LIONS' TALE OF TWO HALVES

Focus on Malaysia next after S'pore blow 2-0 lead to lose 4-2 to Thailand

- Deepanraj Ganesan

The Lions will be licking their wounds while on their travels across the Causeway after they squandered a 2-0 lead to suffer a 4-2 defeat by Thailand in an Asean Championship match at the National Stadium on Dec 17.

The Lions' last-four hopes will now go down to the final group match against Malaysia at Bukit Jalil National Stadium, where Singapore will need to avoid defeat to reach the last four of the biennial competition for only the second time since winning the title in 2012.

The Lions have six points from three matches and sit second in Group A. They began the campaign with a 2-1 victory over Cambodia at the National Stadium on Dec 11 before a 3-0 win over Timor-Leste in Vietnam three days later.

Lions coach Tsutomu Ogura spoke about a tale of two halves, saying: "The first half I think was the best 45 minutes (I have overseen). Players were not scared, not afraid, built up from the back. The opponents were also a little bit confused."

The Japanese tactician added of the second period: "They (Thailand) were more aggressive... (We were losing) a little bit more and more pace to the opponents... (We must have) a stronger mentality."