It was a tale of two halves for Singapore’s Under-23 Men’s National Team in their closing game of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Under-23 Asian Cup Qualifiers.
Against Bangladesh, Singapore were in the ascendancy in the first period, carving out a host of gilt-edged chances, but lapses of concentration in transitions late into the game saw Singapore fall to a 4-1 defeat to the South Asian side.
“We are disappointed with the result, especially with the way we were controlling the ball and creating chances. At this level, if we don’t finish our chances when we are on top, the opposition will punish us – and that’s what happened today,” said Head Coach Firdaus Kassim.
The qualifying campaign hosted in the Vietnamese city of Viet Tri, served as a litmus test for the side that is set to compete at the year-end Under-22 football competition at the SEA Games in Bangkok.
“Across the tournament, we’ve shown good moments – the defensive organisation in the first 75 minutes against Vietnam, and the way we controlled the ball against Bangladesh,” Firdaus added.
“Now, moving forward, we need to find the right balance: taking risks to dominate the game, while still being defensively organised when needed.”
In the 21st minute, Lions’ forward Louka Tan-Vaissiere appeared to have been fouled in the box by Bangladeshi defender Mohammad Rimon Hossain, but the referee waved play on. Ten minutes later, the 20-year-old forward had another opportunity when his low drive tested the reflexes of goalkeeper Mehdi Hasan Srabon.
Singapore came closest to breaking the deadlock in first-half stoppage time, when Kian Jared Ghadessy’s free kick was saved by Mehdi at full stretch.
Singapore continued to push for the opener when play resumed in the second half, drawing a string of saves from the opposition keeper. But their hopes came crashing down when they conceded four quickfire goals in a 12-minute spell.
“Bangladesh are a team that is especially dangerous in transition, and we were not good enough in those moments. We dominated the first 65 minutes, but in football, you cannot justify results with good performances if you don’t take your chances,” Firdaus said.
Substitute Khairin Nadim bagged a consolation in injury time after capitalising on confusion in the Bangladesh backline.
Goalkeeper Aizil Yazid, who took over the captain’s armband from the suspended Amir Syafiz, was keen to put the result firmly in his rear view mirror.
“It’s a bad result, but I think we just take as many positive points from this game and move forward from here,” the 20-year-old said.
Firdaus will look to sharpen his side ahead of the biennial Games, emphasising a balanced tactical approach that looks to combine incision and creativity in attack with organisation and structure in defence.
He said: “The real challenge is to do this more consistently over 90 minutes. That will be our focus in the two months ahead.”
