The Singapore Under-16 Boys kept their Lion City Cup title hopes alive after notching a convincing 3-0 over Cambodia on Friday (11 July), setting up a high-stakes showdown against Hong Kong, China in the tournament’s last game on Sunday (13 July).
Singapore Boys’ Head Coach Ashraf Ariffin was impressed with how his side responded mentally after their opening day defeat.
“This is the resilience we want to see from the players. It’s a crucial part of our development, especially when we go into bigger international games where the boys keep pushing till the final whistle,” he explained.
Ashraf is buoyed by his team’s first victory at the tournament and is already looking ahead to his final and most important assignment – a decisive result against Hong Kong.
“The mood amongst the players is fantastic. The boys are happy with their first win, and they are hungry for more positive results,” said Ashraf.
“However, recovery is still our priority. There are also things that we would like to review and improve within the team. We will set our objectives for the final game during the recovery process.”
As it stands, the Philippines and Hong Kong are tied on four points after their 1-1 draw on 11 July. Singapore are third on three points, ahead of Cambodia who have lost both their games. Singapore will need to secure a win over Hong Kong, and hope that the Philippines fail to beat Cambodia to win the tournament.
Cambodia Head Coach Nicolas Grezault remained unfazed despite suffering two defeats in their two games so far and is keeping his eyes firmly fixed on developing his young squad.
“I want to see how my other players who have not started yet manage tough in-game situations,” described Grezault.
“(Against Singapore), we lost the game mentally in the final 10 minutes. We need to work on this so it will not affect us in the future. We will analyse the game and find the solutions necessary for us to grow,” he added.
Hong Kong Head Coach Takuro Hosaka has urged his boys to make the most of their closing match against the hosts after seeing them settle for a point against the Philippines.
“This has been a really important experience for these young players, who are the future of this team,” said Hosaka.
“We want to win this tournament, but helping the boys get to the next level is more important. I want to see the same effort, or even more, from them in our final game.”
All eyes will be on Philippines as they head into their last match against Cambodia poised to claim the title, but Head Coach Tetsuya Tsuchida is committed to getting a positive result in the final matchday.
“We are fully focused on the next game. This presents a great opportunity for us to develop our players. I want to teach the players how to play our brand of football and have them give their 100 percent,” he said.
The final day of the Lion City Cup (13 July) will see Philippines take on Cambodia at 5pm, before Singapore face off against Hong Kong at 8pm.
Tickets are available from Ticketek and at the ticket booth at the North Gate of the Jalan Besar Stadium on matchdays.
