AFF Suzuki Cup: 3-1 as Hapless Singapore CRUSHED out by Malaysia at Kallang

We are OUT and LOST the Cup ....

Malaysia were clearly the more dominant side with their possession and fast closing up play that barely gave Singapore a breather in the first half.

The absence of Shahdan Sulaiman in the engine room was pretty obvious with the Lions lacked the creative flow upfront to deem Khairul Amri a lonely figure facing Malaysian custodian Khairul Fahmi Che Mat in the box, as both Fazrul Nawaz and Faris Ramli on both flanks looked ineffective to prick open the stubborn wall of the visitors.

Hariss (right) shield the ball from "Mat Yo"

Much credit to Hariss Harun whom Coach Stange made the right decision to keep him in the usual holding position to keep things checked in the midfield to lighten the load of the otherwise stretched Singapore defence.

However, the game of football is all about scoring more goals than your opponents in order to win the game, which the Harimau Malaya did it just right to seal the night.

And it proved to be a sucker punch for the home team when the first goal of the night came from ace striker Safee Sali just past the hour mark.

Safee (10) let his feet do the talking

With the tattered Republic backline fully exploited in the box, the unmarked Selangor-born striker, who seems undisturbed for embroiled in a pre-match incident that went viral on social media, stabbed home with text book finishing from inside right.

A glimpse of hope was given to the near capacity faithful crowds when Amri finally broke the duck in 82nd minute amid a defensive slip-up in the Malaysians' six-yard box to tap home from close range.

But the fairy tale ending didn't end in favour of the men in red when a controversial penalty was awarded in the stoppage that drew a huge protest from both on and off the field.

However, the referee stood firm in his decision and for the second time in the tournament, Singapore found themselves conceded a goal from the spot in injury time with Safiq Rahim making no mistake during the execution.

Fazrul (10) should be in box not flank

Safuwan (21) switched to upfront in 2nd half proved costly

Adding salt to the wound was what it happened in a last ditch attempt to seek for the elusive equalizer, the entire Singapore team committed themselves in the Malaysian half that saw another recalled Malaysian veteran placing the icing on the cake for another exploitation on the porous defence when Indra Putra Mahayuddin netted home the third goal for his side.

With that strike had effectively knocked the south side of the Causeway out of the tournament and any hopes of retaining the regional supremacy.

A relieved Malaysian coach Dollah Salleh greeted the waiting press after the match after this significant win that is considered quite an achievement for the man who spent part of his growing years in Sembawang area.

Coach Stange's contract ends next year in 2015

Said the former Pahang FA coach:"We gave away the cheap goal (Amri's then equalizer in the 82nd), which I think the 'keeper should have save it and thought we were finished then,

"I knew that Singapore will play a defensive game and told my team to be careful during the counter-attacks."

"In the first half, we were attacking but nothing came out and I say to my players at half time the need to push four, five players into the 18-yard box in order to score and win the game.

"I attributed this win to our attitude that we never give up and the boys knew they had to score one goal to win this game and we fought till the end." concluded Coach Dollah who only took over hot seat in June.

Police keep things in order after the match

Facing the defeat to their fiercest rivals in their new home is indeed a bitter pill to swallow when Singapore coach Bernd Stange took his seat facing the grilling media after the match that was marred by missile throwing incidents targeted the match officials.

"Today, both teams started slow with not many opportunities in the game and we didn't play for a draw." said the former Belarus national coach in his opening statement.

"We did some risky changes that brought us back to the way and scored the necessary goal (by Amri), but unfortunately we conceded a penalty in the injury time and it turned into an empty dream for us,

"I feel sorry for the fans who turned out to support us for failing to deliver more, although I am not so disappointed with the performance and we have to take the right conclusion for Singapore football (from this match)."