December 23, 2004

All the talk since Singapore reached the semi-final has been on who will replaced Singapore leading scorer Indra Sahdan as he is suspended for the semi-final first leg clash with Myanmar.

Singapore coach Radojko Avramovic has been left to weigh his options upfront with his best possible replacement Noh Alam Shah still battling to regain fitness.

 Indra, who has scored 3 goals so far at the Tiger Cup including the crucial equaliser in the 1-1 draw with Vietnam, is out of the first leg against Myanmar at the Cheras Stadium in Kuala Lumpur on December 29 after picking up his second yellow card of the tournament in Singapore’s last Group A match against Cambodia.

This is one situation Singapore coach Radojko Avramovic did not wanted as he said losing Indra is a blow but the consolation is that it is only for one-match & we can still have him back for the return leg.

But the biggest woes is the possible absence of Noh Alam Shah, who picked up a painful injury to his left knee while training for the game against Cambodia, as he is the best candidate to replace Indra.

The 24-year-old Tampines Rovers striker had scored the only goal when Singapore defeated Myanmar 1-0 in the Tiger International Festival in Singapore last month & he is keen to play a part in the semi-finals but admit he is fighting to be fit

He said he need to work overtime to get myself fit for Myanmar as this is one game he does not want to miss.

Singapore coach Radojko Avramovic believed Alam Shah can do it as he striker had told him the knee is not as painful as before but everything will be know soon whether Alam Shah will be able to play against Myanmar.

If Alam Shah is unable to recover from the injury, the 2 other options Avramovic may opt to bring are Itimi Dickson & Khairul Amri with both having scored in the Tiger Cup against Cambodia but the best option is Noh Alam Shah.