Written by: Muhammad Yazid

Courts Young Lions and Geylang International were held in a stalemate on Monday evening as both sides were unable to break the deadlock throughout the game.

Young Lions coach Aide Iskandar was satisfied with the draw and felt that it was a fair result.

“Credits to my boys for putting up a good performance and even claiming a clean sheet because I knew it would be difficult against such an experienced team,” Aide said.

“Geylang is on-form and were on a high after defeating Tampines Rovers. We tried our best, but just could not put the ball into the back of the net.”

The former national skipper was also pleased with the fact that his side managed a draw despite missing several first-team players.

“Players like M. Anumanthan, Iqbal Hussain, Al-Qaasimy Rahman and Ali Hudzaifi are all either suffering from injuries or still recovering.

“So I had to resort to playing 18-year-old Amirul Adli at the back and 19-year-old Ammirul Emmran, and both of them did very well.”

Although both teams had numerous chances to score, Aide believed that his side enjoyed the better chances in this game.

“We could have stolen at least one goal in the match and Sahil Suhaimi’s opportunity in the second half was the closest; it was a world-class save by Siddiq Durimi,” Aide added.

“The draw is a fair result as both sides had chances to score. I am pleased with the performance and the valuable point we achieved.”

His counterpart, Jorg Steinebrunner, however expressed different sentiments as he believed that his team deserved more than just a point.

“If we had won 2-1 or 3-2, then it would have been fairer because today we looked good for the three points,” Steinebrunner lamented.

However, the German was satisfied with the effort his side put in despite having to play their second game in four days.

“I am happy because we had to play this game after having only two days of rest and we were more active and looked fresher than Young Lions,” the German commented after praising his team for claiming their second clean sheet in two games.

“It is not easy to play two games on artificial turf which takes the energy from the players, with only 48 hours of rest. So there was a lot of loss in focus and concentration.

“We had tired legs especially towards the second half and that was why the quality was not there in the game.”