National Teams – Age-group ● Mar 22, 2019
Fandi disappointed with U22s draw
ULAANBAATAR, 22 MARCH 2019 – Head Coach Fandi Ahmad believes his Under-22 side could have got more than just a point in their Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U23 qualifier against Hong Kong earlier today afternoon.
The Group G opener ended in a 1-1 draw after Hong Kong took the lead on 52 minutes through Tsui Wang Kit, only for Singapore to swiftly equalise through defender Lionel Tan a minute later.
Amiruldin Asraf, Hami Syahin and Joshua Pereira all came close to finding the back of the net but Fandi’s charges just could not find a second goal at MFF Stadium.
“We are quite disappointed with the result,” Fandi said at the post-match press conference. “I thought we could have won the game. We created more chances and had good shots at goal that were saved.
“It was a tough game today, trying to adapt to the situation here but it was a good game for us and Hong Kong. Our boys stood strong and played hard until the end.”
With only one day to recover and prepare for the next match against DPR Korea, Fandi has called on the team to display their fighting spirit and go all out for victory.
“I know they (DPR Korea) have been training very hard for three weeks, according to their coach, and we must be prepared on our end,” he said.
“They are a strong team (and) we are going into this game as underdogs… Hopefully we can do better and get the three points.”
The match between Singapore and DPR Korea will kick off at 1pm on Sunday 24 March.
