[Telegram Chat] - COACH OGURA'S MIXED BAG OF RESULTS AHEAD OF AFF ME CUP
It is not uncommon to hear the chorus of disapproval from the masses after any less-than-convincing performance from the Singapore national football team.
The same thing happened after the Lions concluded their friendly fixtures of late against Myanmar and Chinese Taipei at the National Stadium.
Using these two fixtures as a final tuning up before the biennial showpiece, the Asean Championship, aka AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup (AFF ME Cup), Coach Tsutomu Ogura prioritised experimenting with some new tactics and formations, which resulted in a scrappy 3-2 win over the "Chinthe" before succumbing to their third defeat to the Blue Wings on the same scoreline since 2017.
Apart from the first half against the Myanmarese, when the Lions took an early lead from Farhan Zulkifli, the Lions were literally goal-shy despite being the dominant side of the two in that half.
It was a different story when the match (highlights above from Mediacorp), in front of 6,061, resumed with Myanmar replying with two quick goals to test the resilience of the hosting side, who launched a late assault to turn things around with the equaliser from Lion City Sailors' hotshot Shawal Anuar in the 84th minute and the winning strike from Naqiuddin Eunos of Geylang International two minutes later.
The victory was the first international win for Coach Ogura since he took office in February.
Apart from the screamer from Christopher Tiao in the first half that gifted them the lead, the two other goals by Chinese Taipei were due to some careless defending.
The two goals by Shawal and Irfan Najeeb in the closing minutes proved too little too late, as it is back to the drawing board for Coach Ogura and his panel before they are due to take on Cambodia in their AFF ME Cup opener on 11th December.
The same thing happened after the Lions concluded their friendly fixtures of late against Myanmar and Chinese Taipei at the National Stadium.
Using these two fixtures as a final tuning up before the biennial showpiece, the Asean Championship, aka AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup (AFF ME Cup), Coach Tsutomu Ogura prioritised experimenting with some new tactics and formations, which resulted in a scrappy 3-2 win over the "Chinthe" before succumbing to their third defeat to the Blue Wings on the same scoreline since 2017.
A SCRAPPY WIN OVER MYANMAR
Understandably, the performances from these two fixtures aren't convincing enough to suggest the four-time Asean champions are ready for the bigger test.Apart from the first half against the Myanmarese, when the Lions took an early lead from Farhan Zulkifli, the Lions were literally goal-shy despite being the dominant side of the two in that half.
It was a different story when the match (highlights above from Mediacorp), in front of 6,061, resumed with Myanmar replying with two quick goals to test the resilience of the hosting side, who launched a late assault to turn things around with the equaliser from Lion City Sailors' hotshot Shawal Anuar in the 84th minute and the winning strike from Naqiuddin Eunos of Geylang International two minutes later.
The victory was the first international win for Coach Ogura since he took office in February.
DEFENSIVE LAPSES AGAINST CHINESE TAIPEI
Sadly, the triumph did not inspire the Lions further when they took on Chinese Taipei four days later at the same venue (highlights below from Mediacorp).Apart from the screamer from Christopher Tiao in the first half that gifted them the lead, the two other goals by Chinese Taipei were due to some careless defending.
The two goals by Shawal and Irfan Najeeb in the closing minutes proved too little too late, as it is back to the drawing board for Coach Ogura and his panel before they are due to take on Cambodia in their AFF ME Cup opener on 11th December.
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