Fandi Ahmad was a proud coach and father, after watching his Singapore Under-22 side deliver a composed 3-0 Merlion Cup win over the Philippines last night with his two sons among the goalscorers.
The semi-final win sends the Young Lions into tomorrow's final against Thailand, who beat Indonesia 2-1 earlier at the Jalan Besar Stadium yesterday.
"They both just came back and it's good that they helped the team," said Fandi, 57, of his sons, who are both already full internationals. They're team players."
"We had some restrictions so we couldn't play Ikhsan. But when he came in he made a lot of difference, (creating) openings for others.
"I'm very happy for Irfan and Ikhsan, this shows they are at a good level. Hopefully, they can spur the other boys to work harder as well."
Given striker Ikhsan, 20, had arrived from Norway on Tuesday and was jet-lagged, it was no surprise that Fandi opted to bench his younger son.
Despite the absence of Ikhsan, who has netted four goals in 11 games for Norwegian second-tier club Raufoss this season, the Republic took the lead in the first half through Amiruldin Asraf.
The Home United forward stole possession from defender Pete Forrosuelo in the penalty area and easily scored past goalkeeper Michael Asong in the 26th minute.
The hosts looked threatening on set pieces and captain Irfan, 21, was an obvious danger with his 1.88m frame. The centre-back almost scored in the 40th minute but his downward header hit the upright.
Fandi's eldest son made no mistake, though, in the 62nd minute and guided his header past Asong to double Singapore's lead.
Six minutes later, Ikhsan, a half-time substitute, completed a swift counter-attack with a simple tap-in after midfielder Daniel Goh crossed from the right.
Ikhsan was taken off in the 79th minute to preserve him for the Thais, who will pose a stiffer challenge than the Filipinos.
Fandi said: "We are very happy with the results and we get to the final. The beginning stages, we didn't play to our plan and, some of the boys, you could see the jitters in them, especially the younger ones.
"I'm very happy that after the first 20 minutes we picked up our game and started playing football and creating chances from the set pieces, which are our strength.
"But we need to improve on our decision-making and, when we're under pressure, we tend to clear the ball unnecessarily. We should be more composed with the ball.
"Defensively we're still not that tight because we don't really train together, so that needs work."
Man of the Match Irfan added that their time in Mongolia, where Singapore had encouraging performances at the 2020 AFC U-23 Championship qualifiers in March, helped them improve.
"Our players are more experienced now after coming back from Mongolia. I think we fought even harder and we managed to keep cool and play football."
Former Arsenal, Real Madrid and Spain star Jose Antonio Reyes has been killed in a car crash, his hometown club Sevilla said on Saturday. He was 35. Reyes, who shot to fame at Sevilla before a
Former Arsenal and Sevilla star Jose Antonio Reyes dies in
Gareth Bale '100 per cent committed' to Real Madrid and wants to end career with club, says agent. The Wales international is available this summer but has expressed a desire to remain in Madrid
Declan Rice's first West Ham goal secured a 1-0 win over Arsenal in a capital city derby clash at the London Stadium. The victory in Saturday's early kick-off saw the Hammers move up to eighth in
West Ham 1 Arsenal 0: Declan Rice scores first Hammers goal
Home United hope to build on their Community Shield win over Albirex Niigata to kickstart their Singapore Premier League campaign. The two sides faced-off for the first piece of silverware to
Tampines Rovers, Home United and Hougang United looking to
Ramadan Sobhi shanks a great chance from ten yards, out for a throw. And then the league leaders go up the other end, Cahill making up for giving away a penalty by scoring what is surely the
You know, I think Barca will be fine | The Football Ramble
French champions PSG travel to Manchester for the first leg of their Champions League knockout clash with United at Old Trafford. Gigi Buffon has told Paris Saint-Germain to show "a spirit of sacrifice for the team" with Edison Cavani joining Neymar in missing the trip to Manchester United .
ManUtd News - Buffon identifies two problems PSG have ahead
Football: Pochettino loses his cool as Spurs slump, Huddersfield closer to relegation. Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino remonstrates with referee Mike Dean after the match.
Pochettino Loses His Cool as Spurs Slump, Huddersfield Closer
VALENCIA (REUTERS) - Real Madrid's Gareth Bale came off the bench and coolly converted a penalty to secure a 2-1 win at Levante in La Liga on Sunday (Feb 24) as the European champions rode their
Bale penalty gives below-par Real win at Levante - Starr Sports
starrsportsgh.com/2019/02/bale-penalty-gives-below-par-real-win-at-levante/
Real Madrid's Gareth Bale came off the bench and coolly converted a controversial penalty to secure a 2-1 win at Levante in La Liga on Sunday as the European champions rode their luck to stay within nine points of leaders Barcelona.
Bale penalty gives below-par Real win at Levante - Football
"I don't think there is any," Virgil van Dijk tells reporters of his chances of winning the Ballon d'Or after leading Liverpool to a historic sixth Champions League crown.
SBOBET | Premier League: No Warm Welcome for Liverpool in the
blog.ace7556.com/premier-league-no-warm-welcome-liverpool-in-east-end/
Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool need to stay cool, though, as the temperature in the title race is beginning to get rather warm. The Premier League 2019 betting odds will stay with Liverpool as long as they keep winning; the leaders are available at 1.48 while Manchester City are at 2.70 here at SBOBET.
Limerick and Galway face test of credentials as early
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp maintains the Premier League title has not been decided after watching Manchester City take an "expected" big step towards it. Victory over Manchester United at Old
Jürgen Klopp and the Calm Rebuke of Kyle Walker's Trolling
Football: Lukaku double inspires Man United to 3-1 win at
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said Old Trafford is no longer a "scary" place to visit ahead of Wednesday's derby at the home of Manchester United. Victory for City in the Premier League
Manchester United vs. Manchester City: Pep Guardiola says it
football; Manchester United decided to cut ties with Jose Mourinho. After two-and-a-half-years in charge, Jose Mourinho has been given his marching orders and he's only got himself to blame.
Manchester United sack Mourinho - global.espn.com
MILAN (AFP) - Rising Italy star Moise Kean was targeted by racist abuse after he scored for Juventus on Tuesday (April 2) - but teammate Leonardo Bonucci blamed him for inciting the crowd at Cagliari.
Football: Kean scores for Juventus despite racial abuse but
Pep Guardiola is confident his achievements at Manchester City will not be tarnished by UEFA's investigation into alleged Financial Fair Play (FFP) breaches and trusted the club to resolve the
Guardiola trusts Man City to resolve FFP allegations - Reuters
0 Kommentare:
Kommentar veröffentlichen