Amirul Off In Georgia
The Buns'
Amirul Jufri Khairil might have served with some distinction for eighty-six minutes in his third appearance for the national youth side, but his contribution would then be marred by a direct dismissal for his part in a free-for-all, having shoved Irakli Goradze after what he felt was a purposeful late challenge. Georgia were already two up by then, and although Lee Tze Yew pulled one back in added time, that still left Singapore lingering in fifth on four points, after five rounds.
This was quite the downer after Amirul had, together with International's
Phua Li Kong, helped the Young Lions to their first win in the tournament against Vietnam just a few days before, and Buns head coach
Vishnu Tallapaka would defend his player on the sending-off. "Not to criticize the referee, but they let that kind of thing go most of the time. It hardly qualified as contact, really."
The day would also be the end of the line for trainees Chai Hui Tian, Raman Iyengar and Neo Jia Yau from the Birds, Ng Ping Yeng from the Buns, and Hamri Bustomi from International, as the final extensions on their temporary contracts ran out. "It's tough out there." Birds assistant coach Nuh Alawee Ramli sympathized. "All of them worked hard, but they just lacked that little extra."