LIONS 'HUNGRY' FOR A WIN, NOT JUST A DRAW

Shakir says team have learnt from 2022 C'ship loss to M'sia, when they played for a point

- David Lee

BUKIT JALIL The Lions' fate at the Asean Championship will be decided by a single match on Dec 20.

After months of scenario planning, a roller-coaster ride in team selection, a scheduled four games in 10 days - they have won two unconvincingly and lost one valiantly - Singapore's semi-final hopes come down to a nail-biting decider.

A draw against arch-rivals and world No. 132 Malaysia in their final Group A match will be enough to send them through.

But Lions defender Shakir Hamzah has sounded a warning to his team, noting that they would be setting themselves up for failure if they play to avoid defeat.

This comes after a bitter lesson at the last edition, when they lost 4-1 to Malaysia at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium when in the same situation.

The 32-year-old, who was part of that team, told The Straits Times: "We didn't turn up in our last match against Malaysia.

"We were overconfident, we thought we could come here and get a draw. That was our mistake, they were more hungry than us, and we were outrun by them.

"If we just go out there and think a draw is enough for us, it is going to be difficult for us. But if we go for the win, it makes us more hungry." Skipper Hariss Harun said the team would have levelled up from that big-match experience, while midfielder Shah Shahiran highlighted the desire to make things right.