Their defence had been rock solid throughout the inaugural Asia-Oceania Floorball Cup (AOFC), conceding a solitary goal in four matches en route to yesterday's final.

But Singapore's men's team collapsed against Thailand as the top seeds let in eight goals to lose 4-8 in Bangkok.

Captain Gary Wong, 24, said: "We are disappointed, but we have no regrets as we tried our best. I thought we did quite well. Going into the tournament we wanted to take it game by game and didn't have high expectations."

The world No. 17 went unbeaten in the group stage, scoring 43 goals. In the semi-finals, Singapore trounced South Korea 11-0. But it was a different story in the final.

World No. 22 Thailand were dominant throughout the competition. They scored 46 and conceded four in the group stage before beating Indonesia 15-2 in the last four.

Wong said: "Credit to Thailand's attack, they were superior and fast. We lost our focus on defence and they attacked and scored.

"We played well and exceeded expectations. Our coaches helped guide us through the tournament."

Singapore head coach Matt Joutsikoski added: "We have a lot of respect for Thailand, we played a very motivated team with excellent players who found holes in our defence.

"Our goalkeepers did an excellent job , but we win and lose as a team.

"We were equal competitors and have learnt plenty from this game."

In their previous match against Thailand in December, Singapore lost 2-8.

Yesterday's team was much younger and inexperienced, noted Joutsikoski. The average age of the five starters was 24, and he believes the team has potential.

"We have a great young team and a fantastic journey ahead," he added.

The Singapore Floorball Association announced it will host the first women's edition of the AOFC Cup, which will be held at Our Tampines Hub next June.