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Stange happy with draw

SINGAPORE — In what is another disappointing result, Singapore were held to a 2-2 draw by Guam in a friendly last night, in an outcome that could intensify pressure on national head coach Bernd Stange.

Hariss Harun tackles Guam’s  Brandon McDonald for the ball at the Singapore and Guam international friendly yesterday. Photo: Wee Teck Hian

Hariss Harun tackles Guam’s Brandon McDonald for the ball at the Singapore and Guam international friendly yesterday. Photo: Wee Teck Hian

SINGAPORE — In what is another disappointing result, Singapore were held to a 2-2 draw by Guam in a friendly last night, in an outcome that could intensify pressure on national head coach Bernd Stange.

At 153 in FIFA’s world rankings, Singapore had been expected to beat 167th-ranked Guam. But the hosts fell behind twice and needed an 80th minute equaliser from veteran defender Baihakki Khaizan to rescue their blushes in front of 1,864 fans at the Jalan Besar Stadium.

The visitors took a surprise lead after 37 minutes through Shawn Nicklaw. But winger Faris Ramli’s 53rd-minute header levelled matters. However, a spectacular shot from Jason Cunliffe in the 73rd minute restored Guam’s lead and set them on course for an unlikely win over Singapore before Baihakki’s late rescue.

Despite the disappointing result, Stange insisted he had seen progress from his side.

“I would like to continue the combinational way of playing football,” he said. “From how they have performed and how they have played football (tonight), I see progress. Hopefully, I am not alone and the players can conform.

“I believe we are in the right direction ... and I am not ready after tonight’s performance to play any blaming game.”

But he added: “We found difficulty in finding the rhythm, especially in the first 15 minutes when we had another change in central defence (with) Baihakki and Zulfahmi (Arifin), who never played together before, and there were some gaps and we struggled a little bit.

“Altogether, the result could be better, but the way we played today is the way I like to play football. We are not down.”

Prior to the match, Stange appeared to suggest top teams would not play Singapore because the Sports Hub’s National Stadium’s grass pitch was not ready, and that they were reluctant to play on the Jalan Besar Stadium’s artificial turf.

Last night, he sought to clarify his comments, and stressed he did not blame the Sports Hub, whom he described as “partners” of the Football Association of Singapore.

“I personally believe that the Sports Hub will be the next step forward for Singapore football as the home of football,” he said. “I can tell you that big teams are interested to play in Singapore ... but they are not ready to play on an artificial pitch.”

Despite missing out on what would have been a surprise win, Guam coach Gary White felt his side had proved a point.

“Before the game, there were reports on why would (Singapore) play Guam, I think now you know,” said the 40-year-old Englishman. “Guam has a population of 200,000, while Singapore are a four-time Suzuki Cup winner. You do the math.”

The draw comes after Singapore lost 2-0 to Thailand in a friendly in Korat last Thursday and their disappointing performance at last November’s Suzuki Cup, where they exited at the group stage as defending champions.

A minute’s silence was also observed before kick-off — it was delayed due to a lightning warning — for the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore’s first Prime Minister. Both sides wore black armbands as a mark of respect.

Meanwhile, Singapore’s national under-22 side are out of the running to qualify for the 2016 Asian Football Confederation under-23 Championships, after a 2-2 draw against Mongolia in Vientiane yesterday. The result meant Singapore finished third in Group J, which was won by China.

Singapore’s Irfan Fandi scored in the 19th and 58th minutes to twice cancel out strikes from Mongolia’s Mungunshagai Tsogtbaatar and Purevdorj Erdenebat.

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