FT from Muscat, Oman
Oman 2 Singapore 0
Oh man!
Match report below taken from KallangRoar.com
In the space of two minutes Singapore found themselves two goals down to Oman in Sunday night’s friendly international in Muscat a deficit the Lions were unable to claw back.
After the sound 2-0 win over Kuwait three days earlier the 2-0 loss has given Lions’ coach Radojko Avramovic and his team plenty to think about before they meet Jordan on Thursday in a third friendly and Saudi Arabia in a World Cup qualifier on 6 February in Riyadh.
Singapore appeared to be doing most of the attacking for the first seven minutes but a run through the heart of the Lions’ defence by Emad Alhosni turned the game on its head.
Alhosni capitalised on some hesitation from Singapore defender Baihakki Khaizan before slamming a shot past the helpless Lionel Lewis.
Two minutes later the same player proved too slippery once more, this time on the right and Baihakki brought him down clumsily inside the penalty area.
Qatari referee Abdul Rahman Abood awarded the penalty instantly.
Hussain Mudhafar planted his shot firmly past the keeper for a 2-0 lead inside nine minutes.
After these early setbacks Singapore did well to play their way back into the match but the goals would not come.
Khairul Amri was unfortunate not to earn a penalty in the second half, when sent tumbling inside the area, but the referee waved play on, much to the disgust of the Lions’ players.
Amri had run onto a smart through pass from captain Indra Sahdan and seemed certain to score until brought down.
Amri also had a powerful shot saved brilliantly by the Omani keeper and then had a goal disallowed for offside, a decision that stunned the Lions’ team.
After the game an angry Avramovic slammed the referee and his young defender, in equal measure.
“This Oman team has been together now for six or seven years,” he said.
“They all play in Qatar and the referee is from there too. There was nothing wrong with Amri’s goal and it was not offside,” he declared.
“Also that was a clear-cut penalty we were denied tonight.”
It was perhaps significant that the Omani crowd hailed the referee after the game, cheering him off the field.
Leaving aside the doubts on some of his decisions, Singapore met a very tricky opponent on Sunday night.
Oman was a very lively presence on the field and demonstrated a good understanding as a unit with some quality passing movements.
The Singapore team fought hard after the early setback and could easily have overcome the deficit with more leeway from the referee.
But Oman’s Alhosni was on fire and so was the rest of their team.
Captain Mohd Rabea, solid at the back, showed he was no slouch when overtaking the speedy Khairul Amri to dispossess the Singapore striker who had made a strong counter attacking move late in the game.
Avramovic was very displeased with the way his team defended early on.
“We had Juma’at Jantan and Ismail Yunos coming on and they did well enough. Maybe we will give these youngsters a chance in the next games too.
“Baihakki was at fault for both goals and I demand better,” said the coach.
Having roasted his player Avramovic said the Oman team was at least restricted to only two goals this time.
“Last time we were here we lost 7-0 so I should be happy it was only 2-0 this time,” he quipped.
“We should have known this would happen here (with a referee from a neighbouring country),” he reflected.
“When we go to Saudi Arabia I will be hoping for a referee from Japan, Korea or Australia.
“We will have a much better chance if that happens.”
It was obviously a far better outcome for Oman’s new coach, Julio Cesar Ribas, in his first match with his new team after joining them only earlier this month.