SEA Games 2023: Young Lions on the brink of exit after 3-1 loss to Vietnam
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Singapore captain Harhys Stewart challenging for the ball against Vietnamese opponents as teammate Abdul Rasaq looks on.
ST PHOTO: DESMOND FOO
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PHNOM PENH – Dark clouds gathered over the Prince Stadium on Wednesday, as the Singapore Under-22 men’s football team trudged out for their second match of the 2023 SEA Games competition.
It would prove ominous later, with the Young Lions losing 3-1 to defending champions Vietnam, leaving them on the brink of a fifth straight group-stage exit.
Singapore, who started their campaign with a 3-1 defeat by Thailand last Sunday, are second from bottom of Group B with zero points after two games. They face bottom side Laos on Saturday, with only pride likely to be at stake in their final group game against Malaysia next Thursday.
After the match, Singapore coach Philippe Aw conceded that his team will not stand a realistic chance of progressing.
He said: “The most points we can gather from our next two matches is six. In a group of five, six points are not going to be enough. We will go into our remaining matches to garner the wins.
“We are improving game by game and we will put in a better performance in the next game against Laos and an even better one against Malaysia.”
Vietnam, who beat Laos 2-0 on Sunday, top Group B with six points. Malaysia, who thrashed Laos 5-1 on Wednesday, are second with three points, ahead of the Thais on goal difference. Both sides have played only one game.
Aw, who had made five changes to the previous line-up after attacker Jordan Emaviwe and defender Andrew Aw Yong missed out due to illness, rued his side’s errors.
He said: “At this level, individual mistakes will be punished. It is frustrating because the first 30 minutes we didn’t make things easy for Vietnam. We made things difficult for ourselves with those mistakes.”
Vietnam coach Philippe Troussier felt his men should have won by a bigger margin, saying: “We know that it is not Laos and Singapore that are our challengers... We controlled the match, deserved to win and should have scored more.”
Just as they showed in the opener, there was plenty of graft to Singapore’s play but they lacked a moment of inspiration to match the perspiration.
Meanwhile, Vietnam displayed their efficiency by making the most of their chances.
In the 36th minute, they seized possession after a loose touch by Jared Gallagher and surged up the field, before Nguyen Van Tung unleashed a shot from inside the box that found the back of the net.
Singapore’s No. 11 Fairuz Fazli attempts an overhead kick during the first half of the Group B match between Singapore and Vietnam.
ST PHOTO: DESMOND FOO
Seven minutes later, it was Gallagher’s midfield partner Fathullah Rahmat who paid the price for a poor touch as Nguyen Thai Son found the ball in his path and rifled home.
That effort took a deflection off Singapore defender Bill Mamadou and wrong-footed goalkeeper Aizil Yazid, leaving him with no chance of getting a hand to the ball.
In the 80th minute, Vietnam – who hit the woodwork at least thrice in the second half – went 3-0 up when Ilhan Noor turned the ball into his own net while trying to clear a cross from Khuat Van Khang.
Singapore got a consolation goal in injury time when Vu Tien Long cleared the ball into his own net.
Meanwhile, the Lionesses opened their SEA Games campaign with a 4-0 loss to Thailand at the RSN Stadium, before Cambodia beat Laos 2-0. They will next face Cambodia (Saturday) and Laos (next Tuesday) in Group B.
