Lions' hopes of reaching semis slim after late loss to Thailand
THAILAND 1
(Sarawut Masuk 89)
SINGAPORE 0
The Lions found out just how cruel football can be when they produced an improved performance from the goalless draw against the Phillipines on Saturday (Nov 19), and still ended up with nothing after a last-gasp 0-1 loss to Thailand on Tuesday afternoon (Nov 22).
The ironically-named Sarawut Masuk flicked Teerathon Bunmathan's wicked cross from the right past goalkeeper Hassan Sunny in the 89th minute to leave Singapore's hopes of making the Suzuki Cup semi-finals hanging in the balance.
While V. Sundramoorthy's men were happy to concede possession to their technically-superior opponents, Singapore defended resolutely and Thailand had few clear-cut chances.
When the War Elephants did manage a shot on target, Hassan was there to deny the likes of Chanathip Songkrasin and Rungrath Poomchantuek.
Singapore did have opportunities to win the match, but Juma'at Jantan and Shakir Hamzah, defenders by trade, could not convert when threaded through on one-on-ones with Kawin Thamsatchanan.
Thailand currently lead Group A with six points after two games, while Singapore are third with one point before the evening match between the Philippines and Indonesia.
Read the full match report in The New Paper on Wednesday (Nov 23).
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