Young Lions virtually out after another defeat
Singapore's SEA Games football campaign is effectively over with two games to spare after a 3-0 defeat by Thailand at the Binan Football Stadium in the Philippines yesterday.
The three first-half goals the Young Lions conceded ensured Singapore suffered their biggest SEA Games defeat since a 4-1 loss to Vietnam in the semi-finals of the 2009 Games.
| THAILAND | SINGAPORE |
| 3 | 0 |
| (Jaroensak Wonggorn 7, Suphanat Mueanta 19, Peerawat Akkatam 36) |
Fandi Ahmad's men have also failed to score in all their three matches, mustering a single point. He said: "We needed to press higher because in the first half we were sleeping at the back for the first 10-15 minutes.
"It was too easy how the ball went in - it went through one of the players' legs and then ball watching by the late cover.
"The second goal... was disappointing for us. It was too easy...
"We played two matches at 8pm and maybe the change (to the 4pm game) made a lot of difference because we were slow to settle down in the first half."
Thailand opened the scoring in the seventh minute after some lovely skills on the left flank by Suphanat Mueanta.
He put the ball through Zulqarnaen Suzliman legs before dribbling past Lionel Tan and cutting the ball back to Jaroensak Wonggorn to finish past Zharfan Rohaizad.
Twelve minutes later, it was all over as the prodigious 17-year-old Suphanat exchanged a one-two with Ratthanakorn Maikami before poking past Zharfan, who was too slow to come off his line.
It was three after 36 minutes, with right-back Peerawat Akkatam getting on the end of Kritsada Kaman's low right-wing cross.
- DILENJIT SINGH
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