What can i say, yesterday's match has to be one of the most nail-bitting, hair-raising and seat breaking matches i've watched till date. Fortunately, i had the company of a football loving Ms. S to join me in the celebrations and thrill of watching a match live and in person at the stadium. =) To all those who went, you would have agreed with me rather unanimously that the match was definitely memorable and exciting as hell!
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Prior to the match, my dad had problems sending Ms. S and myself to the stadium due to the overwhelming, sell-out crowd at the National Stadium. All dressed in red, there were streams after streams of people making a beeline from Kallang MRT to the Stadium. Cars were not spared either, hapless cars, trapped in the ensuing horde of traffic had problems manuevering through the tight gaps and some resorted to weaving in and out of traffic so as to be able to scrape through cars - just barely.
It was a classic scene from any Big Match. Sell out crowds, electric atmosphere and fierce rivalry set the tempo and atmosphere for what was to be one of the most electric matches i've seen Singapore played till date. Not since the Malaysian Cup have i actually been to a full-house at the Kallang Stadium to cheer on the lions. Just years post Malaysia Cup, the National team failed to packed the stadium due to less than satisfactory performance. Not the mention that the 4-0 drubbing of SIngapore at the hands of Malaysia, right in our very own home, in front of a equally sell-out crowd made it worse. The nation lost faith in the team. But today was different, you could see it in the faces of the fans. WE KNEW WE COULD WIN THIS.
Malaysian detractors often say (and i've been reading Malaysian blogs and their newspapers) that the goal by Hardi Jaafar in the 54th minute during the first leg was Spectacular, sensational and "one of the best goals of the tournament". With no offence to any "Abangs" i would like to differ. From a very neutral POV, i felt that it was a rather lucky goal. In that, i believe, it was a very badly kicked cross that somehow or another, found its way into the net. I'm not here to convince you of that fact. By watching the video, you would have agreed with me too.
Anyways, back to yesterday's match. Yes the atmosphere was good and the fans definitely held nothing back to show who they were supporting and who they wanted to win. It was quite obvious.
The Kallang Wave, the Kallang Roars and the Thunder Legs all were back in full strength ala the Malaysia Cup days of yore when coming to Kallang was coming to the Gallows for any team from Malaysia. If i had a chance to relive that good old days againg, yesterday was that.
I filmed this, sitting at the corner of the stadium just prior to the kick off of the second half. I apologise for the grainy image near the end. =)
Ms. S and i finally reached the stadium at 6.15, by then it was so packed with people, we had to squeeze and slip our way in and out of families to eventually get ourselves to the entrance. The atmposphere in the stadium was nothing short of raccous. People were cheering, buying kerpoks and walking around in red. It really made me relive my younger days when i watched matches at Kallang with my dad.
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So it was to be about and hour and a half of anxious waiting till the match started. More Kallang waves and more Kallang roars set the tempo for the crowd of fans. Then something peculiar happened, some flag tottering Malaysian fans appeared out of nowhere and immediately, those cheers morphed into collective Boos that filled the stadium almost immediately.
Well, if they always said that Singapore was like a pimple, a sea of red. Then i'm sorry my dear Abangs, today you were the Pus in that very pimple. We were gonna squeeze you out dry. Haha.
Disclaimer : the term "pus" is used in this context with relevance to us being "Pimples". It is in no way degratorty and is used entirely in jest.
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The first half i felt, really belonged to SIngapore. We were excellent down the flanks, creative and at the same time, speedy and decisive. The defence held on well too, winning the ball almost every single time Malaysia had possession. The defence could really wrestle the ball effectively from the Malaysians. A few fluffed chances if not Singapore could have been in the lead and subsequently a few scares from the Pus camp as well. But the score at half-time was 0-0.
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The second half was equally if not more exciting than the first. Precious let crack a fiery rocket in the dying miutes of regulation time only for it to be tipped off my the M'sian keeper - barely. If it had gone in, the game would have been sealed for Singapore. I was soundly impressed with the way Daniel Bennet, Precious, Shi Jia Yi and Muhd Ridhuan played today. The right wingers were fast and decisive, always up to the task of wrestling the ball away from the Malaysians and winning it back every time they lost the ball. Played the M;sian defence a fool a couple of time with the help of a few nifty one-to-ones with eachother and spun the Malaysian defence into confusion. But the Malaysian defence were suffice to say, up to it at times as they knew how to close in on an attacker, but that was where SIngapore thrived. When Malaysian defenders were closing in on a plyer, in this case, i would name Shi Jia Yi, he knew how to run around in circles, while still holding possession of the ball and finally put it out long and wide to the flanks for the right winger to deliver in a cross. It was spectacular. They knew how to thrill the crowds.
