2014 LionsXII season
# 2014 LionsXII season

The 2014 season is LionsXII's third in the 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. 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.

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.

## 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 Archived 6 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine | 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. 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.

LionsXII started their 2014 campaign with a 1–0 loss to Pahang in the Charity Cup and league match season opener. 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.

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. 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. 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.

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.

| Date | Pos. | Opponents | H/A | Score | Goalscorers |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 17 Jan | 9th | Pahang | A | 0–1 Archived 26 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine | |
| 25 Jan | 7th | Selangor | H | 2–1 Archived 6 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine | Shakir Hamzah 44', Khairul Amri 90'+3 |
| 28 Jan | 7th | Johor Darul Takzim | A | 2–2 | Khairul Amri 66', Hafiz Sujad 69' |
| 8 Feb | 9th | Terengganu | H | 0–0 Archived 6 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine | |
| 15 Feb | 5th | ATM | A | 1–2 | Khairul Amri 47', Afiq Yunos 90'+2 |
| 8 Mar | 7th | Kelantan | H | 1–2 Archived 9 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine | Khairul Amri 26' |
| 15 Mar | 8th | Sarawak | A | 3–1 | Nazrul Nazari 36' |
| 22 Mar | 8th | PKNS | H | 2–1 | Zulfahmi Arifin 43', Faris Ramli 60' |
| 25 Mar | 5th | Perak | A | 0–1 | Safuwan Baharudin 90'+3 |
| 29 Mar | 5th | T–Team | H | 1–1 Archived 30 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine | Safuwan Baharudin 24' |
| 5 Apr | 4th | Sime Darby | A | 0–2 | Safuwan Baharudin 52', Khairul Amri 62' |
| 12 Apr | 6th | Sime Darby | H | 0–1 | |
| 15 Apr | 5th | Pahang | H | 4–1 Archived 17 April 2014 at the Wayback Machine | Safuwan Baharudin 29', Sufian Anuar 79', 90'+2, 90'+6 |
| 19 Apr | 6th | Selangor | A | 1–0 Archived 21 April 2014 at the Wayback Machine | |
| 17 May | 8th | Terengganu | A | 2–1 | Khairul Amri 8' |
| 20 May | 8th | Johor Darul Takzim | H | 2–3 Archived 21 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine | Faris Ramli 38', Zulfahmi Arifin 41' |
| 24 May | 8th | ATM | H | 2–1 | Khairul Amri 16', Zulfahmi Arifin 21' |
| 10 Jun | 8th | Kelantan | A | 2–1 | Faris Ramli 68' |
| 14 Jun | 8th | Sarawak | H | 0–0 | |
| 17 Jun | 8th | PKNS | A | 2–1 | Gabriel Quak 25' |
| 21 Jun | 8th | Perak | H | 0–2 | |
| 25 Jun | 8th | T–Team | A | 0–1 | Faris Ramli 66' |

Final standings

| Pos | Teamvte | 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 | 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 |

* ↑ 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.

| 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 Archived 6 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine | 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.

| 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 |
| - | - | - | - |
| 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 Super League | Malaysia FA Cup | Malaysia FA Cup | Malaysia Cup | Malaysia Cup | Total | Total | Discipline | Discipline |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Squad No. | Pos. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | | |
| 1 | GK | Izwan Mahbud | 17 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 69 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | Shakir Hamzah | 17 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | Afiq Yunos | 14 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 4 | MF | Isa Halim (c) | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 5 | FW | Syafiq Zainal | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | Madhu Mohana | 12 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 7 | FW | Gabriel Quak | 9 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | Hafiz Sujad | 14 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 9 | DF | Faritz Hameed | 16 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 10 | FW | Khairul Nizam | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | DF | Nazrul Nazari | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | MF | Aqhari Abdullah | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 15 | FW | Sufian Anuar | 12 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | MF | Raihan Rahman | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | Faris Ramli | 17 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | GK | Khairulhin Khalid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | FW | Khairul Amri | 17 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | DF | Safuwan Baharudin (vc) | 17 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 5 | 3 | 0 |
| 22 | MF | Ignatius Ang | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | MF | Zulfahmi Arifin | 14 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 3 | 5 | 0 |
| 24 | MF | Firdaus Kasman | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 25 | DF | Emmeric Ong | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | MF | Shahfiq Ghani | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 27 | MF | Samuel Nadarajah | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | DF | Baihakki Khaizan | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | GK | Qadir Yusoff | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| – | DF | Faliq Sudhir | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

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.

