...That word is somehow an understatement when Singapore's matchup with Iraq comes into mind in the recent round of Asian Cup 2007 qualifiers.

Thoughts float back to the first meeting between the 2 teams in the National Stadium, Kallang back in February 2006. Singapore came away with a snatch-and-grab 2-0 victory over then West-Asian champions Iraq. We were barraged with constant attacks from the Iraqis, who had missed so many glit-edged chances (once even rounding goalie Lionel Lewis before blasting the ball high into the sky), that as a honest Team Singapore fan, Iraq should have went back to Baghdad with a point in the bag at least. But hey, like my old man puts it, if you can't put the ball into the back of the net with so many chances, you don't deserve to win the game at all. And I guess that's probably what Iraq deserved...no points and 2 goals against their name.

Flashback to Matchday 5, where Singapore needed a victory and anything less than a draw will see the Lions kiss all hopes of qualifying for the Asia Cup 2007 goodbye. A little variant from the Matchday 1 encounter...Singapore took the game to Iraq this time around, central defender Precious Emeurajaye missing a chance in the 4th minute before history repeated itself when we took the lead, this time along the run of play. Egmar Goncalves rising highes to meet a Ahmad Latiff corner with precision and aplomb to send it to the back of the net. Singapore lead 1-0 after 9 minutes.

However, this lead was not to have lasted long as 35 minutes into the game, Younis Mahmod equalised after constant Iraqi pressure on our goalmouth . Shortly into the 2nd half, the loss of tireless midfielder Shi Jiayi to injury left a big gap in the Lions' centre for the Iraqis to expose. And expose they did, as Shi's replacement Isa Halim was the victim of a undeserving own goal, a Mahdi Ajeel Abdelkareem cross-shot taking a cruel deflection off Halim to make it 2-1 to the Iraqis. Singapore obviously didn't read the script however, as Khairul Amri stepped up to curl a free-kick over the Iraqi wall and into the net to level things 2-2. Similiar goal he scored against similiar opposition back in February.

Luck was not to be on Singapore's side as Younis Mahmood scored a peach of a goal from 30 yards to make it 3-2. Iraq added a 4th after Singapore had gone all out in search of a equaliser...Hawar Mulla-Mohammed Taher heading home after a counter-attack move.

Iraq 4-2 Singapore...the final score read..but Singaporeans have nothing to be ashamed off.


Yes, lots of punters expected Singapore to lose this game, placing their money on a Iraq win. Even though they're right, they wouldn't have expected the manner of the win, in which the West-Asian champions had to toil through for a win. Usually in football, scoring 2 goals away from home should be sufficient for the away team to go home with a victory. But tonight wasn't our night as the defence could not withstand to the pressure of star striker Younis Mahmood and industrious playmaker Nashat Akram. Unlike England, as i described in the earlier post, Singapore played with a lot of heart and passion..they fought for every ball as if their lives depended on it (Actually, really did lah =x) and defended as a team while attacking as a team.

Raddy Avramovic has moulded this Singapore football team into one that can stand up to the tests of Western Asian countries. a 4-2 scoreline flatters the Iraqis alittle, even if they did deserve to win in the end. The future does look bright for Singaporean football, though the "slackers" mentality has to be abolished if we were to move forward. The earlier loss to Palestine on Matchday 2 should never have happened, even if it was an away game and Palestine are no longer the whooping boys they were back then. I thoroughly expected the Lions to come home with a point but alas, that loss was quite crucial in this qualifying tournament...

Personally, i'm gutted that we haven't qualified for the Asian Cup 2007 as i felt it was the best chance to go through, with 4 host nations and a weakened China team in our group. As expected, Iraq and China have qualified but let's salvage a bit of pride in the home game against Palestine. Win it, and we'll be 3rd place in the group. Avenge the earlier loss and public confidence, support and adoration will return. Anything less than that, and Raddy's work would have been fruitless...


Ending on a personal note, let's also lend our support to Team Singapore as they prepare for the upcoming Asian Games 2006 in Doha, Qatar. The Singapore U-23 football team are on the contingent flying to Doha after an appeal (which i felt was a right decision)..so they had better prove their worth and put up good performances.

Till the Palestine game in November...Majulah Singapura!