Singapore Under-19 coach Inoue fumes after another loss
First 4-0, now 1-0, but manner of yesterday's defeat sees S'pore coach Takuya Inoue fuming again
SINGAPORE U-19 0
BAHRAIN U-19 1
(Talal Alnaar 55)
The margin of his side's defeat was slimmer this time, but Singapore Under-19 coach Takuya Inoue's level of frustration was the same.
Three days after his side were trounced 4-0 by their Bahrain counterparts at the Choa Chu Kang Stadium, the Japanese again saw his charges beaten at the same venue, this time 1-0.
While yesterday's scoreline suggested an improved performance, there were two key differences.
First, Bahrain rested 10 players for the game against the Singapore Under-21 team tonight.
Second, the visitors played more than half the game with just 10 men, after Husain Sabba was sent off for picking up his second yellow card in the 36th minute.
Still, the Middle East side managed to pierce the home team's defence, after Shahrul Affandy's mistake allowed Talal Alnaar to drill home what turned out to be the winner, just 10 minutes into the second half.
Said Inoue: "I was angry after the 4-0 game, because the four goals were a result of our mistakes. Today was the same.
"Our defence reduced the number of mistakes, but you saw how Bahrain still had chances.
"I explained to my team they have to have the courage to build up from (deep), but we are not good enough to play from the defence into midfield."
When asked if he was disappointed with his side's inability to dominate the game with an extra man on the field, Inoue said they lacked the patience to take advantage of the numerical superiority.
RUSH
"They were thinking we had one player more, so they rushed directly into the opponents, in the centre," said the coach.
"I said at half-time if we play at the sides, we could create more chances... But we did that maybe only two times."
After a sluggish display on Wednesday, the Singapore players looked hungry for revenge in the early exchanges.
Skipper Gareth Low led by example, putting himself about with tigerish tackles in central midfield. His team's two best chances also fell to him.
In the 38th minute, Low got on the end of left back Shafie Muliantoh's cross and turned superbly in the box, only to fire just over.
And three minutes before the end, Low saw a stinging shot beaten away by Bahrain goalkeeper Ammar Ahmed.
The save meant Talal's goal in the 55th minute, when he latched on to an underhit pass by Shahrul, was enough to hand Bahrain the win.
Said Bahrain coach Abdulaziz Abdo: "It was a good experience for us to play with 10 players.
"The same thing happened in a match against Tajikistan last November, when we had a player sent off 10 minutes into the second half.
"We were leading 2-1 but lost 3-2, and completely lost concentration.
"This time, we reacted better. I am proud of my players."
- SINGAPORE: Zharfan Rohaizad (Adib Hakim 73), Rusyaidi Salime (Khairul Shari 69), Joshua Pereira, Amirul Hakim (Shahrul Affandy 54), Shafie Muliantoh (Shahrul Sazali 86), Jordan Chan (Shaqi Sulaiman 91), Gareth Low, Zulqarnaen Suzliman, Hami Syahin (Naufal Azman 86), Haiqal Pashia (Andin Addie 75), Amiruldin Asraf
- BAHRAIN: Ammar Ahmed, Husain Sabba, Sayed Shubbar, Jamal Ahmed, Faisal Bureshaid (Mubarak Bughammar 69), Ahmed Sanad (Ibrahim Alawi 78), Zed Khamis (Ali Yahya 66), Ahmed Hasan (Jasim Husain 78), Ali Mohamed (Emad Mohamed 70), Talal Alnaar (Faisal Alisa 69), Hashim Isa
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