| |
| |
![]() |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
VIENTIANE: Deadball specialist Shaiful Esah had his game face on, his eyes glued to the target. Forward Khairul Nizam waited for the SAFFC left-back's next move, the rest of the team looked on.
But it was not the mercurial left foot of the Singapore under-23 team's defender that swung out but his right hand, towards the pile of wooden tiles in the stacking game, Jenga.
It was a relaxing Tuesday afternoon for the team at the Singapore Recovery Centre here, after their bruising 2-1 win over Myanmar on Monday.
Singapore has one foot in the semi-finals, and they could even make the last four before they next kick a ball in Group B.
Terry Pathmanathan's charges face hosts Laos on Thursday at 5.45pm at the National Stadium, after the Myanmar-Indonesia match at the same venue.
If the first match ends in a draw, then both Singapore and Laos, currently on four points, will go through.
Even then, all Singapore and Laos need is a point to advance, no matter what the result earlier.
Speaking to the Singapore media as his charges went through hot and cold baths, massages and lunch at the Singapore House, Pathmanathan insisted their match on Thursday would not turn into a farce.
He said: "We have definitely not shook hands with Laos to play out a favourable result for both teams. It could reach a stage where both teams will look to play it safe, but it is not something scripted.
"We won't take risks, we will be cautious. But we want to win, and the best available players will play."
With Fazli Ayob, Nizam, Jasper Chan and Eddie Chang nursing injuries, and Firdaus Idros down with a cold, the recovery session would have gone some way to getting them back into shape.
Speaking after a massage, skipper Isa Halim said: "Singapore does not go into a game looking for a draw, or god forbid to lose.
"But depending on the result of the Myanmar-Indonesia fixture, we will play a tactical game to make sure we get into the semi-finals and if that's a boring draw, then that's football."
- TODAY/so
|
