Ikhsan's Grin Is Back As Lions Secure Win

He scores in 2-1 victory but not happy with his misses, as S'pore survive bruising battle

- Deepanraj Ganesan

Several times this season, Lions forward Ikhsan Fandi found himself watching despondently from the sidelines as injuries put him out of action for both club and country.

Football brought little joy.

But, back in a Singapore kit after a year out, Ikhsan has reasons to smile again. On June 10, the forward flashed his widest grin yet after netting what turned out to be the winner in the Lions' 2-1 victory over Bangladesh in an Asian Cup third-round qualifier before a sold-out 21,317 crowd at the National Stadium in Dhaka.

His crucial 58th-minute strike meant that he has netted three goals in two games for the Lions, following his brace in a 3-1 friendly win over the Maldives at the Bishan Stadium on June 5.

"Feels good, but honestly I'm not happy with my performance, wasn't a good game from me," the 26-year-old told The Straits Times, referring to his missed chances.

"It was a really tough game, a lot of external factors we couldn't control, but I'm glad we managed to pull through."

But, at least, things are finally looking up for him, after overcoming a right knee issue and a quadriceps injury.