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Tag: Safuwan Baharudin

  • Safuwan Baharudin Scores, Not Enough To Avoid Defeat To Western Sydney Wanderers

    Safuwan Baharudin Scores, Not Enough To Avoid Defeat To Western Sydney Wanderers

    It all seemed promising for Safuwan Baharudin 30 minutes into his team’s A-League clash with reigning Asian club champions Western Sydney Wanderers at the Pirtek Stadium in Sydney yesterday.

    The 23-year-old Singapore football star struck a classic poacher’s goal for Melbourne City when he nodded in a 28th-minute header past ex-Liverpool reserve goalkeeper Dean Bouzanis — his second goal for the club since joining on a three-month loan last month.

    But it went downhill for Safuwan and City after that, as they ended up losing 3-2 after conceding two late goals.

    Worse, Safuwan, who played the whole 90 minutes, is now a doubt for City’s next game because of a head injury.

     

    Source: www.tnp.sg

  • Safuwan Baharudin Scores His First A-League Goal In Melbourne City’s Comeback Win

    Safuwan Baharudin Scores His First A-League Goal In Melbourne City’s Comeback Win

    Safuwan Baharudin scored his first A-League goal for Melbourne City since joining on a three-month loan from the LionsXII last month, as the Singapore defender sparked a 3-1 comeback win at their AAMI Park home ground over title hopefuls Adelaide United.

    Safuwan, 23, started at right wingback after being left out of the team’s 0-0 draw with A-League leaders Perth Glory last week.

    He had played the whole of City’s 0-0 draw away at Wellington Phoenix at right back the week before, and lasted 60 minutes in the centre of midfield during the 3-0 local derby defeat by Melbourne Victory two weeks ago.

    The home side started the match brightly but fell behind to Pablo Sanchez’s goal in the 32nd minute.

    In search of a way back into the game, City coach John van’t Schip then tinkered with his line-up at the break and Safuwan began the second 45 minutes on the left side of a four-man defence.

    What a masterstroke it turned out to be.

    Just seven minutes into the second half, Safuwan scored the crucial equaliser for City when he swept home a loose ball at the back post past Adelaide’s Australian international goalkeeper Eugene Galekovic.

    The goal rejuvenated City, and they scored a second through Josh Kennedy three minutes later.

    The home side made sure of the three points in the 87th minute when substitute Iain Ramsay finished from close range after good work from David Williams and Massimo Murdocca.

    The only blight on Safuwan’s game was a yellow card he picked up in the dying minutes of the game as City defended their lead.

    But chances are he won’t be too worried about the booking after putting up a solid performance which had match commentators touting him as a candidate for Man of the Match.

     

    Source: www.tnp.sg

  • Safuwan Baharudin Features In FIFA 15 Video Game

    Safuwan Baharudin Features In FIFA 15 Video Game

    Singapore defender Safuwan Baharudin now features in popular football video game Fifa 15, after his loan move to A-League side Melbourne City.

    Following an update earlier this week, the 23-year-old appears on the bench of the Australian side bearing the name “Baharudin”, which appears on the back of his jersey in the game as well. He is believed to be the only Singaporean player in Fifa 15.

    With a rating of 56, he is the fourth-best centre-back in the squad, and can also play at right-back and as a defensive midfielder. His best attributes in the game are sprint speed, stamina and balance.

    Safuwan made his highly anticipated A-League debut on Saturday, coming in to the Melbourne City starting line-up as a replacement for injured defensive midfielder Erik Paartalu. However, he was unable to prevent Melbourne City crashing to a 0-3 loss against city rivals Melbourne Victory, having been substituted after an hour.

    On Safuwan’s performance, his coach John van’t Schip said: “Looking at him today… he was not afraid to challenge, he was not afraid to coach (provide directions to teammates), he wanted to have the ball; he was strong in the air defensively but also when we go forward.

    “He’s a player we rate highly from what we have seen and we think he can still make big steps.”

     

    Source: www.straitstimes.com

  • Safuwan Baharudin: Everyone Involved Should Shoulder Blame For Lions’ Suzuki Cup Exit

    Safuwan Baharudin: Everyone Involved Should Shoulder Blame For Lions’ Suzuki Cup Exit

    By his own admission, it was not a good 2014 ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Suzuki Cup outing for Safuwan Baharudin.

    Two years ago, he and fellow Lion Baihakki Khaizan were feted as the region’s top central defensive pairing in Singapore’s winning campaign.

    But after their exit on Saturday from the group stage of this year’s competition, the team, their coach and the Football Association of Singapore are bearing the brunt of criticism from the football fraternity and fans who had expected more from the defending champions.

    While media reports have cited disharmony in the squad and dissatisfaction with head coach Bernd Stange as reasons for the poor showing, Safuwan would not be drawn to adding more fuel to the fire.

    Instead, the 23-year-old told TODAY: “(The blame for) Singapore’s exit from the Suzuki Cup has to be shouldered by everyone in the team and not just coach Bernd Stange. We cannot push all the blame on him. Every member of the team has to share the responsibility, Stange included.

    “But he is only the coach; he decides the line-up and the tactical formation, but at the end of the day, what the players do on the field decides the outcome of the game.

    “In short, all of us are in it together. Sink or swim.”

    Calling it a nightmare outing for the Lions, Safuwan said losses to Thailand and Malaysia showed that the team still had plenty to learn.

    “Especially in our attacking part of the game, we did not score a single goal from open play, apart from Khairul Amri’s header against Thailand,” he pointed out. “The other goals came from set pieces: Free-kicks and corner kicks.

    “We lacked creativity up front. We didn’t have someone brave and confident enough to take on opposing defenders in the 18-yard box and do the damage.”

    Until the free-kick he took, which resulted in Amri equalising against Malaysia, Safuwan’s campaign this year had been teetering on disaster. His handball late in the opener against Thailand led to the visitors’ winning penalty. In the following match, his foul on Myanmar striker Kyaw Ko Ko led to yet another penalty in a poor second half for the Lions that heralded the disaster against Malaysia.

    “I must admit that I had a very quiet tournament, especially in the opening two matches. But I know I had a better game against Malaysia, and I thought I could get better if we had entered the semi-finals,” said Safuwan.

    “The Suzuki Cup is over for us. We have the World Cup qualifiers next year. And while we’re frustrated with the early exit from the Suzuki Cup, maybe we should not dwell on it anymore and move on.”

     

    Source: www.todayonline.com