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Nepal record historic win over Singapore in international football friendly
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Singapore midfielder Harhys Stewart sees a shot saved by Nepal goalkeeper Kiran Chemjong in the visitors' 1-0 win at the National Stadium.ST PHOTO: ARIFFIN JAMAR
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The Lions lost 1-0 to Nepal at the National Stadium in front of 5,078 fans.ST PHOTO: ARIFFIN JAMAR
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David Lee
Mar 22, 2025
SINGAPORE – If their performance against Nepal was anything to go by, world No. 160 Singapore will have a mountain to climb when they face 155th-ranked Hong Kong in the Asian Cup qualifiers on March 25.
On March 21, the lacklustre Lions lost 1-0 to the 175th-ranked Nepalis in front of 5,078 fans at the National Stadium for their first defeat by the South Asian nation in four meetings, and Singapore coach Tsutomu Ogura lambasted the poor performance in the post-match press conference.
The 58-year-old said: “If we play like this, we cannot win against any team. In my one year here, this is the worst game we have played, more so than the 7-0 loss to South Korea.
“Nepal were much better. We were nothing, nothing, nothing. There was no fight, and we played individually and not as a team, unlike Nepal. They wanted to win, they wanted to protect their goal, they treated this friendly game like a competitive match.
“Why were we so frantic and scared after losing one goal? If we can play like normal, maybe we can create chances. Nepal fought for 90 minutes plus additional time but we fight for only 10, 15 minutes. It’s not enough.”
Just five players from the starting line-up in their last match against Vietnam in the Asean Championship semi-finals made Ogura’s first XI as he looked to experiment ahead of the Hong Kong match. Interestingly, in-form striker Shawal Anuar was the only one left out of the 23-player match-day squad.
The Japanese coach would have been disappointed by how his back four were caught on a counter-attack as early as the 12th minute. Manish Dangi whipped in a cross for Gillespye Jung Karki to score his third goal on his 12th international appearance and send the 600-odd Nepal fans into raptures.
The hosts tried to respond immediately, and Harhys Stewart was unfortunate to have his penalty claim waved away by referee Yusuke Ohashi after being hacked in the box by Rohit Chand in the 17th minute.
But, save for a few hopeful crosses that were competently dealt with, and a shot from Ryhan Stewart on the left in the 21st minute, Singapore did not test Nepal goalkeeper and skipper Kiran Chemjong.
Instead, they required debutant left-back Akram Azman to make a last-ditch tackle in midfield to prevent the marauding Dangi from going clear on goal in the 29th minute.
The home fans had a rare moment to cheer about when the jumbotron erroneously flashed a goal celebration when Shah Shahiran was about to take a free kick in the 62nd minute, but it eventually came to nought.
Lions goalkeeper Izwan Mahbud also had to be alert to beat Singapore-born Laken Limbu to the ball, as the energetic visitors did not look like a team who had lost 12-0 across three previous encounters to the Republic in the 1980s.
Courtesy of their substitutes, the Lions’ best chance of the game came in the 68th minute when Christopher van Huizen’s cross was nodded on by Ilhan Fandi for Faris Ramli, whose close-range shot was well saved by Chemjong.
They were denied another possible penalty in the 79th minute when Abhishek Limbu looked to have handled the ball, after Harhys’ long throw wreaked havoc in the penalty box.
Harhys, who turned 24 a day earlier, then saw a point-blank shot blocked by Chemjong in the 89th minute before Faris’ free kick skimmed off the bar in added time.
The historic win will have lifted Nepal, who have just three weeks to work with new coach Matthew Ross, ahead of their Asian Cup qualifier in Malaysia on March 25.
Apologising to the fans for the drab showing, Shah said they will show an improvement when they meet Hong Kong in their Group C opener of the Asian Cup qualifiers on March 25.
He said: “With this result, it’s important to do a better job in the game against Hong Kong and we can promise a better performance and a better result next Tuesday...
“We want to get a better result for the fans that came all the way down today. We’re looking forward to the next match.”
Ogura added: "When the team’s performance is not good and they cannot show our concept, it is my responsibility because I pick the players and decide how they play.
“We were bad today but Hong Kong is a new challenge. We must get our mindset right again to play better against Hong Kong. I apologise to the fans, but please don’t give up, please continue to come to the stadium to give our players a push.”
I pity the 5,000 retards who had actually turn up to watch this shit show.
The gahment should ban the sport to prevent further embarrassment and humiliation.
