Malaysia vs Singapore Player Ratings

Malaysia

Khairul Fahmi Che Mat - 9

An outstanding game by the Kelantan custodian who replaced Sharbinee Allawee from the first-leg defeat. Khairul Fahmi made two good saves from Qiu Li in the opening fifteen minutes, and kept Malaysia in the tie with a stunning save from a Shaiful Esah free-kick in the 39th minute.

Had clean hands when handling high balls, and was quick to rush off his line to deny Qiu Li in the 90th minute. One of the best goalkeepers in the region at present.

Mahali Jasuli - 7

The right-back toiled manfully all night long and was not afraid to put in a hard challenge. Was also ever-ready to help out in attack.

Fadhli bin Mohd Shas - 7

Excellent - and painful - block to deny Aleksandar Duric in the first half. Fadhli was undersized against his veteran opponent but stuck to his task all night long.

Mohd Aidil Zafuan (off 22') - N/A

K. Rajagopal took a huge gamble on playing the half-fit Aidil and it backfired on him when the 23-year-old Negeri Sembilan defender limped off midway through the first half.

Asraruddin Putra Omar - 7

Both Malaysian full-backs should be proud of the performances they put in. Asraruddin kept a tight leash on Shi Jiayi all night long, but was also keen on venturing forward to support his left-winger S. Kunalan.

Amirul Hadi Zainal - 6.5

Credit has to be given to Amirul Hadi who never stopped trying to get the better of Lions left-back Shaiful Esah. Pacy and armed with a bag of tricks, perhaps the only criticism of the Selangor winger was the lack of quality crosses down the right.

Ismail Faruqi Asha'ri (off 63') - 5

Ismail Faruqi was always going to have a tough time trying to fill the big boots of suspended captain Safiq Rahim. He showed a couple of nice touches early on, but tried too hard to create something out of nothing and was kept quiet by the defensive-minded duo of Hariss Harun and Mustafic Fahrudin.

Amar Rohidan - 7

An impressive peformance by the Kedah man, who played his role as holding midfielder to perfection. He showed good awareness to mop up messes in front of the Malaysian back four, and his distribution was neat throughout the match.

Influence declined in the second half though, probably due to fatigue at having to provide a shield for his defence.

Kunalan Subramaniam - 8

Singapore were already aware of the danger this man posed, after he caused Ismail Yunos to be sent off in the first-leg with his sheer pace and trickery.

Would be disappointed with his shot straight at the Singaporean keeper in the fifth minute, but deserves credit for playing to the whistle in the build-up to Malaysia's goal. While the Lions were all expecting the referee to call for a free-kick after Kunalan was felled outside the box, the Negeri Sembilan man continued on his way, before slipping in a clever pass for Safee Sali to hammer home.

Abdul Hadi Yahya (off 71') - 4

Probably awarded a starting berth by Rajagopal after his goal-scoring heroics at the Jalan Besar Stadium last Saturday. However, Abdul Hadi looked a shadow of the player he was in the first-leg, and was unsurprisingly hauled off just after the 70th-minute mark.

Safee Sali - 7.5

He may have opened the scoring for the Tigers - and what a clinical finish it was - but Safee was largely disappointing after a bright start.

Showed what he was capable off early on when he completely bamboozled Mustafic Fahrudin near the byline, before laying on a neat pass which Kunalan failed to take advantage of. Ultimately, Safee could not find his feet, and failed to muster a effort on goal of note, apart from his expertly-taken goal in the 57th minute.

Subs

Muslim Ahmad (on 22') - 5.5

It's never a good feeling starting on the bench before being brought on early on in the game, knowing you weren't your coach's first-choice selection, and Muslim couldn't quite fill the boots of the injury-hit Aidil Zafuan.

Was good in the air but put in a number of reckless and unnecessary challenges, and was extremely slow to react when the ball hit the deck.

Kandasamy Gurusamy (on 63') - 6

Kandasamy was brought on with slightly less than half an hour to go in hopes he would be able to provide the Tigers with some much-needed drive. Ultimately, his introduction was in vain. While he was tidy in possession, he failed to come up with the killer pass that Safee would have thrived on.

Ahmad Fakri Saarani (on 71') - 5

Looked lively after coming on for the ineffective Abdul Hadi, but as the game edged closer to a Singapore win on aggregate, Fakri let his emotions get the better of him.

First he clattered into Lions custodian Izwan to pick up a yellow, before a late challenge on Juma'at Jantan saw Ahmad Fakri receive his marching orders.

