SINGAPORE - In a tale of two halves, the Lions dominated the first period before enduring a shaky second-half to beat Myanmar 4-2 at the National Stadium as they led Myanmar 3-0 at half-time in the Asean Football Federation Suzuki Cup.
Bernd Stange's men took the lead in the 16th minute through left-back Shaiful Esah, whose free-kick from 25m out swerved past a sea of players before dipping past goalkeeper Thiha Si Thu's reach.
Midfielder Hariss Harun scored in the 35th minute with a superb dipping volley from outside the box and added a second goal three minutes before the break with another volley inside the box when Myanmar struggled to clear a corner.
Singapore also suffered a massive blow in the first-half when midfielder Shahdan Sulaiman was carried off with a broken and dislocated ankle after an accidental collision with team-mate Khairul Amri.
However, Raddy Avramovic's team stirred into life after the break. Midfielder Kyaw Zayar Win exchanged passes with Min Min Thu before slotting past Hassan Sunny in the 55th minute to reduce the deficit.
In the 62nd minute, Safuwan Baharudin felled striker Kyaw Ko Ko inside the box and Myanmar's star player duly tucked away the penalty.
But the Lions gained some breathing space in the 76th minute when Shaiful's free-kick from the right looped into the net off the head of a Myanmar defender.
Recap all the action here:
