Li (Safirul Sulaiman 68’) Fazrul Nawaz (Agu Casmir 46’).
PHILIPPINES – Neil Etheridge (GK), Robert Gier, Jason Sabio, James Younghusband (Patrick Reichelt 61’), Philip Younghusband (Denis Wolf 64’), Emelio Caligdong (C) (Misagh Bahadoran 68’), Carlos De Murga (Jason De Jong 90’), Stephan Schrock, Jerry Lucena, Paul Mulders, Jeffrey Chirstiaens.
