SINGAPORE – While much of the attention is deservedly on Ilhan Fandi’s late scissors-kick winner in Singapore’s 2-1 ASEAN Championship opening win against Cambodia on July 24, it is also worth noting the build-up.
Eleven minutes into added time, substitute Song Ui-young made inroads down the right flank and had his jersey tugged by defender Chea Sokmeng. Instead of going down for a free kick, he wriggled free and surged forward to set up Ilhan for the spectacular strike.
Ahead of the world No. 148 Lions’ next Group A match against 201st-ranked Timor-Leste at the Jalan Besar Stadium on July 27, Song told The Straits Times: “We were dominating the game and should have scored, but somehow we were struggling to get the goal.
“I was upset, but also motivated. Perhaps that’s why I didn’t fall and just kept going to make that final pass, and Ilhan scored.”
The 32-year-old’s assist puts the Singapore midfielders’ goal contributions in the spotlight, especially when the Lions have only Ilhan and Shawal Anuar listed as forwards in the 25-man squad.
While both duly found the net against Cambodia, they could certainly do with some help.
Song has eight goals and eight assists in 35 international appearances, but among the midfielders who played against Cambodia, Shah Shahiran, Hami Syahin, Glenn Kweh, Kyoga Nakamura, Jacob Mahler, Harhys Stewart and Farhan Zulkifli combine for 185 caps, 10 goals and 10 assists.
While he would love for his non-strikers to score more, Lions coach Gavin Lee defended their output.
In his 10 games in charge, the afore-mentioned eight midfielders chipped in with six goals and five assists. Shawal’s opener against Cambodia also came from a through-ball by defender Lionel Tan.
Lee, who praised his team’s strong mentality to get the late winner, said: “The strikers’ job is to score and they did that. We have two very capable strikers, so it’s about how we can feed them more to best utilise their assets.
“Song contributed a lot in the Asian Cup qualifying campaign and Kyoga popped up with two goals in the previous ASEAN Championship. It’s about getting the boys into positions where they can succeed.”
Read Full Article At Source
