Man on the spot: Singapore vs. Thailand (1st Leg)
I am back at the National Stadium for a crunching first leg final match between Singapore and Thailand for the ASEAN Cup! Despite it being a working weekday, Singaporeans have come in numbers to support the national team. It is another full house 55,000 strong crowd at Kallang. Across me, there is a small group of Thais at the grandstand hanging their national flag near a wall. Thailand is the strong favourite to beat Singapore tonight. The referee in-charge of today's match is a Malaysian.
Thailand played very well in the first half with their attackers constantly harassing the Singapore defense. They were also very physical and had no hesitation in knocking their opponents off balance to grab the ball. But on the 16th minute, Noh Alam Shah gave Singapore a shocking lead over the Thais. The ball had been bouncing in and out of the Thai penalty area when Alam Shah who was between a few defenders received the ball and quickly sneaked it past the goalkeeper.
At the end of the first half, with Singapore leading at 1-0, Raddy Avramovic could not have been happier. Singapore entered the 2nd half in high spirits believing that a win was on the cards. That hope was shattered when Pipat Tongunlaya timed his run well to beat the offside trap on the 49th minute to go one on one with Lionel Lewis who could only watch helplessly as Tongunlaya dribbled past him to knock the ball into the net.
Controversy ruled from the 82nd minute when Singapore was awarded a penalty for a foul on Noh Alam Shah in the penalty box. The Thai players were furious and they swarmed the referee to question his decision. Meanwhile, the Singaporean fans were cheering for the opportunity to take the lead over Thailand. The penalty kick was still not taken after 5 minutes and the spectators could sense that something was wrong. All of a sudden, the Thais walked off the field together with the referee to the sidelines. Personally, I was confused and thought that the referee actually went off to check the TV replay! (I did not know that it was a blatant walkout by the Thai players until I read the post-match report at Soccernet) The Singaporean fans started jeering the delay and some of them were questioning if the Thais were too afraid to face the penalty kick.
The Singapore players moved back to the field not long after that while the Thais continued arguing with the match officials. The Singapore players took the opportunity to rest, though it looked like they were lazing around the field as if it was a picnic! After much persuasion, the Thai players resumed play. The penalty decision stood and Mustafic Fahrudin bravely converted the chance with a driven smash past the goalkeeper. Fahrudin was truly delighted in scoring his first goal for Singapore. In the end, it was a 2-1 victory for the Lions, much to the delight of the home crowd once more.
This ASEAN Championship Finals was yet another experience of raw football passion for me. The Singapore fans carried on the tradition of the past by doing the Kallang wave repeatedly. Some even improvised the celebratory mood by shredding their tickets and newspapers into confetti for the wind to disperse. Best of all, there was a certain cathartic togetherness as the Singaporean fans collectively called, "Bodoh! Bodoh!" whenever the referee made a decision against their team.
The controversial walkout that the Thais had made had definitely marred the game. Such indisciplined actions were uncalled for even though it was most unfortunate that the referee had made the wrong decision.
The Lions will go into Bangkok with a 1-goal lead. This means that a draw would be sufficient for Singapore to retain their ASEAN Championship trophy. For the Thais, they will need to count on the support of their home fans and their superior football skills to overcome the deficit.
By: Stanley Lee
Photo courtesy of NYconneXions.