End of a journey for gritty LionsXII
Tears flow as LionsXII's Malaysian adventure comes to an end
QUARTER-FINAL, 2ND LEG
LIONSXII 2 (CHRISTOPHER VAN HUIZEN 12, FARIS RAMLI 18)
PAHANG 0
- Pahang win 4-3 on aggregate
Izwan Mahbud walked out of the dressing room, with his face in his hands, tears still streaming down his face.
The goalkeeper had put in a good shift between the sticks, as the LionsXII beat Pahang 2-0 in the second leg of their Malaysia Cup quarter-final at the Jalan Besar Stadium last night.
But, all around him, were teammates with equally teary eyes.
Trailing 4-1 from the first leg and with their backs against the wall, Fandi Ahmad's charges came out with all guns blazing, scoring two goals in the first 20 minutes, but fell just short of overturning the three-goal deficit.
The 4-3 aggregate defeat was not only the LionsXII's final involvement in the Malaysia Cup, but also their last stand in Malaysian football, after the Football Association of Malaysia decided on Tuesday not to renew the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that saw the LionsXII play across the Causeway since 2012.
Tears flowed when referee Zamzaidi Katimin blew the whistle to end the game, and were still flowing long after the floodlights were turned off.
FIRE
"I told the boys before the game that no tactics can win us this game, it's about fire and desire, discipline and commitment... and I was surprised that they did so well," said Fandi.
"We went down fighting, and nearly made it. It just wasn't our day, but it was good to end the year without losing any games at Jalan Besar.
"A lot of players cried, the fans cried too, but I think we did Singapore proud."
With Faris Ramli and Chirstopher van Huizen penetrative in the wide areas and Izzdin Shafiq bossing the midfield, the LionsXII took just 12 minutes to score.
Van Huizen, who turned 23 yesterday, scored with a lovely left-footed volley after the Pahang defence failed to clear their lines.
Six minutes later, Faris raised the roof at Jalan Besar, meeting a peach of a cross from Nazrul Nazari to score the second goal on the night.
Given a torrid time by Pahang frontman Dickson Nwakaeme in the first leg, Madhu Mohana marshalled the defence with distinction, keeping the Nigerian quiet for almost 70 minutes, before he was withdrawn following a shoulder injury.
With Shakir Hamzah also solid in a defence that was backed by an excellent Izwan in goal, it seemed that the LionsXII believed they could pull off a miracle.
SEA OF RED
Backed by a near sell-out crowd that turned Jalan Besar into a sea of red - some were in their seats two hours before kick-off - the LionsXII needed just one more goal to go through on the away-goals rule, but their performance fizzled out in the second half.
"We're all sad, we've really grown as a team over the last few years, but we don't have a choice, Malaysia doesn't want us there," said Madhu, his right arm in a sling.
"But, at the end of the day, it's their loss, I think they'll regret it in time to come."
The defender was at least proud of the way his team performed on their last night of Malaysian football.
"We're very happy with the performance. Before the game, we told each other that we had to play well, play for the fans who deserve a performance like this after being with us for these four years," he added.
Fandi revealed that he has already received offers from Malaysian clubs, as do some of his players, but he would prefer to keep the team together.
"I hope a decision (on the future of the team) is made soon and, whatever it is, I hope it's good for the boys," he said.
"It's been a wonderful journey, and I believe fans will miss this atmosphere... but we must move on."
TNP MAN OF THE MATCH
MADHU MOHANA
In the first leg in Kuantan, the central defender struggled with the pace and power of Pahang centre forward Dickson Nwakaeme, who bullied the LionsXII backline.
But last night, Madhu kept Nwakaeme quiet, winning headers, putting in timely interceptions, giving the team a sturdy platform from which to attack.
"A lot of players cried, the fans cried too, but I think we did Singapore proud."
- LionsXII coach Fandi Ahmad
OTHER Q-FINAL, 2ND LEGS
Johor DT 1 Felda 2 (Agg: Felda 3-2)
PKNS 1 Kedah 3 (Agg: Kedah 4-2)
Selangor 1 Sarawak 1 (Agg: Selangor 3-2)
SEMI-FINALS
Pahang v Selangor, Felda v Kedah
BLOW BY BLOW
12: GOAL! LionsXII 1-0. Christopher van Huizen dispossesses Abdul Aziz Ismail just outside the box and lets the ball bounce before firing in a dipping shot.
13: Faris Ramli almost makes it 2-0, curling the ball just off the far post from the edge of the box, with the goalkeeper well beaten.
18: GOAL! LionsXII 2-0. Van Huizen regains possession deep in the Pahang half and slides the ball to Nazrul Nazari, whose cross is bundled into goal by Matthew Davies, pressured by Faris.
35: Faris finds himself with lots of space down the left, cuts in and curls a beauty past the goalkeeper, but the ball hits the crossbar.
48: Shakir Hamzah slips against Dickson Nwakaeme, who races to the byeline before cutting the ball back. Izwan Mahbud is beaten, but Matias Conti arrives too late.
89: Nwakaeme sends sub R Gopinathan clear with a brilliant backheel at the edge of the box, but Izwan makes an equally brilliant save in a one-on-one.
MATCH STATS
SHOTS: LionsXII 3 on target, 5 off target; Pahang 1 on target, 3 off target
CORNERS: LionsXII 1, Pahang 2
YELLOW CARDS: LionsXII 0, Pahang 1 (Abdul Aziz Ismail 42) OFFSIDES: LionsXII 3, Pahang 3
ATTENDANCE: 5,898
MATCH RATING 6.5/10
REFEREE: Zamzaidi Katimin 6.5/10
LIONSXII: Izwan Mahbud 8, Nazrul Nazari 7.5, Madhu Mohana 8.5 (Khairul Nizam 69), Shakir Hamzah 8, Hafiz Abu Sujad 7.5, Zulfahmi Arifin 7, Izzdin Shafiq 7, Christopher van Huizen 7.5 (Gabriel Quak 60, 7), Shahdan Sulaiman 7, Faris Ramli 8 (Sahil Suhaimi 78), Safuwan Baharudin 7.5
PAHANG: Khairul Azhan, Matthew Davies, Damion Stewart, Saiful Nizam, Abdul Aziz Ismail (Shahrizan Salleh 87), Zesh Rehman, R Surendran (R Gopinathan 46), Rizua Shafiqi (D Saarvindran 82), Azamuddin Akil, Matias Conti, Dickson Nwakaeme
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