BoLASEPaKO.com - A Blog on Singapore Football

Lions (red) failed to capitalize the possession Honestly, things were looking bright from the start before the lack of bite in front of goal saw Singapore walked away with a narrow 2-1 win over Cambodia in the joint World Cup/Asian Cup Qualifiers played at Kallang last evening. Several changes were made in this fixture with the notable absentees from the Lions' start list such as Shahril Ishak, Fazrul Nawaz, etc. making way for the returning of Hariss Harun (as skipper), Safuwan Baharudin from suspension alongside the introduction of Faris Ramli and Sahil Suhaimi in the starting eleven. Hariss Harun (left) was named as skipper at the start Safuwan Baharudin (21) played in advancing position The transformation from the lacklustre outing against Afghanistan was clearly for all to see with the Lions showing more fluency in their offenses by placing Safuwan in an more advancing position while maintaining the backline duo of Baihakki Khaizan and Madhu Mohana. However,

Teams lined up for the national anthems (Ko Po Hui) Hardly an inspiring game for those who paid dearly (to some) and braced themselves amid the hazy uncertainty to turn out at Kallang for this World Cup Qualifiers fixture between Singapore and Afghanistan. Frankly to say the absence of both Safuwan Baharudin and Hariss Harun was the reason behind the boring display from the Lions may not exactly tell the story. True enough, Izzddin Shafiq did not fit in rightfully into the void left behind by the suspended Johor Darul Tazkim midfielder and the one-time Melbourne City loanee proved to be the missing jigsaw in the backline marshalled by Baihakki Khaizan and Madhu Mohana, yet the culprit laid on the lack of offensive plays that cut lone striker Khairul Amri an isolated figure upfront. The usual stubborn deployment by Coach Bernd Stange for playing skipper Shahril Ishak (even though, he had been starting from the bench after the AFF Suzuki Cup debacle) behind the lone striker and