FRIENDLY
Singapore 4
Solomon Islands 3
If the main aim of Singapore's international friendly against Solomon Islands last night was to ensure their new coach Tatsuma Yoshida started his tenure with a win, the Lions got the job done.
Barely, though, with a 4-3 win at the National Stadium.
But, if the larger objective was to get the Lions to play possession-based attacking football, Yoshida knows he has a lot of work to do after celebrating his 45th birthday today, as he rated the Lions' performance a "six or seven out of 10".
To be fair, the Japanese tactician was appointed only on May 30 and had just four training sessions.
He said: "It is a good result and a positive start. Our boys played a little nervously, made some mistakes, and we have to improve on some things, but they showed good attitude.
NERVY START
Our boys played a little nervously, made some mistakes, and we have to improve on some things, but they showed good attitude... I'm used to seeing players who train well but become nervous in games.
TATSUMA YOSHIDA, national coach, after his first game in charge of Singapore.
"We couldn't control the play and couldn't stop the opponents' attack in midfield, and we panicked a little. We didn't interchange well and we need to learn to hold our defence first.
"I'm used to seeing players who train well but become nervous in games. These are things we cannot improve on in one or two days but I trust my players."
Singapore, who started off with a 4-1-4-1 formation, got off to a flyer in front of around 1,500 fans when Faris Ramli headed home Shahdan Sulaiman's cross in the fourth minute.
But Singapore strangely sat back after the bright start, as both sides lacked ideas and urgency.
The Solomon Islands looked the likelier team to score towards the end of the half as Izwan Mahbud had to be alert to thwart Joses Nawo twice in two minutes.
The Lions failed to heed the warning signs and were made to pay just three minutes after the restart when Feni Gagame grabbed the equaliser.
Singapore's sloppiness in possession allowed the visitors to score in the 58th and 75th minutes, through Andrew Abba and Benjamin Totori respectively.
But Yoshida's men fought back each time they went behind, equalising twice through Shahdan Sulaiman's free kick in the 68th minute, and Quak's finish off substitute Khairul Amri's pass in the 77th minute.
Singapore captain Hariss Harun, whose sloppy back pass in the 78th minute resulted in Izwan being stretchered off after clashing into Nawo, made amends in the 86th minute by slotting home the winner from point-blank range after Solomon Islands goalkeeper Philip Mango dropped Quak's corner kick.
While the 28-year-old, with 10 international goals, was pleased with how the team fought back, Hariss called for a better showing against Myanmar on Tuesday.
He said: "It is important we got the win. We did it the hard way, which is not ideal. We have to work on controlling the game better. I think it was a case of being comfortable and overconfident after the early goal and we were punished.
"The boys enjoy playing such attacking football but we need to remember our defensive responsibilities too, so tonight was a good lesson we have to learn from."
Solomon Islands coach Wim Rijsbergen said: "We gave a couple of goals away and allowed Singapore back into the game. We have guys who come from very low standards and we have to learn in international football, every mistake can lead to a goal."
Pep Guardiola believes Manchester City have raised the bar in English football and thanked Liverpool for helping them come close to it once again. City will become the first defending champions to
Manchester City's Pep Guardiola rejects Jürgen Klopp's
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has an incredible relationship with Manchester United's players, according to midfielder Ander Herrera, although the 29-year-old also insists Jose Mourinho made him a better
Why Ole Gunnar Solskjaer could keep the Man Utd job
Tottenham Hotspur To Play Crystal Palace In First Game At New Stadium. Sun Mar 17 2019 17:49:27 GMT+0000 (GMT) So, Spurs' new stadium will host two games within six days, both under the lights
Spurs to host Palace in first game at new stadium
Teenage sensation Moise Kean scored the winner to put Juventus one step away from an eighth consecutive Serie A title on Saturday as a 2-1 comeback win over AC Milan pushed the champions 21 points
Kean winner puts Juventus on brink of Serie A title - Breitbart
Ole gives stars 'licence to express', says Yorke. Players like (from left) Ander Herrera, Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford are among those who have shone since the appointment of Ole Gunnar
Solskjaer has lifted shackles off strikers, says Yorke
Arsenal back to winning ways with 2-1 victory at Huddersfield Alex Iwobi deflected strike gave Arsenal 16th-minute lead Alexandre Lacazette's 10th league goal of season made it two Late own goal from Sead Kolasinac was consolation for hosts Arsenal still without away Premier League clean sheet all season Huddersfield bottom, 13 points from safety; Arsenal stayed sixth Arsenal host
Soccer: Iwobi, Lacazette lead Arsenal to win at Huddersfield
Pele recovering well after kidney stone operation
The deadline for Cardiff City to pay the first instalment of the £15m transfer fee for Emiliano Sala has been extended until Wednesday, 27 February. The Bluebirds were due to make the first
Nantes complain to Fifa that Cardiff have not paid Emiliano
TOKYO, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Japan captain Maya Yoshida warned his young teammates that they will need to handle the pressure that comes with being Asian Cup favourites as the four-time winners
Pressure comes with the territory warns Japan's Yoshida
Football: Liverpool stun Barcelona 4-0 in second leg to reach Champions League final with 4-3 aggregate win Liverpool fans in Singapore and around the world in awe after improbable comeback.
Liverpool News, Scores, Schedule, Stats, Teamsheet - soccer
Football: Chelsea face partial stadium closure over alleged racist chanting by fans as Uefa opens case A general view inside Stamford Bridge stadium. PHOTO: REUTERS
Chelsea face stadium closure as UEFA opens disciplinary
GOLTV is a Soccer focused Cable network which serves both the English and Spanish speaking soccer fans in the United States. GolTV USA - Solskjaer aims to replicate spirit of '99 at Manchester United Ole Gunnar Solskjaer hopes to replicate the spirit of Manchester United's treble-winners at Old Trafford as he plots a route back to the top for
0 comments:
Post a Comment