2014 LionsXII season

The 2014 season is LionsXII's third in the Malaysia Super League.

LionsXII
2014 season
ChairmanZainudin Nordin
ManagerFandi Ahmad
StadiumJalan Besar Stadium
Malaysia Super League8th
Malaysia FA CupRound of 16
Top goalscorerLeague: Khairul Amri
All: Khairul Amri
Highest home attendance8,000 vs Johor Darul Ta'zim (20 May, Malaysia Super League)
Lowest home attendance4,986 vs Johor Darul Ta'zim (14 Jun, Malaysia Super League)

After winning the 2013 Malaysia Super League title, head coach V. Sundramoorthy left for Malaysia Premier League side Negeri Sembilan at the end of the previous season.[1] Singapore legend and former Singapore Lions teammate Fandi Ahmad was appointed as the new head coach on 7 December 2013 with another ex-teammate Nazri Nasir joining him as his assistant on 16 December.[2][3]

On the playing front, the Lions lost the services of key players midfielder Hariss Harun, defender Baihakki Khaizan, club captain and top-scorer Shahril Ishak to rival Super League clubs. Khairul Amri (Tampines Rovers) and Sufian Anuar (Warriors) were signed to booster the depleted squad while midfielder Isa Halim was appointed the new LionsXII captain.[4]

Pre-season friendlies

LionsXII preceded their campaign with a year-end friendly against under-23 side Young Lions. The team then went on a pre-season tour of Indonesia where they played matches against three local clubs.

Date Opponents H/A Score Goalscorers
31 Dec Young Lions N 1–3 Ignatius Ang 69′
4 Jan Persis Solo A 3–0
7 Jan PPSM Magelang A 1–2 Khairul Amri 55', Sufian Anuar 60'
10 Jan PSS Sleman A 0–1 Khairul Amri 45'

Malaysia Super League

The Football Association of Singapore (FAS) announced a 24-man squad for the new season in December 2013; eight senior players were included in the initial list.[5] Midfielder Firdaus Kasman (on loan from Tampines Rovers) and centre-back Faliq Sudhir were confirmed as player additions in mid-January. Following the loss of several influential players and an increased foreign player quota for the rest of the league, the Lions targeted a top-three finish in the Malaysian Super League.[6][7]

LionsXII started their 2014 campaign with a 1–0 loss to Pahang in the Charity Cup and league match season opener.[8] They defeated traditional rivals Selangor with a Khairul Amri injury time goal in the next fixture. A visit to big-spending title favourites Johor Darul Takzim saw them coming back from two goals down to tie the game after Johor's playmaker Pablo Aimar was substituted.

February started with a goalless draw at home to Terengganu despite the Lions' domination of the game. Afiq Yunos' first goal and late winner over ATM saw LionsXII move into the top half of the table for the first time this season. Head coach Fandi Ahmad also revealed he was looking to add a centre-back and a striker to his squad in the April transfer window.[9]

March began on the wrong note for LionsXII. Two defensive lapses, the second resulting from a wrong judgmental call by Isa Halim in the last minute of regulation time, condemned them to a loss to Kelantan and a first league defeat at home in 19 months. LionsXII started with Safuwan Baharudin in a supporting role behind striker Khairul Amri against Sarawak a week later; however they succumbed to a second consecutive defeat. They arrested the slide with a home win over PKNS on 22 March, with Zulfahmi Arifin scoring with a free kick on his return to the first XI and Faris Ramli with the winner on the hour mark. This marked the last game before captain Isa was ruled out for the rest of the league campaign following surgery on his persistent Achilles' tendon injury.[10] Three days later, Safuwan Baharudin scored a late winner over Perak to send LionsXII 5th in the league table. He scored again in a 1–1 draw with T-Team on 29 March.

LionsXII started April with a 2–0 win away to Sime Darby but lost by a goal to the same team in the reverse fixture a week later. Sufian Anuar came on as a second-half substitute and scored a hat-trick to defeat league leaders Pahang 4–1 at home. They ended the month with a 1–0 loss to traditional rivals Selangor, entering the mid-season break sixth in the league standings.

