This is a national disgrace and outrage . A first world country simply cannot be hammered 4-1 by a third world country like Vietnam. It is well known that the only things Vietnamese males are capable of is gambling, drinking and beating their wives while their female counterparts wish to be married to Singaporean males or hook them up in pubs. I must say a utterly useless nation
I expect heads to roll at the FAS. None of these would have happened if FAS had imported 3 to 4 Foreign Talents in the squad. If they had done so, the Gold medal would be ours for SURE..
SEA Games: Singapore's football dream endsBy Shamir Osman, TODAY | Posted: 15 December 2009 0643 hrs
VIENTIANE - Two hours before kick-off, Terry Pathmanathan stood outside the Singapore dressing room, leaning against the gate, arms hanging loosely by his side with a smile on his face, as the sea of Vietnamese red in the stands behind him sang and danced.
He was proud of his boys, he said, ahead of their semi-final with Vietnam, as both teams dreamt of a final battle for gold in the under-23 football competition.
The former Singapore skipper just wanted his players to enjoy the game, he insisted having the coach in the room would do nothing to help them relax.
But the atmosphere and occasion, combined with a fast-paced and determined Vietnam team, proved too much in the end for Pathma's boys, who fell 4-1 last night at the Chao Anouvong Stadium.
For most of the 90 minutes, Singapore seemed overawed and nervous. They were slow while the Vietnamese were bright and fast, the Singapore players were always second to the 50-50 balls and seemed out of ideas in the creative department.
Despite Khairul Nizam finally breaking his duck by giving Singapore the lead against the run of play in the 28th minute, two Vietnam goals in each half sounded the death knell for Singapore.
The Vietanamese fans invaded the pitch after the final whistle, and a few minutes after they moved their celebrations off the field and outside the stadium, Pathmanathan emerged from the dressing room still wearing his cool look.
"To be honest, this match was an uphill task from the start. Vietnam are technically good, quick, and with good awareness about them," he said.
"Realistically, it was difficult for us, but of course I didn't tell the boys that."
"We didn't play badly, we lost to a better team," he insisted, claiming the partisan crowd had nothing to do with the defeat.
It could have turned out differently if Singapore had managed to hang on to the lead until half-time, according to Vietnam coach Henrique Calisto.
"That second goal was very important, if Singapore had managed to keep the lead until the break it could have been a different game," said Calisto, who seems to like to play Singapore, after he guided the senior Vietnam side to an upset win over the Lions in the semi-finals of the Asean championship last year.
"The Singapore boys are a young team and a good side, they worked very hard today and followed instructions, but I have to congratulate my Vietnam players for doing well," added the Portuguese.
With an average age of 19.8 years, Singapore are the youngest side here, and the challenge for Pathmanathan and assistant coach V Sundramoorthy now will be to first re-invigorate them for the bronze medal playoff against Laos on Thursday, and then to keep the team together for the future.
Skipper Isa Halim is confident the team would pick themselves up and strive to match the bronze medal win of 2007.
"After the game, I told the boys that we fought hard and did our best, and there's nothing else we can do about that match," he said.
"There is another medal at stake, and we will be ready for that game."
As for the long-term future of the team, Pathmanathan said: "With school commitments, some of my boys cannot even make it to training sessions.
"The time will come for a lot of them to do their National Service, and while that is important for the country, it will be difficult for us to keep them together.
"But we will try, while also bringing in other youngsters with potential."
Pathmanathan and Sundramoorthy never won SEA Games gold as players, and the quest continues for them.
For the first time last night there was a tinge of regret in Pathmanathan's voice, when he said: "As a player you get over such defeats after a while, but as a coach this is something that will be in my mind for the rest of my life." - TODAY
I expect heads to roll at the FAS. None of these would have happened if FAS had imported 3 to 4 Foreign Talents in the squad. If they had done so, the Gold medal would be ours for SURE..
SEA Games: Singapore's football dream endsBy Shamir Osman, TODAY | Posted: 15 December 2009 0643 hrs
VIENTIANE - Two hours before kick-off, Terry Pathmanathan stood outside the Singapore dressing room, leaning against the gate, arms hanging loosely by his side with a smile on his face, as the sea of Vietnamese red in the stands behind him sang and danced.
He was proud of his boys, he said, ahead of their semi-final with Vietnam, as both teams dreamt of a final battle for gold in the under-23 football competition.
The former Singapore skipper just wanted his players to enjoy the game, he insisted having the coach in the room would do nothing to help them relax.
But the atmosphere and occasion, combined with a fast-paced and determined Vietnam team, proved too much in the end for Pathma's boys, who fell 4-1 last night at the Chao Anouvong Stadium.
For most of the 90 minutes, Singapore seemed overawed and nervous. They were slow while the Vietnamese were bright and fast, the Singapore players were always second to the 50-50 balls and seemed out of ideas in the creative department.
Despite Khairul Nizam finally breaking his duck by giving Singapore the lead against the run of play in the 28th minute, two Vietnam goals in each half sounded the death knell for Singapore.
The Vietanamese fans invaded the pitch after the final whistle, and a few minutes after they moved their celebrations off the field and outside the stadium, Pathmanathan emerged from the dressing room still wearing his cool look.
"To be honest, this match was an uphill task from the start. Vietnam are technically good, quick, and with good awareness about them," he said.
"Realistically, it was difficult for us, but of course I didn't tell the boys that."
"We didn't play badly, we lost to a better team," he insisted, claiming the partisan crowd had nothing to do with the defeat.
It could have turned out differently if Singapore had managed to hang on to the lead until half-time, according to Vietnam coach Henrique Calisto.
"That second goal was very important, if Singapore had managed to keep the lead until the break it could have been a different game," said Calisto, who seems to like to play Singapore, after he guided the senior Vietnam side to an upset win over the Lions in the semi-finals of the Asean championship last year.
"The Singapore boys are a young team and a good side, they worked very hard today and followed instructions, but I have to congratulate my Vietnam players for doing well," added the Portuguese.
With an average age of 19.8 years, Singapore are the youngest side here, and the challenge for Pathmanathan and assistant coach V Sundramoorthy now will be to first re-invigorate them for the bronze medal playoff against Laos on Thursday, and then to keep the team together for the future.
Skipper Isa Halim is confident the team would pick themselves up and strive to match the bronze medal win of 2007.
"After the game, I told the boys that we fought hard and did our best, and there's nothing else we can do about that match," he said.
"There is another medal at stake, and we will be ready for that game."
As for the long-term future of the team, Pathmanathan said: "With school commitments, some of my boys cannot even make it to training sessions.
"The time will come for a lot of them to do their National Service, and while that is important for the country, it will be difficult for us to keep them together.
"But we will try, while also bringing in other youngsters with potential."
Pathmanathan and Sundramoorthy never won SEA Games gold as players, and the quest continues for them.
For the first time last night there was a tinge of regret in Pathmanathan's voice, when he said: "As a player you get over such defeats after a while, but as a coach this is something that will be in my mind for the rest of my life." - TODAY