The Lions steady the ship with a spirited goalless draw against HK after historic loss to Nepal

The Lions bounce back with spirited goalless draw against Hong Kong

The Singapore football team played to a goalless draw against Hong Kong, China, in their opening Group C match of the Asian Cup third-round qualifiers Group C opener on 25 March (Tue).

Lions bounce back with draw against Hong Kong

After a 1-0 friendly loss to Nepal the previous Friday (21 March), the home team was eager to improve their performance against Hong Kong.

However, despite a determined effort at the National Stadium, the Lions couldn’t secure a breakthrough.

They nearly took the lead in the second minute, igniting cheers from the 8,064 fans in attendance, but Lionel Tan’s goal was disallowed due to a foul on Hong Kong goalkeeper Yapp Hung Fai.

Source: Football Association of Singapore on Facebook

Just 12 minutes later, Singapore created another opportunity. A swift combination down the left wing freed Glenn Kweh, who attempted to pass it to Shawal Anuar.

However, the forward’s shot was blocked by a strong Hong Kong defence.

Chances for both sides

The visitors also had their chances. Five minutes into the second half, Everton Camargo charged through Singapore’s defence, setting up Matt Orr for a shot on goal.

Fortunately for Singapore, goalkeeper Izwan Mahbud was untroubled.

Kyoga Nakamura was introduced in the second half to add creativity to the Lions’ attack, and it almost paid off around the hour mark.

Source: Football Association of Singapore on Facebook

He showed great composure to create an opening for a shot on goal, but his effort went just wide of the post.

In the 77th minute, Nakamura threaded a through ball into Shawal Anuar’s path. He got past the defence and placed the ball into the back of the net.

However, the joy was short-lived as the linesman raised his flag for a tight offside call.

Much improved performance

While the Lions showed significant improvement, they were left frustrated by the missed chances.

“Our performance, compared to the last game (1-0 loss to Nepal), was much better,” Lions Head Coach Tsutomu Ogura said. “But we dropped two points. Today, we should have scored, and we should have won.”

The match was also a milestone for captain Hariss Harun, who earned his 140th international cap, just two short of Singapore’s all-time record held by Daniel Bennett.

Reflecting on the result, Hariss admitted, “We didn’t perform very well in this international window. We didn’t get the result in the friendly against Nepal. Today we put up a better performance, but it ultimately wasn’t enough to get us the three points.”

The Lions will travel to Bangladesh next on 10 Jun for their next Asian Cup qualifier.

Also read: ‘Worst game we have played’: S’pore football coach apologises for historic loss to Nepal

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Featured image adapted from Football Association of Singapore on Facebook.