SEA Games: Singapore men’s waterpolo team salvage late draw with Indonesia

KUALA LUMPUR — Shorn of their head coach and their captain, the Singapore men’s waterpolo team came nail-bitingly close to being dethroned as kings of South-east Asia by Indonesia on Friday morning (Aug 18). 

Only an equaliser with one minute and 47 seconds remaining saw them salvage a 4-4 draw at the National Aquatic Centre at Bukit Jalil, which kept them in the driving seat for a 27th consecutive SEA Games gold.

Singapore now share the top of the table with Indonesia, who were on the cusp of completing a stunning comeback from 3-0 down to inflict a shock loss that would have likely ended the Republic’s 52-year reign in the sport.

Had they hung on, the 2015 silver medallists would simply have needed to beat the Philippines in their final game on Sunday to take the gold.  

Instead, if both countries win on Sunday, then the gold medal will go to the team which recorded the better result against the third-placed side - Malaysia, whom Singapore are playing on Sunday.

As Indonesia had beaten the hosts 4-3, this means that Singapore just needs to win by at least two clear goals, to keep their gold-winning streak intact.

“We stopped playing,” Singapore head coach Dejan Milakovic told TODAY. “We allowed them a few very easy goals... in attack we didn’t produce a lot of things, we were very passive, using some situations we usually don’t do.

“But today was a very strange game and with the things that happened before and during the game, I need to say that it (the draw) is okay.”

The Serb was referring to his touchline suspension for this game – he was shown a red card after their previous game, a 7-5 win against Philippines on Thursday, for arguing with the referee – and the permanent exclusion of captain Loh Zhi Zhi late in the second quarter.

“It was frustrating, it was not nice,” admitted Milakovic, who paced back and forth from his perch in the spectator stands throughout the game as he watched on, hands tied.

His counterpart, Milos Sakovic, pointed out that the absence of Milakovic was a major factor.

“An army finds it difficult to fight without their general,” the Indonesia coach said. “If he had been on the bench, Singapore would have played differently and better.

“The young Singapore (assistant) coach (Eugene Teo) gave his best, but we must understand it was his first game (in charge).”

Sakovic, who took charge in February, was disappointed his side failed to see out the win but insisted he could not find fault with their performance.

“They pressed strongly, they showed me the will (to win),” he said, “I told them we didn’t come here to win or lose, we came here to enjoy the game and play good waterpolo. There’s no pressure from me, because for me it’s not important to be first or second, only to play well.”

He admitted that his team had started slowly as compared to Singapore, who broke the deadlock after 59 seconds through Samuel Moses Yu Nan-Feng. Chiam Kun Yang doubled their lead three minutes before end of the first quarter and then grabbed another five minutes into the second quarter.

But Maulana Bayu Herfian pulled one back before half-time, which precipitated a stirring fightback that saw Ridjkie Mulia net twice either side of a Benny Respati strike.

There was drama when a scuffle broke out between Yu and Beby Willy Eka Paksi early in the final quarter, which saw both players receive the red card.

With time running out, Ang An Jun smacked the ball into the bottom left corner to rescue Singapore from the jaws of defeat.

Milakovic believes the pressure could have affected his young team, but remains confident they will finish the job on Sunday against hosts Malaysia.

“We just need to forget this game, which was definitely not good in some aspects,” he said. “We go forward, we need to prep for Malaysia and we know what to do.

“The players just need to relax and believe in themselves and the goals will come… This team is capable of scoring 15,20 goals.

“We know the reasons (for not doing well today), we will work on that in training and on Sunday, we will be ready to compete and win.”