Sham Mohamed fights for the ball in the first half against Laos.

 

SINGAPORE, 9 JULY 2022 – Singapore end their Asean Football Federation U19 Boys Championship 2022 campaign with a 3-1 loss to Laos on Saturday afternoon.

 

Laos scored the first goal in the fifth minute through a free kick from defender Phoutthavong Sangvilay. The Singapore team surged forward in response, with midfielder Ryu Hardy coming close from long-range on two occasions. Tricky winger Ali Manaf then forced a good save from the keeper after cutting in from the right. Minutes after, he won a free kick with his trickery, but his shot failed to trouble the keeper.

 

The momentum was with Fadzuhasny Juraimi’s side, but they lost concentration and conceded right at the stroke of halftime through Sisouphonh Ackhavong. The forward timed his run well and raced onto a defence splitting pass before calmly shooting past Firman Nabil.

 

After the restart, Ali Manaf, again, won a free kick with his trickery. Trying to catch the goalkeeper off guard, he swung in a curler to the near post, however it went just inches wide. Laos all but killed the game when they scored their third goal in the 70th minute. Conceding a free kick on the left,  the cross found Damoth Thongkhamsavath whose glancing header was saved by Firman. However, the goalkeeper’s save fell straight to substitute Athit Louanglath who easily slotted the ball into the net.

 

Singapore did pull one back in the 89th minute after good work from substitute Izrafil Yusof. Surging forward from deep, he glided past four Laotian defenders before his cut back found Khairin Nadim who finished smartly.

 

Coach Fadzuhasny said after the match: “Given the circumstances, the boys tried their hardest to carry out the game plan. They know their limitations, yet they ran till they dropped. My focus now is to conduct a thorough analysis of our time here in Jakarta so we can build on the foundations laid during this tournament in preparation for the Asian Football Confederation qualifiers in September.”

 

The Singapore team will be flying back tomorrow and they will be expected to return just after midnight.

 

Singapore: Firman Nabil (GK), Kieran Teo, Scott Crichton, Farid Jafri, Raoul Suhaimi (Junki Yoshimura 83′), Glenn Ong (Asis Ijilral 71′), Ryu Hardy (Syafi Hilman 83′), Ali Manaf (Irfan Iskandar 61′), Ilyasin Zayan, Khairin Nadim, Sham Mohamed (Izrafil Yusof 71′)

Unused subs: Rauf Erwan, Aniq Raushan, Aqil Yazid, Amir Rashid, Hilman Norisham, Kieran Aryan, Zakaria Syari

 

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