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Second-half Young Lions comeback stuns Warriors
Bhaskaran Kunju
info@sleague.com
The Young Lions collected an unexpected come-from-behind win against Singapore Armed Forces on Thursday night at Jalan Besar Stadium.
A rush of goals in a 12-minute spell in the second half overturned a 1-3 half-time deficit, much to the delight of the 1,601 in attendance as the Warriors were left stunned.
Picking up only their second win of the season, and their first against SAFFC in four years, looked to be an unlikely task at kick-off as Young Lions coach V. Sundramoorthy had to leave out key midfielder Luka Savic from the starting eleven.
The young Serbian had picked up a nasty cut in a friendly match and was still sporting bandages around his head.
But despite the odds, the Young Lions started positively, and they needed just 14 minutes to get themselves on the scoresheet.
Fazli Ayob broke free down the right, getting the better of Ivan Lovric, and hit a low hard cross towards Seo Su Jong in the centre of the penalty box.
Seo’s shot was straight at Sharil Jantan in goal, who managed to block the shot with his legs but the ball went towards the lurking Nazrul Ahmad Nazari. The unmarked midfielder reacted quickly to place a looping header into the far corner to give the Young Lions a shock lead.
Gaining much confidence from the lead, the Young Lions looked set to sting their stunned opponents even more.
Just two minutes after scoring, they passed on a good opportunity to double their lead. Seo evaded the offside trap to cut into the penalty box from the left, but his shot was well parried away by the alert Shahril.
Despite looking lacklustre and bested by the Young Lions, the older and more experienced Warriors had an air of assurance in their play.
It was that patience that gifted them the equaliser on 24 minutes. A well-worked one-two with Indra Sahdan Daud paved a path in the centre of the Young Lions’ defence for Ahmad Latiff Khamarudin to burst through, and he easily worked his way into the penalty box and hit a low hard shot that Jasper Chan had no chance of stopping.
With the game back on level terms both teams had to return to the drawing board, but before the Young Lions could even regroup, SAFFC wrested control of the game with another goal just five minutes later from defender Lovric.
An in-swinging free kick from the right of the penalty box was missed by a host of players before reaching the Croat at the far post, who evaded his marker and headed the ball to the far side of the goal for a simple but efficient finish.
Having found themselves on the back foot, the Young Lions looked in shambles as their burst of early enthusiasm drained away. The seasoned SAFFC players took control as they slowed the game down to their pace, and looked comfortable with the direction of the game.
The game was seemingly put out of reach as Park Tae Won completed the easiest of finishes, when a defensive error by Afiq Yunos allowed the Korean to dance past the defence and slide the ball under the onrushing Chan to make it 3-1.
As his team looked to be quickly sinking without a trace, Sundram decided to go for broke by bringing on Hafiz Abu Sujad and Savic in place of Fazli and Izzdin Shafiq at the start of the second half.
Despite being heavily bandaged, the young Serbian proved to be a remarkable gamble, as he showed signs of his potential five minutes from the restart when he played a deep cross towards Khairul Nizam, who nodded the ball across the face of the goal.
Two minutes later the Young Lions found themselves back in the game, and it was Savic who was the architect. His long ball from midfield found Seo, who did well to control the ball and turn Lovric to fire in from close range.
Five minutes later, Savic turned the game on its head once again as he went from playmaker to goalscorer with a screaming shot from 25 yards. The buildup to the goal was just as impressive, involving some slick passing between four different players.
But SAFFC had themselves to blame too. Their offence had been foiled when Ruzaini Zainal scuffed his pass back to the defenders, allowing Raihan Abdul Rahman to pounce on the loose ball and launch a quick counter, which resulted in the goal.
SAFFC pressed forward to maintain an advantage but found it increasingly difficult to cope with the quick counters. At four minutes past the hour mark, they found themselves gaping in disbelief as the Young Lions completed their remarkable comeback.
Shahril was unable to reach for a high ball from a free kick and was legitimately beaten to it by Nizam, who powered his header past the Warriors custodian.
Perhaps it was a case of shellshock, but the SAFFC players looked out of sorts and at times even lethargic. Playing their first game after their AFC Champions League defeat in Japan, the Warriors could not have asked for a worse return.
But the Young Lions were in no mood for mercy and continued their fast-paced attacks, with Hafiz sending a testing shot that soared just over the bar on 72 minutes.
With 12 minutes to go Indra had a great chance to put SAFFC back in the game but his side-footed shot from outside the six-yard box flew high over the bar.
SAFFC coach Richard Bok then tried to add more attacking flair and threw his final roll of the dice when he introduced forward Erwan Gunawan in place of defender Syaiful Iskandar.
But it was Indra again who found himself with a golden opportunity. Taisuke Akiyoshi cut in from the left and laid the ball forward for Indra who, under no pressure, fired his shot wide of the mark.
As the clock ran down, Sundram firmly positioned himself at the end of the technical area, spurring his team on. And despite SAFFC’s efforts, the Young Lions held on for a memorable win.
Speaking after the defeat, Bok hoped that his team could come back stronger and that the result would serve as a wake up call, although he was clearly disappointed with the performance from his charges.
“We had a good first half but the Young Lions played better in the second half,” he said.
“There were good runs and good passing but all it took was one counterattack. We conceded a goal and it changed the game.”
His Young Lions counterpart was relatively reserved despite the victory, but echoed Bok’s analysis of the game.
“It was a game of two halves. First half we played like kids in a park and in the second half we stepped up.
“I don’t mind losing but the effort has to be put in. The first half was just below average.”
When pressed on what he had told his players at half time to inspire a comeback, Sundram replied, “I just made some changes, and told them they must come back and put in a decent performance, not concede three goals like there was no defence at all.
“But soccer is a funny game, you can be 3-0 up and then everything goes against you,” he said, drawing comparison to a UEFA Champions League tie from the night before.
“SAFFC could have easily made it 4-4. They had good chances towards the end.”
The win lifts the Young Lions into eighth place in the table while SAFFC’s indifferent form for the season leaves them at fifth place, six points behind leaders Tampines Rovers. |
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