Lions XII celebrates their first ever MSL 2013 title
By thrashing the hapless Felda United, the Singaporean side clinched the league title for the first time ever since the inception of 2004 and since departing from Malaysian football 20 years ago.
An OWN GOAL by Azrul Ahmad and goals from Shahril Ishak, Fazrul Nawaz and Shafiq Ghani sealed the title while Felda United were on the brink of relegation with one game remaining.
Man of the Match: Shahril Ishak
Next game will be the final league match of the season before heading to the fasting month, with the newly crowned champions Lions XII will travel to Kota Bharu to contest the highly anticipated clash with the FA Cup winner Kelantan FA whilst Felda United at home need a win against the already relegated Negeri Sembilan in order to stay in the top-flight but still need a bit of luck from Terengganu FA, hoping they will beat T-Team with only two points separate between them.
All final matches will kick-off on Saturday, July 6.
In the similar time when Malaysia gain valuable win against rival Indonesia, Singapore face tournament's minnows, Laos at Shah Alam Stadium and only need a point to secure a spot to semi-final. However, Laos did not make things easier to the three-time champions. A lapse of defending from Singapore gave Khampheng Sayavutthi a chance to score with a weak shot from a close range in the 21st minute to make it a shock 1-0 lead to Laos. Keoviengphet Liththideth made it harder for Singapore when he unleashed a beautiful curling shot past Izwan Mahbud to the top right corner of the net in the 40th minute to make it a comfortable 2-0 lead for the Thim Xad. Singapore however did manage to pull one back through captain Shahril Ishak with a simple shot from close range in 47th minute just before half-time.
Singapore did not waste any time when the second half started as they pushed forward in search for equaliser. Singapore finally found an equaliser through Shahril Ishak once again in 53rd minute when he dribbled easily in the penalty box and fired to the bottom left corner of the net to make it 2-2. Laos looking struggle to contain Singapore's attack as there are number of times their defence looking as vulnerable as ever. The Lions meanwhile are more confident in performance as they create a lot of chances and are close to score more goals. Ten minutes later, Khairul Amri put Singapore in front in the 63th minute when he took an unstoppable free-kick which easily past Laos goalkeeper to make it 3-2. Fazrul Nawaz rounded off Singapore's comeback when he fired the ball past Laos goalkeeper with a diving header in 65th minute to make it 4-2 lead. It was two goals in two minutes from Singapore. Khampheng Sayavutthi put a seemingly dead Laos in a glimmer of hope when they were awarded a penalty in 81st minute and slotted the ball easily past Izwan Mahbud to make it 4-3 but it was all too late for the Thim Xad as Singapore are victorious nonetheless coming to the final whistle as the Lions deserved to claim one of the greatest comeback win in the football history.
Singapore finished the Group B with six points and top of the group after three matches, with two wins against Malaysia and Laos and one lose against Indonesia. As a group winner, Singapore will travel to Manila for the first leg of semi-final, where they will meet tournament's surprise package, Philippines, who finished as a runners-up of Group A in December 8 and a return leg in December 12 at Jalan Besar Stadium.
Singapore have an excellent chance to go to the final for the fourth time in the history of competition if they beat Philippines in the semi-final. Singapore is one of the most successful side in the history of AFF Suzuki Cup competition, having previously won the title three times in 1998, 2005 and 2007 edition.
