Written by: Muhammad Yazid
Courts Young Lions forward Sahil Suhaimi carried his league’s goal-scoring form onto the international stage as he bagged his first goal for Singapore in a 2-1 victory over Papua New Guinea.
Sahil not only opened the scoring in the match, but did so in sublime fashion to send the home crowd roaring at Hougang Stadium on Saturday evening.
The striker did so by dodging past three defenders while running with the ball, before showing immaculate control to guide the ball home via the upright.
Sahil was all smiles after the final whistle as he shared his joy at opening his accounts for Singapore in his third appearance for the country.
“It feels great to score for the ‘A’ national team. I am looking forward to scoring more goals in the future for the country,” the SEA Games 2013 Bronze medalist said.
“This goal is a stepping stone. Today I scored one goal in one game; maybe in future I would score two or three goals in a game.
“It is great to score that kind of goal but there was a little bit of luck. I knew what I was doing because if I chose to shoot early, the two defenders who were coming towards me would have blocked it.”
Hougang Stadium is proving to be a hunting ground for Sahil, after he scored a similar goal there against Hougang United earlier in the season.
The 22-year-old himself admitted that it was due to that brilliant effort against Hougang that he managed to execute an almost like-for-like move.
“I scored a similar goal against Hougang United in the 3-0 win and I think that would have given me the confidence to try something like that again,” he said.
However, Sahil was quick to point out that he did not deserve all the applause, as his national teammate Shahdan Sulaiman was also important in creating the goal.
“Shahdan saw me running and it was a good pass from him. I told him before the game that the opponents like to push up high, so just play the ball forward,” he praised.
Catch the Lions and Sahil in action on Tuesday at the Hougang Stadium as Singapore will next play Hong Kong in another international friendly.