Ikhsan Fandi double gives Singapore win over Malaysia in FAS Tri-Nations friendly

SINGAPORE: Even when it is an international friendly on paper, Singapore versus Malaysia is always more much on the pitch.

And at the National Stadium on Saturday (Mar 26), the latest edition of the Causeway derby delivered yet again.

Crunching tackles, a breathless pace and a fantastic game of football was played as Singapore beat Malaysia 2-1, courtesy of two goals from striker Ikhsan Fandi.

The friendly is part of the FAS Tri-Nations Series, a three-team "A" international friendly involving both sides as well as the Philippines.

Singapore will play the Philippines on Tuesday.

Malaysia were fresh off a 2-0 victory over the Philippines on Wednesday and Kim Pan-gon’s men looked to have started the game the sharper of the two sides.

It was midfielder Safiq Rahim who first registered a shot with less than a minute on the clock but his low effort went wide.

The Tigers continued their form and a few minutes later, it was Safawi Rasid who came close with a fizzing shot of his own.

The away side created another chance in the 9th minute, as Safawi outmuscled Safuwan Baharudin to cross to Akhyar Rashid, but the midfielder could only loop a header over.

Singapore’s first chance came in the 11th minute, but Malaysia's Farizal Marlias was quick to clear his lines bravely just before Ikhsan could reach the ball.

The game continued to flow at a brilliant tempo as Malaysia were next to carve out a chance. Hassan Sunny had to be forced into a stop at his left after another effort from Safiq.

The Lions were always looking for a quick counter - Singapore sprung one almost immediately but Ikhsan could only direct a header over from a dipping Taufik Suparno cross.

The home side got their goal in the 30th minute after fantastic work from Song Ui-young on the left flank found an onrushing Ikhsan who bundled home.

Malaysia came out firing after the break and took just a minute to win a penalty. However, Safawi could only slam his spot-kick against the bar to the utmost delight of the home crowd.

The Tigers then finally got the goal they were looking for as substitute Liridon Krasniqi collected a tidy through ball before calmly slotting it past Hassan in the 57th minute.

Singapore seemed to have lost their rhythm and Malaysia almost snagged a second minutes later but Hassan smartly tipped over a Dion Cools free-kick.

Then a brilliant run by Ikhsan in the 76th minute took him past multiple defenders and a devastating finish put Singapore ahead on the night.

As the crowd went wild, Ikhsan and his brother Ilhan hit the “Griddy” and showed off some nifty dance moves.

On a raucous night in Kallang, friendly or not, there was reason to celebrate.

Catch the FAS Tri-Nations Series 2022 LIVE and on-demand for free at mewatch.sg/channels/LIVE-5-98202 and Mediacorp Entertainment on YouTube.