Singapore to defend for their lives

SINGAPORE — The first semi-final of this year’s edition of the Suzuki Cup has thrown up a surprise. I have to be honest and say that I didn't think Singapore would top group B and as for the Philippines, to finish runners-up in group A ahead of Vietnam was somewhat of a surprise to me as well.

It means that the first leg of this encounter will be held in Manila. And if you look back over this year and the friendly games played between the two teams, it is a slight advantage to the Azkals.

Just a couple of days before this tournament started, the Azkals beat Singapore 1-0 in Cebu. When a tournament of this magnitude gets to the semi-finals stage, home advantage is everything. This was epitomized when Malaysia took on and defeated Indonesia in front of a packed crowd at the Bukit Jalil Stadium.

The Rizal Memorial Stadium can only hold about 13,000, but I can tell you the stadium will be packed out and the fans will be behind their team.

It's a very close game to call, as for me the Philippines have so far managed to get the job done. It was the gritty 1-0 victory over Vietnam in their second game that set them up to progress to the semi finals. They then looked very comfortable against Myanmar in the final group game and emerged 2 – 0 winners. Their only loss to Thailand was an under par performance but they have grown and got better as the tournament goes.

Their back line is a pretty solid one. They have experience and managed to stop threats that occur throughout the game. Ray Jonsson, Dennis Cagara, Rob Gier and Juan Guirado have proved themselves to be stubborn at the back and can still offer things going forwards. For me the key element to the success of Michael Weiss’ side was the introduction of Jason De Jong in the second game. This tightened them up defensively and also allowed the more attacking players to be even more creative.

Patrick Reichelt has looked promising but out of the most attack-minded players, Angel Guirado has made the biggest impact. He looks comfortable on the ball and works hard for the team. He started the first game but has been used to great effect as a substitute in the last two matches and will be the one to pose a real threat to Singapore. With Phil Younghusband finally opening his scoring account in the tournament, confidence will be high and having already beaten Singapore in that friendly, Philippines will feel that they can do it again.

Singapore though will be no walkover. After the opening victory against Malaysia, it went slightly wrong for Raddy Avramovic and his troops against Indonesia. They managed to restore the balance against Laos, but I do have to say it was very nervy, and after getting the starting line up completely wrong in the final group game, he made two changes before half time that turned the match in favor of the Lions.

The hero in the Singapore team is undoubtedly Sharil Ishak who is currently the leading goal scorer of the competition. He has just become a member of the prestigious 100-cap club and it was a true inspirational performance against Laos. He single handedly turned the game around and once again scored two goals in a game.

With Kharil Amri providing a real threat as well, Singapore will need to have that fighting spirit to overcome the Azkals. The introduction after injury of Shaiful Esah showed that his left foot could help Singapore go all the way to the final. His quality of delivery from wide positions is what helped Singapore piled the goals in the second half against Laos. But while they have threats going forwards, the Lions are usually quite stable at the back.  However, they weren’t in the final group game. They will need whoever is going to start for them in defense to really step up and defend for their lives.

The two teams have options especially going forwards, which is why this first game is very hard to call. I do expect Singapore to regroup themselves at the back and make themselves difficult to beat. The Philippines will want to push especially as it’s the first leg and this could leave them slightly open at the back and allow Singapore to score on the counter attack.

For me, this game is too tight to call which is why I think we will have a cagey, tense affair that will end up in a 1 – 1 draw, with all to play for in the second leg.

Former professional footballer Paul Masefield has previously played in England and Asia and is ESPN STAR Sports’ football pundit and commentator. Catch him on the LIVE coverage of the AFF Suzuki Cup when the Philippines takes on Singapore on Saturday 8 Dec on STAR Sports at 7.30pm HKT.