Road to South Africa: Lions too good for Kuwait

International Friendly
KUWAIT 0 SINGAPORE 2
Al-Ansar Sultan Qaboos International Stadium
Muscat, Oman Singapore has scored a convincing 2-0 win over Kuwait in a friendly played on Thursday evening at the Al-Ansar Sultan Qaboos Stadium in Muscat, Oman. It was the first match for the Lions on tour ahead of a vital World Cup match in Riyadh against Saudi Arabia on 6th February.
After a closely-fought first half where Kuwait appeared to have a very slight edge by the time things drew to a close, Singapore turned up the heat when play resumed and went on to win with conviction.
Lionel Lewis in the LionsÂ’ goal was kept busy, especially in the first half, making a number of fine saves in the opening 45 minutes and then twice denying the Kuwaiti attack with near-post saves at key moments in the second half.
The Singapore midfield was dominant for long periods with John Wilkinson, in particular, on song. Mustafic Fahrudin provided the necessary muscle in the middle in support of first Shi Jiayi, on the flank and then in the second half substitute Ridhuan Muhamad, who caused massive problems for Kuwait with his pace down the right.
It was the introduction of Ridhuan and Khairul Amri at half time for first half skipper Indra Sahdan and left flanker Fazrul Nawaz that turned the tide the LionsÂ’ way.
Singapore: Lionel Lewis (C2), Noh Rahman, Precious Emuejeraye, Baihakki Khaizan, Daniel Bennett, Shi Jiayi (Shahril Ishak 81), John Wilkinson (Hariss Harun 87), Mustafic Fahrudin (Isa Halim 90), Fazrul Nawaz (Khairul Amri 46), Indra Sahdan (C1 (Ridhuan Muhamad 46), Aleksandar Duric (Agu Casmir 76)
Subs not used: Hassan Sunny, Faizal Hamid, Ismail Yunos, JumaÂ’at Jantan, Sevki ShaÂ’ban
Kuwait: Nawaf El Khaldi, Mohammad Rashad (Garah El Rateky) Naher El Shimry (C) Yusif El Youha (Adel El Edan), El Rahman, Fahd Rawad, Mohammed Gragh (Ibrahim Shahb), Salah El Shakh (Hamed El Anzi), Walid Ali (Khalid El Khalif), Bader El Motwah, Fahd El Fahd
Subs not used: RGK Khalid El Fadli, Ahmed El Edan, Khalid El Shimry, Hussein Hakim, Khalid Abdul Kodos.
Cautions: Mustafic Fahrudin 2, Lionel Lewis 76, Hariss Harun 90
Red Card: Ridhuan Muhamad 90
Coming up: Oman v Singapore
Kickoff: 1830hrs local time (2230hrs, Sunday 27 January 2008 Singapore time)
Al-Ansar Sultan Qaboos International Stadium, Muscat