[Instant Reaction] SEA GAMES Semi-Final - Singapore 1-4 Vietnam [edited]

Cubs' coach Terry Pathmanathan (above) - unfazed by the criticism of the widely perceived "negative" display of football against the Laotians on Thursday.

PREVIEW
I hope all the dust had settled by now, following the public outcry of the "negative" display of football by both the national U23 (or CUBS) and their Laotian counterparts on Thursday night.

To be honest, due to some prior arranged commitments I did not catch the match on "livestreaming", and felt it doesn't make any sense to watch the delayed telecast of the game upon received those messages, SMSes I gathered after the game was over.

Basically, what matters to us is that we had qualified for the final-four and met the target we set for the Cubs before leaving for Laos, therefore, the utmost agenda is to see what can the Cubs achieved from here.

Nonetheless, I did notice something that whenever any of the national teams performed badly, tonnes of criticism would be targeted at the team which something I thought, at times, are out of focus when they pinpointed all the way down to stuff like players' development, the league set-up, etc.

While things maybe intertwined here and there, let us stay focused on the match itself and please do curb your emotion before things do get out of hand.

Of course, from another perspective that if "TOUCH WOOD" we can't progress to the next round after the Monday, I'm sure the critics out there be out in full force to justify their claims they made in the first place.

So Cubs, you hear the ruckus and now it's time to show your fullest potential.

SOME THOUGHTS FROM THE READERS

No point of playing a defensive tactic and wait for the opponents to score.

Just look at Thailand it tells you that to be offensive is the best way, maybe the cubs should ensure to have a comfortable lead before they play with a lone striker.” JC, a Lions supporter

The hardest part of the match against Vietnam, for these Young Lions, is going to be re-focussing on a hard game again after the ludicrous way their last group match was played against Laos.

With four players back after a rest and some intensive training behind them we must hope the players can get into gear from the start and not concede any early goals; if they do get their noses in front they must keep them there by nagging at the heels of the Vietnam players to stop them getting anywhere for the rest of the game.

The ‘one game at a time’ mentality is important here. This batch of home-grown players may be even better next time around, it’s true, but if they can achieve success in this tournament it will be a huge shot in the arm for our local game in using local players who will eventually wear the national team colours in the senior ranks.

We can only wish them all the best and a to find the desire to work for something worthwhile over this match and the next” Greenrover - a long time observer of Singapore football

I think the game will go into a penalty shoot-out. We (definitely) need some luck in this match (against the Vietnamese).

However, I think it's going to be Singapore vs Malaysia in the final, if luck is on our side, but my prediction is Malaysia to take the gold medal because during a friendly (that took place few months ago), they beat us (convincingly).

Furthermore, they upset the odds by defeated the Thais (in the group stages that knocked the eight-time defending champions out the tournament).” Taufiq, student

AFTERMATH
I was not expecting much from this game.

Actually and to be honest, my mindset was to accept whatever it would turn out to be.

This was the same referee (pictured above from TV screen) that caused the Malaysians to lose their cool the other day.

After all, prior to the kick-off, the Cubs already achieved what they were asked to do in the first place - a place in the semi-final.

Alas, the 4-1 outcome came as a lump in the throat for many fans were felt let down by some refereeing decisions that went against us, the lack of striking options, etc.

(Snap from TV) Vietnamese supporters invaded the pitch after the game.

Probably, the most damaging factor was the exit of the spiritual Shaiful Esah due to a knock he sustained in the Vietnamese box in the second half.

On the hindsight, we still get to keep the core of the team for at least two more SEA Games (not before we fix the problem on the right).

ANOTHER NEW RECORD SET (1,781 on 14th December 2009)

Thank you very much for logging on to this blog and helped to set another high for the daily viewership, which unfortunately, always took place when any of the national teams had been the losing side :( (hopefully, this would revert in times to come).

FROM THE BLOGOSPHERE
At the meantime, I spotted two well-written review of the match as fellow:-

• Terry’s over-reliance on his favoured few leads to Singapore’s demise
  
• Vietnam 4 Singapore 1: Big Defensive Lesson for Young Lions
  

These two blogs can be found on my "Blog List" menu on the left.