SINGAPORE - A tactically disciplined performance by Singapore earned them a goalless away draw with Bahrain in their Asian Football Confederation Asian Cup qualifiers third round opening group match on Tuesday night (Wednesday midnight, Singapore time).

National coach V. Sundramoorthy can breathe a sigh of relief to earn a point from the game, as hosts Bahrain, ranked 127th in the Fifa world rankings, are the highest-ranked team in Group E.

After all, the Lions entered the match at the Bahrain National Stadium in Riffa on a three-game losing streak, and they had lost all seven of their previous meetings between the two sides.

Singapore will next play Chinese Taipei on June 10.

The top two teams of the group will qualify for the tournament held in the United Arab Emirates in 2019.

Singapore are aiming to make its first appearance at the continental competition for the first time since 1984, when the Republic qualified automatically as hosts.