Ikhsan Fandi’s brace helps Lions win Suzuki Cup opener
Striker ends 14-game goal drought as Singapore beat Myanmar 3-0
Ikhsan Fandi put aside the disappointment of not getting more game time at Norwegian second-tier side FK Jerv and the frustration from a 14-game goal drought for club and country to notch a brilliant brace and help Singapore beat Myanmar 3-0 in their AFF Suzuki Cup opener yesterday.
The Man of the Match told The Straits Times: “It feels great to be back in Singapore and play in front of my family, friends and fans.
| SINGAPORE | MYANMAR |
| 3 | 0 |
|
(Safuwan Baharudin 34, Ikhsan Fandi 39, 45+1) |
“Even though I haven’t been playing much club football, I know my qualities and I just need that confidence from the team and coach. Playing at home also always gives me that extra boost.
“I hope to continue scoring and help the team go as far as we can in this competition.”
The 22-year-old had struggled for game time since moving from Raufoss last year and started just five of the 24 games he played for his club this season. Despite that, he still mustered four goals with a decent ratio of one goal every 160 minutes.
At the National Stadium, Ikhsan’s predatory instincts were there for all 7,588 fans to see, as the Lions have the lethal target man they have been craving for since Aleksandar Duric retired from international football in 2012.
Singapore had taken more than half an hour to settle down before 30-year-old defender Safuwan Baharudin headed in Shahdan Sulaiman’s corner in the 34th minute to ease any nerves. Ikhsan then took over with his physical presence, turn of pace and clinical finishing.
In the 39th minute, he benefited from a counter-attack launched by South Korea-born midfielder Song Ui-young, whose pass found Faris Ramli, who then threaded the ball to Ikhsan to fire in from an angle.
The relentless Lions made it 3-0 when the striker headed in another pin-point set-piece by Shahdan for his 10th international goal on his 20th cap.
While he was pleased with the win that moves them top of Group A ahead of Thailand – 2-0 victors over Timor-Leste – on goal difference, Singapore coach Tatsuma Yoshida said: “I’m proud of the boys’ performance and how they earned the three points. The fighting spirit and team spirit were fantastic.
“Ikhsan did his job, which is to score, and we hope he can always do that for us.”
With the three points in the bag, Yoshida withdrew Shawal Anuar and Faris after the hour mark and experimented with a 5-4-1 formation that took the sting out of the game.
The 47-year-old admitted: “We have options other than a 4-3-3. We tried to move aggressively to deal with Myanmar’s changes and it was a good experience for us.”
Meanwhile, Myanmar coach Antoine Hey felt that the result was expected because his team had not played a competitive match since the last Myanmar National League season ended in October 2020, before the national team’s centralised training in Turkey last month.
They were also beset with political issues back home, that saw key players turn down call-ups to protest against the military coup, as well as a positive Covid-19 case here.
The 51-year-old German said: “The win was not because of Singapore’s class, but more because of our own mistakes as we were not up for it due to the reasons I had mentioned.”
Regardless, Yoshida and his Lions will look forward to building on their bright start against the Philippines on Wednesday.
If the Lions beat the Azkals and then Timor-Leste on Dec 14, they will be in their first Suzuki Cup semi-finals since they won their fourth title in 2012.
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