M’sia Cup team review: Lions XII

Super League champions Lions XII need no introduction. Their presence in the Malaysia Cup, and the fact that they won the Malaysia Super League has made them the team every Malaysian team wants to beat to ‘save’ the honour of Malaysian football. But such ambition by their Malaysian counterparts will not be an easy task as Stadium Jalan Besar is a fortress for the Singaporean side, and the discipline play showed by V. Sundramoorthy’s men will prove a huge stumbling block for any team wanting to stop them from advancing to greater heights in the Malaysia Cup.

TACTICS
Lions XII play a very defensive and tight 4-2-3-1 formation, with plenty of ability to shift to a much more direct 4-5-1 when needed. This means that the team emphasis on crowding the midfield in order to over-power their opponents with one free roaming attacking midfield, which is occupied by top scoring Shahril Ishak. Such tactics also works well on Stadium Jalan Besar’s artificial pitch as Lions XII can manipulate the game play easily once they have dominated the midfield. The team tends to keep their game simple at Jalan Besar Stadium with short passes being more evident in their game play.

ATTACK
Shahfiq Ghani is the preferred striker for the Lions this season with five goals to his scoring sheet to show off. The player has good ball control and positioning, making him suitable for the Sundramoorthy’s lone striker game play. Although Shahfiq may not be the tallest in the field, his ability to position himself well during attacking raids may lead to vital goals for the Lions. Khairul Nizam is also a player to watch out for, because he is known to be able to finish off chances given.

MIDFIELD
The biggest and strongest department for the Lions. Shahril Ishak is key to this Singaporean side as he not only takes all dead ball shots for his team, but also is the main architect in any attack. The 14 assist by Shahril also proves how much influence Shahril has over the Lions results, as he delivers accurate and decisive passes to his men. Apart from that, the speed of the Lions XII flanks are extremely dangerous with them having the ability to outrun defenses and unleashing deadly crosses into the box. Teams against Lions XII must watch out for dangerous byline crosses by Faris Ramli and Gabriel Quak whom are not only a gifted wingers, but are also very skillful and creative. Sundramoorthy has also smartly placed two solid defensive midfielders in the likes of Muhammad Isa Abdul Halim to slow down any attacks hence giving his men time to regroup defensively. Statistics show that the midfielders of Lions XII are more than capable of scoring, hence making it difficult for opposing teams play man marking as a lapse in concentration can be severely punished by the Lions midfielders.

DEFENSE
Deep lying defenders for the Lions leak more goals away from home, but the number is minimal. Overlapping full backs are a common practice in the team with Baihakki Khaizan and Safuwan Baharud giving aerial defensive advantage, as well as an added attacking option during set pieces. Despite having 9 clean sheets, Izwan Mahbud does have problems stopping low and grounded shots.

OUR VERDICT
Lions XII have every chance to advance to the next eight, and maybe would make it up to the last four. However, the team tends to pick up a lot of yellow cards, and may find themselves limping as they progress in the competition. Scout reports suggest that the team tends to make errors when playing with opponents whom always close down their opponents, hence making them vulnerable to attacks especially when playing on grass. Nonetheless, with the artificial pitch at Jalan Besar at hand, Lions XII is more than assured the last eight slot, with Sarawak looking certain to challenge for the top spot in Group D.

PLAYERS TO WATCH
Shahril Ishak, Baihakki Khaizan, Muhamad Shakir Hamzah, Muhammad Isa Abdul Halim, Shahfiq Ghani

-Image above from Lions XII Facebook page