Singapore U16s had to win by at least two clear goals to enter semis, and backed by a vociferous home crowd, things looked promising when the Under-16s raced into an early two-goal lead against Eintracht Frankfurt on Wednesday night at the Jalan Besar Stadium
Substitute Marvin Diehl was to become the hero for the Germans when he ran through the Singapore defence in the 78th minute, saw the opening and his right-footed shot landed in the left hand corner of the Singapore net which rescued the German side from the brink of elimination.
Singapore team went 2-0 up with early goals from Irfan Fandi (9th minute) and Andin Addie (18th).
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| Man of the match: Vishaal Thaniyath |
Singapore fans could take heart that there was not much disparity on display, at least not in terms of physical advantage as the hosts paraded players like defenders Thaniyath Vishaal and Adam Hakeem Nazri and forwards who could match their German counterparts.
Eintracht Frankfurt looked the more adventurous throughout the match although the Singaporeans were equally comfortable in defence.
Vishaal Thaniyath put in a man-of-the-match performance on his first start of the tournament, and was visibly disappointed at the post-match press conference.
“I think I did my best.. I am very proud of my team,” he said, before taking a moment to compose himself.
“We gave our all, but luck wasn’t on our side.”
Vishal Thaniyath, son of Rajesh and Shiji are second generation Malayalees in Singapore, who hails from Trissur, Kerala.
