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The Star/Asia News Network Sunday, Jul 24, 2011 By Eric Samuel SINGAPORE - Malaysia went down fighting to Singapore 5-3 in a nail-biting Asian Zone World Cup second round first-leg qualifying match at the Jalan Besar Stadium last night. The tense encounter, played in front of 6,000 fans, also saw both teams reduced to 10 men. It was tough for the gritty Malaysians to match the home team, who meant business when they started with all five naturalised players. The result was evident as all the five goals came from the physically superior imports. The towering Aleksandar Duric scored a brace (8th, 80th) while Qiu Li (22nd), Mustafic Fahrudin (44th) and Shi Jiayi (45th) added a goal each. Safee Sali scored a brace for Malaysia (1st, 70th) while substitute Abdul Hadi Yahaya (69th) added the other goal. There was drama on and off the pitch, too. There was a scuffle in the stands when Singapore trooped off leading 4-1 in the first-half. And four minutes into the breather, Malaysia were reduced to 10 men when skipper Safiq Rahim was sent off for a rash tackle on Harris Harun. Despite the odds stacked against the Malaysians, the never-say-die attitude of the players brought back the cheers to the partisan Malaysian fans. Singapore were also reduced to 10 men when their defender Ismail Yunos was sent off for a second bookable offence in the 54th minute. The Malaysians must be praised for their persistence even when the chips were down. They fought back from three goals down and reduced the score to 3-4 by the 70th minute. But Singapore's 41-year-old striker Duric had the last say of the game with his second goal in the 80th minute. Singapore now enjoy a two-goal cushion for the return leg at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil on July 28. National coach Datuk K Rajagopal was disappoined by the team's sloppy defending, which he said was the cause of their defeat. "We had the best ever start when Safee scored after just 26 seconds of the game but after that, the whole defence collapsed and we gave away the goals just like that," said Rajagopal. It certainly was a goal feast for the Lions but the game could have gone Malaysia's way if only they were not so porous at the back. Wily midfielder S Kunalan got down to work immediately from the kick-off and his cross from the left opened up the Singapore defence, leaving Safee with a shot at goal. Singapore goalkeeper Mohd Izwan Mahbud did well to palm away the shot but the Pelita Jaya FC striker made no mistake from the rebound. But it was all Singapore's show after that shock goal. Duric caught the Malaysian defence off-guard when he latched onto Qiu Li's free-kick to easily slot the ball past goalkeeper Sharbinee Allawee in the eighth minute. Then, Qiu Li stunned Malaysia when he curled in a free-kick in the 22nd minute. Then, within a two-minute spell, Mustafic and Shi Jiayi punished the Malaysian defence with close-range goals in the 44th and 45th minutes respectively. Malaysia's fightback came in the second half with substitute Abdul Hadi Yahaya picking up a loose ball to score in the 69th minute before Safee added his second a minute later with a clinical finish from outside the box. Singapore: Mohd Izwan Mahbud, Muhd Safuwan Baharudin, Shi Jiayi, Aleksandar Duric, Qiu Li (Shahdan Sulaiman), Hariss Harun, Mustafic Fahrudin, Daniel Bennett, Shahril Ishak, Juma'at Jantan, Ismail Yunos Malaysia: Mohd Sharbinee Allawee, Mohd MUslim Ahmad, Mohd Fadhli Shas, Mahalli Jasuli, Mohd Asraruddin Putra Omar, Amar Rohidan, Safiq Rahim, S. Kunalan, Ismail Faruqi (Mohd Amirulhadi Zainal), Mohd Safee Sali (Izzaq Faris Ramlan), Ahmad Fakri Saarani (Abdul Hadi Yahaya) http://www.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNews/...724-290670.html Wat can u say more... I can onli shake head at our Sing team...