LionsXII re-signed former centre-half Baihakki Khaizan in May.[11] They resumed the league fixtures with a 2–1 loss away to Terengganu on 17 May. Despite leading by two goals, LionsXII conceded three times to lose to Johor Darul Takzim three days later.

The spell continued when LionsXII travelled to hosts Terengganu, as the Turtles staged a comeback to beat the Singaporeans 2–1. LionsXII finally ended the three-match losing streak by edging relegation-threatened ATM in a 2–1 victory, concluding the rounds of fixtures in May.[12]

In June, LionsXII failed to register wins, falling to Kelantan and PKNS 2–1, while being held to a stalemate by Sarawak. Collecting only one point out of the maximum nine, coach Fandi Ahmad reviewed the target set earlier in the year and targeted a top-ten finish in the league instead in order to qualify for the Malaysia Cup without going through the qualification play-offs.[13]

Date Pos. Opponents H/A Score Goalscorers
17 Jan9th Pahang[14] A 0–1
25 Jan7th Selangor H 2–1 Shakir Hamzah 44', Khairul Amri 90'+3
28 Jan7th Johor Darul Takzim A 2–2 Khairul Amri 66', Hafiz Sujad 69'
8 Feb9th Terengganu H 0–0
15 Feb5th ATM A 1–2 Khairul Amri 47', Afiq Yunos 90'+2
8 Mar7th Kelantan H 1–2 Khairul Amri 26'
15 Mar8th Sarawak A 3–1 Nazrul Nazari 36'
22 Mar8th PKNS H 2–1 Zulfahmi Arifin 43', Faris Ramli 60'
25 Mar5th Perak A 0–1 Safuwan Baharudin 90'+3
29 Mar5th T–Team H 1–1 Safuwan Baharudin 24'
5 Apr4th Sime Darby A 0–2 Safuwan Baharudin 52', Khairul Amri 62'
12 Apr6th Sime Darby H 0–1
15 Apr5th Pahang H 4–1 Safuwan Baharudin 29', Sufian Anuar 79', 90'+2, 90'+6
19 Apr6th Selangor A 1–0
17 May8th Terengganu A 2–1 Khairul Amri 8'
20 May8th Johor Darul Takzim H 2–3 Faris Ramli 38', Zulfahmi Arifin 41'
24 May8th ATM H 2–1 Khairul Amri 16', Zulfahmi Arifin 21'
10 Jun8th Kelantan A 2–1 Faris Ramli 68'
14 Jun8th Sarawak H 0–0
17 Jun8th PKNS A 2–1 Gabriel Quak 25'
21 Jun8th Perak H 0–2
25 Jun8th T–Team A 0–1 Faris Ramli 66'

Final standings

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
6 Kelantan 22 10 1 11 26 29 −3 31
7 Sarawak 22 9 3 10 26 31 −5 30
8 LionsXII[lower-alpha 1] 22 8 4 10 26 27 −1 28
9 Perak 22 8 2 12 22 27 −5 26
10 ATM 22 6 6 10 29 34 −5 24
Source: RSSSF, FAM Official Site, Astro Arena
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored
Notes:
  1. LionsXII are not eligible for any AFC competition spots

Malaysia FA Cup

The Lions suffered an early exit to eventual semi-finalists Pahang in the round of 16 of the 2014 Malaysia FA Cup. Pahang went two goals up before Safuwan Baharudin scored a consolation goal late in the match.

The loss ended an 18-month undefeated streak at the Jalan Besar Stadium.[15]

Date Round Opponents H/A Score Goalscorers
21 Jan Round of 32 DRB-Hicom H 3–0 Sufian Anuar 28', Gabriel Quak 54', Faris Ramli 90+2'
1 Feb Round of 16 Pahang H 1–2 Safuwan Baharudin 86'

Mid-season friendlies

Myanmar training tour

During the one-month Malaysian Super League break in late April and early May, the LionsXII went on a training tour to Myanmar to play the Myanmar national football team led by former Singapore coach Raddy Avramovic and Myanmar National League side Nay Pyi Taw.[16]

Date Opponents H/A Score Goalscorers
30 Apr Nay Pyi Taw A 1–0
2 May Myanmar A 2–1 Gabriel Quak 36′

Singapore training tour

The Lions took on S.League clubs Hougang United and Young Lions in their final series of friendly matches.

