Source: Football Association of Singapore
Down 2-0 from the first leg, the Lions faced steep odds as they headed to Vietnam for the second leg of their ASEAN Mitsubishi Electric Cup semi-final on 29 Dec.
However, the Lions remained unfazed, ready to give their all on the pitch to keep their dream of reaching the finals alive.
And they showed it in their performance at the Viet Tri Stadium.
With a chilly 16°C temperature at kick-off, the Lions began the match by disrupting the host team with intense pressing during the early stages.
The hard work seemed to have paid off in the 10th minute when Faris’ header found the back of the net.
However, the Uzbekistan referee Lutfullin Rustam ruled it out after a lengthy wait following Video Assistant Referee (VAR) checks.
Things got worse for the Lions in the 38th minute when the referee awarded a penalty to Vietnam for a foul on Ngyuen Xuan Son (Rafaelson).
Replays showed Lions defender Lionel Tan pulling Rafaelson’s jersey in the penalty area.
However, confusion arose when the referee issued Tan a second yellow card for the foul, mistakenly thinking he had been booked earlier.
After intense protests from Tan and a consultation with his assistant referees, Rustam reversed the red card decision, permitting Tan to stay on the field.
Following the refereeing debacle, Rafaelson stepped up to convert the penalty, leading to raucous celebrations by the home crowd.
Rafaelson got his second goal of the match in the 63rd minute after good work by Nguyen Hoang Duc allowed him to poke home for his fifth goal in three appearances for his adopted country.
Singapore then managed a consolation goal in the 74th minute when Japan-born player Kyoga Nakamura rifled in a shot from distance.
In stoppage time, Vietnam extended their lead with a penalty converted by Nguyen Tien Linh, following a shove by Amirul on Nguyen Van Vi inside the box.
The match ended 3-1 in Vietnam’s favour for a 5-1 overall aggregate victory over the two legs.
After the match, a visibly disappointed Lions captain Hariss Harun said: “I hope we can use this as a launchpad to better things because it does not stop here – we have to keep building.”
Despite the loss, Lions coach Tsutomu Ogura was pleased with the performance.
“Even if we lost the game, I am still satisfied as we were able to show something to our fans in Singapore. Vietnam is a good team, but we kept fighting.”
Also read: Lions sink Timor Leste with 3 goals to maintain perfect start to Asean Cup
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Featured images adapted from Football Association of Singapore.
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