SINGAPORE crashed out at the group stage of the Asean Football Federation Under-19 Youth Championship after falling 2-3 to Cambodia on Tuesday afternoon.

The result meant the Republic finished fourth out of five teams in Group A with four points. Laos and Timor Leste, who occupy the top two spots, progressed to the semi-finals.

Second-half strikes from Singapore forwards Hazim Faiz and Muhelmy Suhaimi were not enough as their opponents scored through Nub Tola (two) and Neth Veasna at the Petrokimia Stadium in East Java.

Made up mainly of 2010 Youth Olympic Games football bronze medallists like Jeffrey Lightfoot and Dhukhilan Jeevamani, Singapore had made a promising start to the 11-team tournament. A 1-1 draw with Timor Leste was followed by a 3-1 win over the Philippines, but it started to go wrong after a 3-0 hiding by dark horses Laos.

Australia were supposed to be the sixth team in Group A but they pulled out citing a lack of preparation.

From Group B, Vietnam have qualified for the final four and will be joined by either Malaysia or Indonesia.