The Harimau Malaya’s growing cohort of naturalised players proved decisive as Malaysia edged Singapore 2-1 at Bukit Jalil Stadium, handing Singapore interim head coach Gavin Lee a loss on his first match in charge of the Lions.
With an influx of foreign-born talent joining the 125th-ranked Harimau Malaya in recent months, Singapore struggled to contain their opponents, having previously played out a 0-0 draw at the same venue last December.
“I think in terms of the fight and performance, there were some good ingredients there, but unfortunately, we didn’t get the win we really wanted,” Lee said. “We were pushed to our limits and kept on our toes for 94 to 95 minutes and that was a very important preparation for ahead of our Asian Cup qualifiers against India.”
“We should trust ourselves a little bit more. I thought there were some very good phases from us, both in attack and defence, but it’s just about repeating it, and I think that requires a little bit of calmness and trust in what we do. But, it’s the first step in our journey and I’m sure we will continue to improve,” Lee added, as his team prepares for a double-header against India in October’s Asian Cup qualifiers.
In front of a crowd of over 22,000, the hosts played on the front foot early on, dominating possession and suffocating Singapore with a relentless high press.
In the 26th minute, Brazil-born Endrick dos Santos flicked the ball over the defence to England-born midfielder Stuart Wilkin, who was filling in at right wing-back. From a tight angle, Wilkin fired his shot into the roof of the net for his seventh international goal.
Meanwhile, Singapore’s forward line was starved of meaningful service from the midfield and could only carve out one attempt in the first period.
Malaysia doubled their tally in the 55th minute as Wilkin turned provider when he fizzed a ball into the six-yard box for Joao Figueiredo to tap home.
“It’s unfortunate, I think the two goals we got drawn out a little bit. For the second one, we could have dealt with the cross a little bit better. But these are lessons and we’re going to take them and make sure we improve from them,” Lee added.
It wasn’t until the introduction of forwards Jordan Emawive and Ilhan Fandhi in the 70th minute that Singapore’s attack sprang back to life. Just two minutes later, Ilhan silenced the home crowd with a thunderous strike from distance to halve the deficit.
“I think today’s performance was good. We were just really unlucky. Malaysia is a really good side as well, but I think we have to improve even more for the upcoming qualifiers,” said Ilhan.
“We just have to look at what we did wrong and we have to come back stronger, most importantly, for the next game against India.”
Right back Ryhan Stewart found himself isolated on the right wing in the 90th minute, but could not find the right delivery into the box as opposition keeper Muhammad Haziq Nadzli smothered the cross gratefully.
Singapore will round off their Asian Cup qualifying preparations with a closed-door friendly at home to Myanmar next Tuesday (September 9). The Lions currently sit top of the group in the Asian Cup qualifiers with two games played after registering a 0-0 home draw with Hong Kong in March and a 2-1 away win to Bangladesh in June.
