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SINGAPORE: It was a fiery affair the last time Singapore's best youngsters faced their counterparts from Indonesia.
The friendly in June saw two Singapore players being given their marching orders to Indonesia's one, but Tambiah Pathmanathan's charges did enough before the final 15 minutes of madness to win 2-0 at the Jurong West Stadium. And when the two sides meet in the opening Group B encounter at the 25th Sea Games in Laos on Saturday, it may not be any different.
"There is tension in the air when we walk past the Indonesian team in the Games Village. Some of their players stare at us, some of us stare back," said Singapore's under-23 skipper Isa Halim.
"The rivalry is very clear."
But while the captain put it down to regular pre-competition tension, Shaiful Esah, one of those who received his marching orders in the June encounter, believes that this team will be able to handle the physical football of the Indonesians.
"After we went 2-0 up, they got frustrated and weren't really playing football any more," said the SAFFC full-back.
"We expect the same from them, but we will just play our game and let the referee do his job."
But the Indonesian team that Pathmanathan's charges will face on Saturday could be a very different side.
"We've seen them around the Games Village and glimpses of them in training, and while I don't see much difference in their pattern of play, there are different individuals in the team now," the coach told MediaCorp yesterday.
Indeed, the Indonesian under-23 team has even got a new coach.
Uruguayan Alberto Bica took over the reins from countryman Cesar Payovich on Aug 23 and had only about 10 weeks of preparation before cutting down his squad from 30 to 18.
"Even though it was about six months ago, that 2-0 win gives us confidence, but we know it's the SEA Games and it's a whole new ball game," said midfielder Hariss Harun, who netted one of Singapore's two goals in June.
"And I think it will come down to desire - the team that wants it more will win," added the 19-year-old.
According to Pathmanathan, the one thing that his charges are showing an abundance of, is desire.
"What I'm most pleased about is the effort that the boys have been showing since the day we arrived in Vientiane, it's really quite marvellous," he said. "All I want to see is the boys showing this same hard work out on the pitch, and I assure you the match will be quite exciting."
The team have only had two training sessions since they arrived in the Laotian capital on Nov 30, and their routine includes a one-and-a-half-hour field training followed by a recovery and limbering session in the evenings.
But skipper Isa believes that come match day, his team-mates will deliver.
"We know Indonesia will come at us," he said. "But there are no two ways about it: We came here to win, and I assure you, everyone is working hard to get that done."
- TODAY/yb
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