XinMSN: Yesil edges Singapore

In the second semi-final, dangerous marksman Samed Yesil put a battling, inventive Singapore side to the sword

Adam Morgan claimed after the match Liverpool showed Singapore's team the kind of respect they would accord Barcelona.

High praise indeed, and probably a little exaggerated, but Aide Iskandar's boys put in a showing Singaporeans could be proud of, surrendering by a mere 1-0 in the NexLions Cup semi-finals this evening.

"We rose to the occasion. I'm disappointed we didn't score. We had the chances but unfortunately this is football. Overall I'm very proud of the boys. We managed to compete with a good side," the Singapore Selection coach said.

"We gave Liverpool a tough fight."

Despite fielding players up to three years older than the Liverpool U19s, the locals were always hard-pressed to get a result. Throughout the game, the Merseysiders' composure and fitness showed, with man-of-the-match Samed Yesil grabbing the winner via a backheel, after winning the initial corner kick.

Still, Singapore were fearless and set out to make life difficult for their opponents, with attackers Safirul Sulaiman, Iqbal Hussain and Shahfiq Ghani, though wasteful, especially problematic.

On what motivated his players, Aide said, "Basically it's about playing for pride. I always tell my boys, once you put on the national jersey, you have the national flag on your chest, you should play like there's no tomorrow."

Liverpool will face Sporting Lisbon in the final on Sunday, while Singapore entertain Manchester United for 3rd place.

Aide is wary, despite the Red Devils' 4-1 humbling at the hands of Sporting.

"Sporting were a class above. [But] United are a well-grilled and disciplined team, not an easy team to break. We can't take United lightly," he warned.

Source: XinMSN