Singapore coach Fandi Ahmad was “lost for words” as his team notched a 1-0 win over Indonesia in their opening match in Group B in this year’s AFF Suzuki Cup tournament at the National Stadium in Singapore on Friday.
It was a hard fought win with skipper Hariss Harun, who plays for Johor Darul Takzim in the Malaysian Super League and voted the Best Asean Player in last week’s Malaysian Football Awards, whipped in the winner in the 38th minute.
Gabriel Quak started the move on the right and Faris Ramli missed the cross but the ball landed at Hariss who made mistake with the golden opportunity that came his way.
Indonesia, with things not going their way against the well-polished backline built around Shakir Hamzah and Irfan Fandi and goalkeeper Hassan Sunny showing a safe pair of hand in the last line of defense.
Going into the 50th minute Faris Ramli, who plays for PKNS FC in the Malaysian Super League, could have got his name into the scoresheet but his lob over the Indonesian goalkeeper came off the bar.
Indonesia, who have never won the Asean title, saw red deep into injury time when defender Putu Gee Juni Antara, 23, was given the marching orders for a second yellow. He was first booked in the 60th minute.
Fandi had his two sons in the starting eleven – defender Irfan and striker Ikhsan, both of whom had a good game.
A jubilant Fandi who took over the hot seat in May was all smiles with the winning start and valuable three points for the Lions who have won the Asean title four times – in 1998, 2004, 2007 and 2012.
“It is a fantastic atmosphere. The crowd is coming back and the fans are enjoying. I am just happy for today. No words can describe my happiness as the win has brought back some confidence,” said Fandi of the more than 30,000 fans who came to cheer the Lions.
“Hope we can take off from here and bring back the revival. We are now attack minded Singapore.”
Meanwhile, in another Group B match at the Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok, five-time champions Thailand roared to a massive 7-1 win over Timor Leste with midfielder Adisak Kraisorn, 27, hammering six of the goals. The other goal came from Buriram United striker Supachai Jadid.
