It might not have been the colour they wanted to come home with, but Aide Iskandar’s charges will be happy to have finished their campaign with victory following a limp 1-0 defeat to Thailand in the semi-finals two days earlier.
A late free-kick from their Causeway rivals had denied Singapore a win when they met earlier in Group A, but there was to be no repeat of that 1-1 result the second time round.
Ong Kim Swee’s charges, who crashed out to Indonesia on penalties in their semi-final, had started brightly in front of the 2,000-odd supporters at the Zeyar Thiri Sports Stadium.
D. Saarvindran curled a free-kick wide before Nazmi Faiz slammed a 30-yard drive past the post, with the latter then shooting straight at Izwan Mahbud in the seventh minute.
But the Young Lions took the lead with their first attack. Gabriel Quak, who came in for his first start of the tournament, beat his man on the right and skipper Hariss Harun earned a corner after coming over to help out.
From Zulfahmi Arifin’s resulting delivery, goalkeeper Izham Tarmizi fumbled his catch and Hariss was johnny-on-the-spot to easily tap home the loose ball in the 13th minute.
Just one minute later, Hariss grabbed his second.
The midfielder, playing in an advanced role behind sole striker Sahil Suhaimi, timed a late run into the box perfectly to knock home a left-wing cross from the latter and stun the Malaysians in a double whammy.
Izwan pushed Saarvindran’s curler behind in the 20th minute before comfortably gathering Hazwan Bakri’s attempt from range on the half-hour, but the Malaysians were held at bay with a degree of comfort as they trailed at the break.
Rozaimi, who scored the equaliser in that first match, was brought on in the 51st minute as Malaysia upped the firepower but it was Singapore who threatened more.
Quak saw two efforts saved by Izham and Hafiz Sujad rocked the bar with a piledriver, with the former then lashing another shot over before Sahil wasted a two-on-one break with a poor final ball.
Malaysia made them pay past the hour mark when Afiq Yunos’s headed clearance fell to Thamil Arasu in the box, who was left unmarked to volley the ball into the bottom corner.
Singapore’s profligacy threatened to haunt them as the tide turned, with the yellow shirts looking increasingly dangerous.
Thamil, who was more of a menace in the second half, lashed a fierce strike from a narrow angle not far wide before setting up Nazmi for a volley that was hit straight at Izwan, as Malaysia pushed hard for an equaliser.
Another breakaway was wasted by Singapore when Sahil sprinted clear and beat Izham with his cross, but no team-mate kept up with him.
It was all hands to the pump as Malaysia piled on the pressure in the dying minutes, but it was to no avail.
Izwan was forced to clutch on to another low effort in added time and the custodian was left rooted as Saarvindran’s half-volley flew centimetres wide, leaving the winger clutching his head in disbelief.
That was the last chance for Malaysia as Singapore clung on for victory, perhaps redeeming themselves in part by bagging the bronze over the defending champions.
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Hariss hits brace as Singapore win bronze
The Young Lions captain scored twice in two minutes to stun the Malaysians as they survived a late onslaught from the defending champions to clinch third place. (Photo)
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