Carrying a 3-1 deficit into Bangkok has done little to dampen Singapore’s spirits ahead of Tuesday night’s ASEAN Championship semi-final second leg against Thailand at Rajamangala Stadium.
“We know we are two goals down, but I’ve said it before — this is a group of fighters, and we’re going to go out there and fight. Whether it’s 90 minutes or 120 minutes, we’re going to give our all,” said Lions top scorer Ilhan Fandi, who has racked up four goals in the campaign, with a crucial 84th-minute strike in the first leg at the Jalan Besar stadium.
Lions head coach Gavin Lee was equally determined, insisting his side would continue to fight until the final whistle.
“We are fighters, like Ilhan said. As long as there’s still a minute left to play, we will never give in. And tomorrow night, fortunately for us, we’ve got 90 more minutes. A lot can be done in football in 90 minutes. I’ve seen this squad score two goals in three minutes before, so what is 90 minutes?” he said.
But in keeping with his usual mantra, Lee stressed that his side must remain calm and composed as they look to score at least twice against the Thais and overturn the deficit.
“At the same time, as the clock winds down tomorrow, we cannot allow it to affect us. That is a very strong possibility tomorrow. If we score an early goal, people might get under stress, so we’ve just got to deal with ourselves, manage our expectations and manage our intentions.”
Attempting to score against record champions Thailand while keeping things tight at the back will be a big ask for any team in the ASEAN Championship, but Lee stressed that his side would not simply sit back and rely on a soak-and-strike approach.
“If you look at our past history against China, Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand, we haven’t just soaked and struck. We’ve done what we need to do in the different phases of the game and tried to execute them well. Against good teams, naturally, I think you’re going to be forced back a little more.”
“People have told me that we dominated the Thailand game in terms of style and possession. So the question is, why did we still concede so many goals with that much possession? That was something we needed to answer internally, and we spoke about it tonight. It gives us a chance to work a little more on closing the door at the back, while at the same time creating more,” Lee explained.
Equally resolute ahead of Tuesday’s match was Thailand head coach Anthony Hudson, who stressed that there would be “no complacency going into this game” and that his side must approach the second leg as if the tie were still nil-nil.
“(In the first leg), I felt we didn’t do enough to stay calm on the ball and keep possession, and that’s something we want to improve… We had six or seven young players in there, and there’s a lot of pressure on them. There were some nerves as well, which hopefully are now out of the way, and I think that played a part too,” Hudson added.
The Englishman also hinted at possible personnel changes from the team that started in the first leg.
“I feel very fortunate that we have a really good group of players who have worked so well since the first day of camp, and they’ve given me a lot of confidence. So I think that’s an advantage — we can make some changes. We’ll see a few players come in and freshen up the group.”
Swedish-born striker Patrik Gustavsson, who came on for Teerasak Poeiphimai and assisted Seksan Ratree’s goal, will be hoping to build on the confidence gained from Thailand’s 3-1 victory in the opening encounter.
“That gave us a lot of confidence, and I hope we can carry that into tomorrow’s game. But as Coach Anthony said, there are still 90 minutes left to play. We have to give 100 per cent because they’re not going to make it easy for us.”
