SINGAPORE: Fandi Ahmad got the first win of his tenure as the Singapore national team’s coach on Tuesday (Sep 11) after a 2-0 win over Fiji, with goals coming from his son Ikhsan Fandi and captain Hariss Harun.
It was their second international friendly at Bishan Stadium, in the lead-up to preparations for the 2018 ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Suzuki Cup in November.
Fandi stayed true to his words from pre-match and made seven changes to the side that drew 1-1 with Mauritius last Friday, with 18-year-old Jacob Mahler making his debut on Tuesday.
The game also saw Gabriel Quak make his first appearance in national colours in more than a year, while Warriors midfielder Ho Wai Loon came on in the second half for his first Singapore cap as well.
Singapore were hardly troubled by a Fiji side which stands 165th in the FIFA ranking – four spots above the Lions – apart from an early scare that came in the second minute.
Roy Krishna – one of the only two professional footballers in the Fiji team – was left unmarked inside the danger area for a shot, but goalkeeper Hassan Sunny pulled off a decent save.
The Lions had their first chance in the 11th minute, with Ikhsan’s effort taking a heavy deflection before it was hacked off the line.
It was from the resulting corner that they broke the deadlock though, as Hariss met Zulfahmi Arifin’s delivery with a thumping header.
The lead was doubled just over a minute later, with Ikhsan producing a composed finish his dad would have been proud of, after breaking the offside trap to latch onto a glorious pass from Gabriel Quak.
Gabriel Quak made his first Singapore appearance in over a year against Fiji on Sep 11 and provided the assist for the second goal. (Photo: Matthew Mohan)
The Fijians slowly grew into the game after that, pinging the ball around. But they were unable to carve out any clear opportunities against the backline marshalled by Baihakki Khazan and Irfan Fandi.
Instead, it was Singapore who came closest to scoring again in the 71st minute. A well-worked move saw Khairul Amri set his fellow substitute Shahril Ishak up for a volley, which Fiji goalkeeper Misiwani Nairube did well to stop.
Neither side were able to find the net after that and Singapore were able to see off 10-man Fiji, who had Kolinio Sivoki sent off after he jutted his knee into Mahler’s back late on.
Tuesday’s victory was also the Lions’ second this year, having gone through the whole of 2017 without any wins.
