A controversial penalty from Nguyen Tien Linh in the 101st minute and a strike from naturalised Brazilian Rafaelson, now known as Nguyen Xuan Son, three minutes later gave Vietnam the victory.
The late penalty decision came after defender Shakir Hamzah was adjudged to have handled in the penalty box, but it seemed as if Shakir had been pushed by Nguyen Xuan Son.
“The decisions from the referee were not within our control. Now that game is over, we look forward to the ‘second half’ of the game,” said midfielder Hami Syahin.
“It’s hard to lose with a performance where we think we did well … It’s definitely disappointing but we know that we’ve got a job to do in Vietnam and the boys believe we can do it.”
Speaking to CNA in the aftermath of the defeat, former Lions goalkeeper Hassan Sunny said that Singapore had done well for most of the match.
“We were a bit demoralised after the first goal and the sucker punch came right towards the end of the game,” said Hassan, who announced his retirement from international football earlier this year.
BEING MENTALLY STRONG
With the crowd behind their opponents and the first leg result against them, the Lions need to be mentally strong, explained skipper Hariss Harun.
And the team’s performances throughout the tournament have shown that they can mix it with the best, said Hami.
“We know that we can play, we know that we can hurt teams. It’s a matter of taking our chances in this kind of competition,” he explained.
Echoing similar sentiments, experienced custodian Hassan pointed out that the semi-final is far from over.
“It’s not over yet. We still have another 90 minutes to play. I’m sure the boys will bounce back,” he said.
“The belief they had is not for 90 minutes. The belief they had is for 180 minutes … Football is a game of surprise(s) and we’ll hope to see some surprises in the next one.”
