Brave Lions lose out on penalties

Singapore fought back to draw 1-1 with Oman in the final of the Airmarine Cup but were left heartbroken after losing 5-4 in the subsequent penalty shootout. Oman, the highest ranked team to enter the tournament, lifted the (surprisingly large) trophy as expected but Erwin Koeman's team were made to work a lot harder than expected.

Singapore caretaker boss, Nazri Nasir, made several changes to the team which beat Malaysia a few days previously. Most notably, he chose to rest talismanic national captain Hariss and hand the armband to Safuwan Baharudin. He was also forced into replacing goalkeeper Izwan Mahbud, who had performed so well against Malaysia, as the Thai based shot stopper was reportedly carrying a knock. Other notable changes included starting places for Warriors front man Gabriel Quak and Home Uunited full back Faritz.

Oman are ranked 75 places above Singapore and this gap was clearly illustrated at the start of the game. Oman dominated the early possession and almost took the lead in the 12th minute when sloppy defending almost gifted a goal to Raed Ibrahim Saleh, Izwan's replacement, Zaiful Nizam, spotted the danger quickly and charged out of goal to save well. It was no great surprise when Oman opened the scoring in the 28th minute. Raed Saleh, who scored midweek against Afghanistan, was given far too much space and time on the left. He got his head up and chipped in a perfect lofted cross that was crying out to be attacked. Singapore's defence failed to track Omani striker Aziz Al Maqbali who was in acres of space and was able to plant his header into the back of the net. Singapore's defenders were static and claiming offside but replays showed that Maqbali had timed his run to perfection. Not only did the defenders fail to spring the offside trap correctly but Faritz was AWOL at full back, Raed Saleh should not have been allowed so much space. Things could have got a lot worse for Singapore in the 36th minute when Raed Saleh again got ahead of Faritz and looked clean through before he was body checked by the Home United full back. Faritz was lucky to only see yellow, he was the last man and it even looked like there was a hint of elbow involved. As halftime approached Singapore started to show a bit more promise going forward. After some good work by Singapore on the left of the box

Yasir tried to thread the ball between two Omani centre backs but before it could reach it's target the ball clearly hit the hand of one of the defenders. It would have been a harsh decision to give the penalty, there was no obvious movement of arm towards the ball, but that didn't stop the Lions claiming for one. While Singapore stood waiting on the decision Oman broke quickly and were perhaps unlucky not to take advantage of a 3 against 2 situation. The Lions would have been happy to go in only 1 down at the break.

Faritz was lucky to get away with a yellow

The ball clearly hit the hand of the defender but it would have been a harsh decision.

Singapore managed to create a few more chances in the second half. The best of which came only 3 minutes after the break when winger Gabriel Quak found a bit of space and managed to deliver a cross from the left but Faris steered his header straight at goalkeeper Faiz Al-Rushiadi. The Hougang striker, who scored the winner against Malaysia, had a goal correctly ruled out for offside although the finish was impressive. However, Zaiful was the busier of the goalkeepers and had to make a number of important saves. He looked a little nervous on crosses but will be generally pleased with the way he performed. Faritz continued to live on thin ice and could have seen a second yellow after committing at least two more fouls. The Home United full back was an attacking threat and was often the furthest man forward for Singapore but it was worrying to see the space that was often left. Despite this, Singapore continued to look for an equalizer, Harris came on midway through the half and Singapore looked more composed as a result. However, it looked like Oman were destined to win the game before late drama saw Singapore get the equaliser. Singapore were awarded a free kick on the edge of the area in the 93rd minute after Khairul Nizam was brought down. Zulfahmi Arifin, making his 40th appearance for Singapore, stepped up and curled a majestic free kick into the top corner to score his first goal for Singapore with what was basically the last kick of the game and take the game to a penalty shootout.

Both teams scored their first three penalties but it was Faris Ramli who was the unlucky player who saw his kick smash against the bar and bounce clear. Although Hariss scored the final penalty for Singapore, Oman made no mistakes with their 5 spot kicks. Another disappointing crowd may have dampened the mood somewhat, but Oman looked delighted as they lifted silverware.

Based on the evidence of the two games Oman, who made it to the last 16 of the Asian Cup in January, deserved the trophy. Under Koeman's management they look likely to push for a World Cup place, especially if, as expected, the number of teams will be increased. Singapore have also helped their upcoming World Cup qualification campaign by getting the ranking points needed to progress automatically to the second stage of qualifying, however this is still dependent on Pakistan being allowed to take part in the qualification process, something which remains a doubt. What is not in doubt is that Singapore have shown that they are able to compete with some of the best teams in Asia. Drawing with Oman would have done wonders for the team's confidence and ends a run of 8 straight defeats against Oman. But the Airmarine cup will live long in the memories of Singaporean fans not for this game but for last week's victory over Malaysia.