Aide Iskandar's Singapore Under-23 team lost their second friendly game in a row on Saturday evening, falling 1-2 to Syria U-23s at the Jalan Besar Stadium.

Goals from Khaled Almbayed and Shadi Alhamwi were enough to secure victory for the visitors, who had thrashed the Singapore U-22s 6-1 on Wednesday. Irfan Fandi equalised for Singapore with a neat flick, but the home side could not carve out a second equaliser against a physical Syrian side.

Despite the defeat, Aide praised his team for an improved showing. The Singapore U-23s were thrashed 1-8 thrashing by Japan U-22 last week.

Said Aide: "I'm pleased with the performance of the players. It's something we can be proud of. We are on track, and hopefully we can build on this performance for the S-League season, which starts next week."

The U-23s play under the Courts Young Lions banner in the S-League, and kick-off their campaign next Monday against Hougang United.

They will also represent the nation at June's SEA Games, where the target is a first-ever football gold.