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My guess is, for the pus camp, many nearly died from cathartic infarctions (that is heart attack for those who do not know) seeing thier goal constantly being attacked relentlessly by the aggresive and never-say-die combo of the defence and the right wing.
in the 54th minute however, Malaysia drew first blood via a hard shot down their right flank. The ball was caught by Lionel, but it slipped and subsequently trickled its way into the net, despite Lionel's vain attempts at pouncing on the ball. The Pimple camp went dead quiet and silence was resonating throughout the stadium. For once, the Malaysians were cheering, chanting and singing. The players lost a little focus after that and the Malaysians charged with renew vigor and spirit. However, the defence could always be counted on to hold back and fluff out any Malaysian attackers.
However, it was not to be a lead that Malaysia could hold on to. 23 minutes later, in the 73rd minute, after a series of excellent flank and center play, Malaysia's defence buckled under the pressure and Muhd. Ridhuan, appearing out of nowhere, slammed home the equaliser for Singapore after Alam Shah cushioned a cross from the flanks.
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THE CROWD WENT CRAZY! Suddenly the crowds were cheering, dwarfing the pus camp. The pus camp stood there speechless and a series of scuffles between the pimples and the pus broke out, which eventually led to a few of the respective fans being led out of the stadium. You could say that the pus camp was literally being squeezed by the Singaporeans as they were surrounded left, right and back by us, the pimples!
The Singaporean Lions never stopped fighting till the end, even in spite of being a goal down, they never failed to dominate the match and win back balls and create chances. As i told Ms. S, Singapore's game set up was good. They had what it takes to penetrate the defence. The Malaysian team obviously looked weary having to fend of volleys after volleys of blue waves hitting them time and tiem again. But Singapore Failed to captitalise on that advantage and were sorely punished early in the second half. But the Lions were up to it and fought back gallantly to claim back the equaliser.
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It was the same throughout the 30 minutes of extra time. Singapore setting the pace of the match and dominating every aspect of the game, lest a few let ups with gave the Pimple camp a few heart attacks. It was clearly nobody wanted the game to go into Penalties since Singapore were playing very well and it was only a matter of tiem before Singapore could score again. But it was not to be. Singapore obviously did not find their groove to finish well despite very gallant efforts to find the back of the net. Alot of wasted opportunities, but nonetheless, they held on well and kept placing pressure on the tigers who by now, ere still fighting to survive, but only barely.
However, one thing i noticed was that as the game progressed on towards penalties, the Malaysian players were falling more frequently and they were really taking their own time to do things. For example, the Malaysian keeper, kept falling when the ball was near his goal, only to get up , miraculously healed when the stretcher came on the field. Obviously, the Pimples saw that and started booing. It did not just happen once, it happened about 2 times. Even when there was a substituition int he tigers team. The substituted player took his own sweet time to walk off the field. He did not run, nor did he walk fast, he merely strolled off the field. Obviously, there were lots of booing and jeering.
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PENALTIES
Penalty Kick
Singapore 5 Indra Sahdan Noh Alam Shah Mustafic Fahrudin Fazrul Nawaz Shi Jia Yi
Malaysia 4
Muhammad Hardi Jaafar Rezal Zambery Yahya Sanramsak Kram Thirumurugan Veeran Mohd Khyril Muhymeen Zambri (Saved by Lionel Lewis)
What was most interesting about the penalty kicks was that whenever a Singapore player kicked the ball, all the fans would be cheering "GOAL! GOAL! GOAL! GOAL!" but when the Malaysian player stepped up to take his shot, the cheers went immediately to jeers. Haha
Down to the last shot. The tension was high, it was reaching critical boiling point already and when the shot was saved by a outstretched Lionel Lewis, it was as if the stadium exploded! I hugged Ms. S so tight in Jubilation that i eventually carried her into the air! Hahaha. It took me awhile before i actually registered the Save. Haha. BY then, it was clear, SINGAPORE WON! They have made their way into the finals! HOORAY!!!
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Ms. S was cheering and screaming just as i was as well, we were so happy i kept hugging her and carrying her up in the air. Hahaha. It was indeed a memorable match and it was one which i would never EVER forget in my life.
Thank you Ms. S for making this match even more wonderful for me!!! I love yOU!
= Alan a.k.a Scionfire =
= 21 yr old M =
= Was from CJC =
= Ex-29th CJC SC Councillor =
= Hails from Pioneer and Proud of it =
= Enjoys Jazz, Zen and Gregorian =
= Jay Chou RAWKS =
= Loves living the simple life =
= Operationally Ready NS-MAN and Proud of it =
= Guards Specialist : Ready to Strike! =
= Has a wonderful Girlfriend =
= Struggling undergrad in NTU =