Date Opponents H/A Score Goalscorers
7 May Hougang United A 1–4 Afiq Yunos 36′, Faritz Hameed 41', Safuwan Baharudin 66', Ignatius Ang 86'
11 May Young Lions N 5–1 Safuwan Baharudin 28', Gabriel Quak 32' & 43', Khairul Amri (pen.) 34', Sufian Anuar 74'

Malaysia Cup
Date Round Opponents H/A Score People
69 May Group stage FELDA United H
19 Aug Group stage Pahang H
22 Aug Group stage Johor Darul Takzim A
26 Aug Group stage Johor Darul Takzim H
29 Aug Group stage Pahang A
2 Sep Group stage FELDA United Majlis Perbandaran Selayang Stadium

Squad statistics
Squad
No.		 Pos. Name Malaysia Super League Malaysia FA Cup Malaysia Cup Total Discipline
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
1GKIzwan Mahbud 1702000190690
2DFShakir Hamzah 171200019130
3DFBeckham Putra 141200016130
4MFIsa Halim (c) 80200010020
5FWSyafiq Zainal 1010002000
6DFMadhu Mohana 120200014030
7MFGabriel Quak 90210011110
8MFHafiz Sujad 141200016120
9DFFaritz Hameed 160200018030
10FWMukhairi Ajmal 2000002000
11MFNazrul Nazari 8110009100
13MFAqhari Abdullah 7000007020
15FWSufian Anuar 123210014400
16MFRaihan Rahman 90100010030
17MFFaris Ramli 172210019300
18GKKhairulhin Khalid 0000000000
19FWKhairul Amri 177100018700
21DFSafuwan Baharudin (vc) 174210019530
22MFIgnatius Ang 0000000000
23MFZulfahmi Arifin 143200016350
24MFFirdaus Kasman 130000013020
25DFEmmeric Ong 0000000000
26FWShahfiq Ghani 9000009010
27MFSamuel Benjamin 0000000000
28DFBaihakki Khaizan 2000002000
30GKAbdul Qadir 0000000000
–DFFaliq Sudhir 0000000000

  Registered mid-season window
  De-registered mid-season window

  • LionsXII are predominantly an Under-23 team. Senior players aged 23 and over are indicated in bold. Quota of senior players is subject to approval by the FAM.

Statistics accurate as of match played 24 May 2014.

References
  1. "Sundram resigns as LionsXII and national U-23 coach". Today. 7 October 2013.
  2. "FAS appoints Fandi Ahmad as new LionsXII head coach". LionsXII. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  3. "Nazri Nasir joins LionsXII as assistant coach". LionsXII. Archived from the original on 29 March 2014. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  4. "Isa's new LionsXII captain". The New Paper. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  5. "FAS names 2014 LionsXII squad list". LionsXII. Archived from the original on 27 August 2018. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  6. "LionsXII's title defence just got tricker". Today. 26 November 2013.
  7. "LionsXII target top-three league finish". Today. 14 January 2014.
  8. "LionsXII begin season on losing note". Today. 18 January 2014.
  9. Chua Siang Yee (19 February 2014). "Fandi seeks quality additions". The Straits Times.
  10. "Captain Isa hopes to make 'last game' count". LionsXII. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
  11. Dan, Geun Chin (8 May 2014). "Baihakki back with LionsXII, Johor eyeing S-League". Today.
  12. Wong, Dominic (25 May 2014). "LionsXII clip ATM to snap losing run". LionsXII 360. Archived from the original on 19 June 2014. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
  13. "LionsXII clip ATM to snap losing run". TODAY. 20 May 2014.
  14. The result for the Charity Cup match was also taken as the corresponding Super League match result following a prior decision by the FAM.
  15. Sanjay Nair (1 February 2014). "Football: LionsXII crash out of Malaysia FA Cup after 1–2 loss to Pahang at home". The Straits Times.
  16. Fabius Chen (24 April 2014). "LionsXII to play Raddy's Myanmar on tour". The Straits Times.
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