Nike Match Report: Indonesia 1-0 Singapore

Indonesia have won their first Suzuki Cup 2012 match of the campaign and ended Singapore's record of being the only side to not concede. The game could have gone either way in the beginning, as the first-half was fairly even.

Both sides were creating chances and coming close, yet poor finishing and solid goalkeeping allowed the scoreline to remain as it is.

Singapore were then dealt a blow when their tenacious midfielder Hariss Harun was injured in the 39th minute and had to be substituted for Aleksandar Duric.

In the second half, the contest became littered with yellow cards, as both sides became frustrated, committing fouls and late tackles, though doubts also lingered over the refereeing standards.

The Lions eventually lost their cool, as they started committing a series of needless fouls.

First Baihakki Khaizan was booked for tangling with Indonesia Wahyu Tri, however, things were not so lucky for Irwan Shah.

After having been cautioned just two minutes earlier for a late tackle, Irwan again went in for the ball late, and caught Andik Vermansah directly in front of the assistant referee, leaving the man in the middle no choice but to show the left-back a second yellow, and consequently send him off.

Despite being a man down, Singapore nearly took the lead in the 74th minute when Shi Jiayi’s cross was met by Aleksandar Duric who rose between two defenders to head the ball towards goal, only to see it hit the crossbar.

Indonesia then took the game by its neck when Shi was harshly judged to have unfairly stopped an Indonesian player in his tracks.

From the resulting free kick, Andik sailed his overhit cross over Izwan’s head for an unlikely winning goal and three points.

The result threw open Group B with Indonesia taking top spot. Singapore will play Laos on December 1 while Indonesia will take on the hosts Malaysia in a rematch of the 2010 final.