LIONS NEED TO IMPROVE: OGURA

Coach calls on S'pore to play better football and learn from Thailand's winning mentality

- David Lee

Tsutomu Ogura is "not satisfied" with the cautious display by the Singapore Lions, after they opened their Asean Championship campaign with a narrow 2-1 win over Cambodia at the National Stadium on Dec 11.

The candid coach was quick to take responsibility for the lacklustre performance that saw the hosts beaten in terms of possession (46 per cent), shots (4 against 15), corners (0-4) and pass accuracy (74-80 per cent) in their Group A match.

Malaysia lead the group with four points after coming from behind to beat bottom side Timor-Leste 3-2 in Kuala Lumpur.

Defending champions Thailand, who trounced Timor-Leste 10-0 on Dec 8, are second with three points, ahead of the Lions on goal difference, while Cambodia are fourth with one point.

At the post-match press conference, the 58-year-old Ogura said: "I'm not satisfied because we trained for many things like building up our football. So I don't know why we were playing too many long balls and careful balls. We were better in training, but suddenly, in the game, it didn't work.