October 24, 2004

After such a sensation result& a equally brilliant performance with the Singapore Selection cruising to a 5-2 win over their Thai Selection counterparts, it was unavoidable to have an effect on National coach Radojko Avramovic night

With a smile the Serbo-Montenegrin said all the players tried their best today. He is happy with the attitude of the players & they showed that he was right in selecting them

But more importantly than the result was the performance as the Singapore Selection side could have scored double figures with wave after wave of attacks on the Thai goal, especially after Yuttajak Konjan had been sent off midway through the second half.

The match started with Singapore taking the early initiative, & it was no surprise when they put themselves ahead as defender Daniel Bennett freekick deflected off the Thai wall into goal, leaving keeper Narit Taweekul stranded. Singapore did not let up even with the lead & kept up the pressure. The three-pronged attack of Itimi Dickson, Masrezwan Masturi and Noh Alam Shah continued to raid the Thai defence with their neat passing & penetrative running. Dickson created the second goal as he release Masrezwan down the left flank with an incisive ball. The Rams forward cut the perfect ball back for Alam Shah to convert Singapore’s second goal.

Avramovic threw on a new look frontline in the second half, with Farizal Basri replacing the effervescent but only just recovering from injury Alam Shah & exciting young prospect Khairul Amri taking up Jamil Ali’s left wing role.

Just as he did in Singapore’s 2-0 victory over India last week, Amri made his mark quickly. Dickson bamboozled his way past 2 Thais on the right, floated his cross to the far post & 19-year-old Amri made it 3-0 with a diving header across a bewildered defence and into goal

2 minutes later though, Thailand pulled one back as the Singapore Selection defence was caught napping with Thai captain Jakkrit Bunkham left unmarked in the box to slam his shot high past Hassan. It looked as if the Thais had dealt themselves a real blow when star midfielder Konjan picking up his second yellow card for needlessly hacking Dickson down from behind. But while the front four of Farizal, Masrezwan, Amri & Dickson were combining superbly with a string of sweet passing moves, they denied themselves & the crowd the satisfaction of racking up a cricket score with some abysmal finishing. Singapore was punished as Wathasan Nathasan tumble in the box from Ridhuan Muhammad’s challenge & then pick himself up to convert the subsequent penalty.

With the score 3-2, the Singapore frontline finally got into the act late into the game again. With 4 minutes left, Dickson got the goal his performance deserved as he sliced through the heart of the Thai defence, outwitting &  outmuscling his way to a one-on-one with Thai substitute keeper Kritsakorn Kerdphon & finishing with aplomb. Farizal, who had missed a host of chances had his redemption a minute later as he tapped home the fifth goal from captain Goh Tat Chuan’s generous pass in the box.