Singapore

Izwan Mahbud - 8

After a nervy performance in the first-leg, Izwan more than redeemed himself with a brave and commanding showing, no easy feat for a 21-year-old playing in front of a capacity crowd at the Bukit Jalil Stadium.

Izwan claimed crosses with authority all night long and looks set to stay between the posts for the Lions over the next decade. Couldn't do much for Safee's goal.

Juma'at Jantan - 4

Juma'at must have been hoping he would have a better game after being shifted to right-back in the wake of Ismail Yunos' suspension. In the end, he almost singlehandedly allowed Malaysia to take control of the tie.

The Home United full-back showed no composure when on the ball, regularly hammering it out for throw-ins despite no apparent pressure. He was clumsy in the challenge and was regularly caught napping by the nifty Gunalan.

Switched to left-back following the substitution of Shaiful Esah, but gave to ball away to Amirul Hadi in his own box. To his credit, he won it back before the Malaysian winger could pull a shot away.

Safuwan Baharudin - 8.5

Another Lion who acquitted himself after a poor first-leg performance. Safuwan may be built slightly, but he showed no signs of being afraid of the physically-imposing Safee, and was a rock in the heart of defence all night long.

Unbeatable in the air, and definitely one for the future.

Daniel Bennett - 7

As expected, a neat and tidy game from the veteran defender who was overshadowed by his younger defensive partner.

Shaiful Esah (off 83') - 7

Showed coach Radojko Avramovic he should have played a part in the first-leg after coming in for the suspended Ismail Yunos, and starring down the left-flank.

Assured in defence, Shaiful also possesses a sweet left foot, which he almost put the good use when he curled an exquisitive free-kick in the 39th minute, only to be denied by the acrobatics of Khairul Fahmi.

Shi Jiayi - 8

One of Singapore's best players on the night. He never gave up despite coming up against the excellent Asraruddin. Could have stretched the Malaysian defence more had he hugged the touchline more regularly.

Ultimately, Shi deserves the plaudits for sending Singapore through, as he raced through to meet Aleksandar Duric's flick-on in the 72nd minute, before calmly slotting home.

Hariss Harun - 8

Once again, Hariss showed why he is regarded as a future Lions captain despite his tender years. When the game was in the balance early on, the Young Lions midfielder was quick to snap in with a couple of sharp tackles to let his Malaysian opponents know he was there.

Hardly gave away possession all night long, and provided excellent cover in front of his back four.

Mustafic Fahrudin - 7

Like Bennett, Mustafic put in an assured performance for the Lions, but was largely overshadowed by his young counterpart.

Shahril Ishak (off 79') - 6

Long regarded as one of Singapore's brightest talents, Shahril has established himself as a key member of the national team in recent years. However, while he showed his skill and quality on occasion, it would have been more helpful had he shown more drive and influence.

Instead, he was often caught stranded on the left-wing, and failed to put his stamp on the game.

Qiu Li - 3

He may have been the star five days ago, but Qiu Li was extremely disappointing for the Lions on Wednesday night. It wasn't his two misses in the 10th and 15th minute that put a blemish on his performance, but rather his sheer lack of desire to lend a helping hand to his team-mates.

Too often he was seen standing a metre away from a fellow Lion demanding the ball instead of running into space to draw a defender away, and when he did get the ball, he often tried to beat the whole Malaysian defence by himself.

To his credit, he did provide a moment of magic near the end when he danced through on goal, but again, he attempted to round Khairul Fahmi instead of taking a first-time shot. Has the quality, but needs to get back to full match fitness, after spending most of his time on the ground rather than on his feet.

Aleksandar Duric - 7

Didn't get on the scoresheet, but Duric's sheer imposing presence up front means the opposition defence are always on their toes.

Was denied by a brilliant block from Fadhil in the 15th minute, but made a telling contribution when he flicked on a header for Shi to claim Singapore's equaliser.

Subs

Fazrul Nawaz (on 79') - 6

Had an early opportunity to make an impact when he was played through in the penalty box mere seconds after coming on, with the flag staying down.

Incredibly, the SAFFC forward struggled to control a simple pass as the ball rolled out for a goalkick. Redeemed himself somewhat later on by providing much needed pace down the left as Singapore sought to run the game out.

Isa Halim (on 83') - N/A

Brought on for the more attack-minded Shaiful to shore up Singapore's defence in the closing minutes. Considering the woeful effort put in by Juma'at before him - who moved to left-back after Shaiful's departure - it was almost impossible for Isa to do any worse.