Woah

Woah. The Singapore football team is really much better than years ago.

Against Cambodia, despite the opponents' bus strategy, Singapore struggled to get goals in the first half. It took till a first half injury time goal that was one of the most unglamorous ones I have seen. Like kampong football. Duric didn't score, when he should have scored at least 2. One unlucky, one miss. They won 5-0 nonetheless.

Then against Myanmar, I start to see the organization within the team, with good cohesiveness, and they won 3-1.

Against Indonesia, the same things, Indonesia is stronger than the previous teams, but they are really dangerous when they Attack On Wings, and I believe the right backs did well. Here are some opinions and impressions of players:

Agu: He positions himself pretty well, and he actually does have speed! But a little sluggish acceleration, he compensates with quick static movements then the speed takes him through. Could again be his tournament.

Alam Shah & Duric: Good aerial ability in both. Duric is really ageing, so Alam Shah is more useful as a tool for dribbling. Duric holds the ball well, but his age shows in him often being a box striker.

Precious & Baihakki: The central defensive pair for all 3 matches. Pretty consistent. Though susceptible to pacy and quick-footed opponents, Baihakki compensates with good tackling, and Precious good physical opposition.

Noh Rahman & Daniel Bennett: I thought Noh Rahman was, unlike what the commentators said, pretty inadequate in defending. Especially against Myanmar. But he showed his capabilities against Indonesia, when needed most. Bennett has good tackling, and attentive of the game.

Shi Jiayi & Mustafic: The North Korean (Oops, Chinese) born Shi, in my opinion, cannot hold the ball well, but he stays in the team because he has good speed and very good free kicking skills. Mustafic is of course a very good holding midfielder, and I have only appreciation for his good shielding of the central defence and powerful penalty kick.

Lionel Lewis: Lionel has not been at his best. He is punching a lot more balls instead of catching. And that is risky because while a good punch allows a quick counter attack, a mistimed punch would result in a precarious position. A pity Raddy didn't put Hassan Sunny on, so that I can compare.