The 2013 season was LionsXII's 2nd season in the Malaysia Super League, when they won their first MSL title.
LionsXII were set a target of finishing in the top five for the 2013 Malaysia Super League. Five senior players, namely Shahril Ishak, Isa Halim, Fazrul Nawaz, Irwan Shah and Baihakki Khaizan were included in the 29-man squad, while other key players such as Shahdan Sulaiman and Shaiful Esah were left out. The main aim was to develop the U-23 players and prepare them for the upcoming 2013 Southeast Asian Games held in Myanmar at the end of the year.
Malaysia Super League
LionsXII began their campaign by defeating ATM FA 1–0 away. Subsequently, they vanquished the nation's traditional rivals Selangor FA. However, they stumbled to three losses against lowly T-Team FC and PKNS FC away. One sent them crashing out of the 2013 Malaysia FA Cup. In a turn of events, LionsXII went on a long unbeaten streak, securing important wins over Pahang FA (3–0), Kelantan FA (1–0), and ATM FA (3–1) at home. – TODAYonline, 27 June 2013
On 2 July 2013, a 4–0 win over relegation-threatened FELDA United FC in the penultimate league game made LionsXII league champions. Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong was present for the match played in front of a sold-out crowd at the Jalan Besar Stadium. The MSL trophy was also brought to the stadium as the LionsXII received it on home soil after the final whistle. LionsXII became the first foreign team to win the MSL, adding to the four Malaysian league titles it had won in 1979, 1981, 1985, and 1994. The title run was defined by a combination of good defence (15 goals conceded, the best record in the MSL) and goals from set-pieces (17 out of 32). The club also went invincible at home (10 wins and 1 draw) in the league.
The news of V. Sundramoorthy leaving to helm Negeri Sembilan FA was confirmed on 7 October 2013. On 13 October, the Football Association of Singapore posted an advertisement openly to recruit the succeeding LionsXII coach. Former Johor Darul Takzim coach and ex-Singapore international Fandi Ahmad is speculated to take over the position. Other candidates include former Warriors FC coach Richard Bok and Liverpool F.C. stalwart Steve McMahon.
Date Pos. Opponents H/A Score Goalscorers 9 Jan 5thATM A 0–1 Shahril 66' 12 Jan 2ndSelangor H 1–0 Fazrul 23' 15 Jan 4thPKNS A 1–0 19 Jan 3rdTerengganu H 2–1 Safuwan 64', Syafiq 74' 22 Jan 4thT-Team A 1–0 16 Feb 2ndPahang H 3–0 Faris 12', Safuwan 64', Fazrul 76' 19 Feb 2ndJohor Darul Takzim A 2–2 Hariss 4', Baihakki 38' 2 Mar 3rdFELDA United A 0–0 9 Mar 3rdKelantan H 1–0 Shahfiq 87' 30 Mar 1stNegeri Sembilan H 1–0 Shahril 79' 6 Apr 1stPerak H 2–1 Shahril 7', 57' 13 Apr 1stNegeri Sembilan A 1–1 Fazrul 19' 20 Apr 1stATM FA H 3–1 Shahfiq 27', 70', Shahril 45'+1 (pen.) 27 Apr 1stSelangor A 0–0 7 May 1stTerengganu A 1–2 Baihakki 78', Hasmizan 90'+1 (o.g.) 11 May 1stT-Team H 3–0 Shahril 9', Shakir 28', Fazrul 35' 17 May 1stPahang A 1–1 Shahril 11' 27 May 1stPKNS H 3–1 Hariss 54', Nazrul 58', Khairul Nizam 89' 22 Jun 1stJohor Darul Takzim H 1–1 Safuwan 82' 25 Jun 1stPerak A 1–1 Shahfiq 75' 2 Jul 1stFELDA United H 4–0 Azrul 46' (o.g.), Shahril 57', Fazrul 61', Shahfiq 83' 6 Jul 1stKelantan A 2–0 Final standings
Malaysia FA Cup
Following inclement weather and a water-logged pitch, the match against PKNS was abandoned in the 38th minute with PKNS leading 1–0. The scoreline was reset for the rescheduled match but the teams had to submit the same starting line-ups. LionsXII were forced to bring on two substitutes in Faris Azienuddin and Izzdin Shafiq in the first minute as initial players Faritz Hameed and Shahril Ishak were unavailable. Raihan Rahman was dismissed for a second yellow card in the 24th minute with his first caution from the abandoned match carrying over. Fauzan Dzulkifli scored the only goal in the match to knock the Lions out of the competition.
Date Round Opponents H/A Score Goalscorers 26 Jan Round 1PKNS A 1–0
Malaysia Cup
On 27 July, LionsXII were drawn into Group D for the 2013 Malaysia Cup with Perak FA, Sarawak FA and Kedah FA. They drew Kedah (2–2) in Singapore and succumbed to two collapses against Perak (1–0) and Sarawak (2–1). With those results, they nearly bowed out of the tournament. At that time, coach V. Sundramoorthy was rumoured to leave LionsXII at the end of the season to take charge of Malaysian Premier League side Negeri Sembilan FA.On the contrary, LionsXII eked out three victories (2–1 versus Perak, 1–0 versus Sarawak and 3–1 versus Kedah which marked the biggest away accomplishment of the season) out of the three remaining games to progress to the next round.
On 28 September, LionsXII narrowed a 1–0 victory over ATM FA in the first leg of the quarter-finals of the 2013 Malaysia Cup but squandered their lead and lost 1–4 in the return fixture on 4 October.
Date Round Opponents H/A Score Goalscorers 20 Aug Group stageKedah H 2–2 Shahril 10', Shahfiq 64' 24 Aug Group stageSarawak A 2–1 Safuwan 76' 27 Aug Group stagePerak A 1–0 31 Aug Group stagePerak H 2–1 Hariss 61', Safuwan 84' 18 Sep Group stageSarawak H 1–0 Fazrul 63' 21 Sep Group stageKedah A 1–3 Hariss 23', Baihakki 37', Hafiz 65' 28 Sep Quarter-finalsATM H 1–0 Madhu 39' 4 Oct Quarter-finalsATM A 4–1 Hafiz 48'
Squad statistics
SquadNo. Pos. Name Malaysia Super League Malaysia FA Cup Malaysia Cup Total DisciplineAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals1GKIzwan Mahbud2101080300102DFShakir Hamzah1410080221303DFFaris Azienuddin40100050004MFIsa Halim2101080300505DFBaihakki Khaizan15210812431316DFMadhu Mohana40003171317FWGabriel Quak1101030150108MFHafiz Abu Sujad18010722621109DFFaritz Hameed16010702403010FWFazrul Nawaz18510712663111MFSafirul Sulaiman16000001602013MFIzzdin Shafiq9010101100014MFHariss Harun (vc)16200822443015MFZulfahmi Arifin500030802016MFFazli Ayob100010201016*DFRaihan Rahman401000502117FWShahril Ishak (c)21810612892018GKKhairulhin Khalid200000200019DFIrwan Shah15010201802020FWQuentin Chen310010410021DFSafuwan Baharudin18310722659022FWRandy Pay000000000022*FWIqbal Hussain100000100023DFNazrul Nazari15100602114024FWFaris Ramli8100601410025DFAli Hudzaifi Yusof200000200026MFShahfiq Ghani13500611963127MFAqhari Abdullah401030802028GKNeezam Aziz000000000029GKSyed Sufian000000000030FWSyafiq Zainal810010910031DFFariss Hamran0000000000
Five senior players aged 23 and over were included in the 2013 squad.
Statistics accurate as of match played 4 October 2013
References