S'pore joins Indonesia in Tiger Cup semifinals
S'pore joins Indonesia in Tiger Cup semifinals
Agence France-Presse, Hanoi
Singapore made sure of its place in the semifinals of the
Tiger Cup on Wednesday, easily defeating Cambodia 3-0 to confirm
an embarrassing first round exit for host nation Vietnam.
Vietnam had gone into the final round of Group A games needing
a victory over Laos and hoping that Singapore somehow failed to
beat the Cambodians.
The hosts registered a lackluster 3-0 win over Laos but
Singapore was always in control against Cambodia to spell doom
for Vietnam.
It was the first time Vietnam has failed to reach the second
round since the tournament was launched in 1996.
Indonesia finished top of Group A with ten points from three
victories and one draw out of four games, yet to concede a goal.
Singapore ranked second with eight points from two victories
and two draws with Vietnam coming third, one point behind.
In group B, Malaysia is already qualified and could be joined
Thursday by underdogs Myanmar if the latter beat debutants Timor
Leste.
Vietnam had been left with a mountain to climb after their
defeat by Indonesia last Saturday, a result which prompted the
resignation of their Brazilian coach Edson Tavares.
They got off to a dream start when some comical defending
involving the Laos goalkeeper gifted an opener to Le Cong Vinh
after only seven minutes.
An error-ridden first half saw Vietnam struggle to extend
their lead however and they had to wait until the 42nd minute to
double their tally, Nguyen Minh Phuong making it 2-0 after a
sweeping attack down the left flank.
Vietnam labored to make the game safe and only made sure of
victory when Khanh scored on 74 minutes.
Vietnam -- runners-up when the country last hosted the
tournament in 1998 -- leaves the cup after two wins against the
group minnows but only one draw and a defeat against the two
established teams, Singapore and Indonesia.
Vietnam's victory was made redundant by Singapore's win in the
simultaneous tie with Cambodia.
The match resembled a training exercise for the Singaporeans,
who scored through Nigerian-born striker Itimi Dickson and an
own-goal from Cambodia keeper Thai Sineth before a second-half
effort from Mohammed Khairul Amri.
In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia dashed the semifinal hopes of
defending champions Thailand in the Tiger Cup championship late
Tuesday when they defeated their northern neighbors 2-1 in a
pulsating match here.
Though Thailand is still in with a mathematical chance as
Myanmar has yet to play Timor Leste, the chances of an upset by
the debutants remain remote.
With the win, Malaysia has nine points after having completed
their group matches while Thailand is on four with a match
against Philippines in hand.
The defeat will be a bitter pill to swallow for the Thais who
have made the semifinals of all the Tiger Cup tournaments since
the inception of the championship in 1996.
The match started off cautiously as both teams took time to
get into their stride.
Thailand took the lead at the stroke of halftime when Sarayoot
Chaikamdee was first to the ball after being put through by
skipper Terdasek Chaiman.
The turning point came in the 60th minute when Malaysian coach
Bertlan Biskei made a telling substitution by bringing on V.
Saravanan for Surendran.
Three minutes later Malaysia were on level terms as Khalid
Jamlus was first to a cross delivered by Amri Yahyah.
The very next minute Malaysia took the lead, this time with
Khalid getting onto a cross by Saravanan.