The Singapore Under-22 Men’s National Team fell to a 3-1 defeat against Timor-Leste in their SEA Games Group A opener, despite a fantastic start at the Rajamangala Stadium on Saturday (6 December) night.
Singapore took a 10th minute lead before conceding three goals first-half goals. The team emerged with more purpose in the second half, but could not find a breakthrough, hitting the Timor-Leste woodwork three times before the end of the 90 minutes.
With Thailand beating Timor-Leste 6-1 in the group’s opening fixture on 4 December, this result means Singapore’s hopes of qualifying for the semi-finals hang by a thread, because only the three group winners and the best second-placed team will advance to the semi-finals.
“We apologise to the fans. It’s not what the fans expect. We really urge them to understand that this is part of the journey to build for future campaigns. Nobody likes to lose, myself included, but I think these are obstacles we have to go through in order to see success in the near future,” said Head Coach Firdaus Kassim.
Singapore were initially Group C – alongside Indonesia, Myanmar and the Philippines – the Lions were re-drawn into Group A following Cambodia’s withdrawal from the competition.
“We started well and scored the first goal. Unfortunately, we didn’t build on it and we conceded three soft goals,” he added.
Singapore opened the scoring in the 10th minute. A sharp turnover in midfield launched a quick counterattack, with Nathan Mao driving forward before slipping a pass into the path of Khairin Nadim. His left-footed strike came off the base of the post, but captain Amir Syafiz reacted quickest to guide home the rebound.
That lead, however, was short-lived. Eight minutes later, Timor-Leste responded through a well-worked move. Oligar Xavier’s clever cut-back found Tristan Xavi free in the box. Aizil Yazid produced an excellent save to keep out the initial effort, but Vabio Canavaro was first to the loose ball and levelled the match.
The opponents struck again three minutes before the break. Singapore were undone by another cut-back from Xavier, this time he found an unmarked Anizo Correia who slammed home to make it 2-1.
Timor-Leste then added a third in first-half stoppage time. After dispossessing Amir Syafiz deep in Singapore territory, Xavier surged past two defenders and forced another strong save from Aizil. But the rebound fell kindly for him to slot home his side’s third of the night.
Recognising the need to inject a spark into his ailing side, Firdaus threw on forward Nicolas Beninger in place of Nathan Mao and Singapore returned from the interval with renewed urgency.
Just four minutes after the restart, the Lions came within inches of pulling one back when Kieran Teo met a superb Jonan Tan set-piece delivery, only to see his effort crash off the post with the goalkeeper beaten.
Singapore continued to press, pushing numbers forward and showing far more urgency in possession. Aizil remained alert at the other end, producing a sharp save at his near post in the 78th minute to deny Xavier a second.
Five minutes later, the woodwork denied Singapore again. After excellent wing play from Tan, his reverse pass released Beninger, whose close-range effort slipped under the goalkeeper but pinged agonisingly off the post – the third time Singapore hit the woodwork.
“This was a painful result, especially in the manner that we lost. But while we had some very good chances that we should have converted, all in all, I am proud of the effort, especially in that second half,” said Firdaus.
“Now, it’s about regrouping ahead of our next match (against Thailand).”
Singapore will face the hosts at the Rajamangala Stadium on Thursday, 11 Dec. Kick off is at 8pm (SGT).
