Singapore lose 3-2 to Chinese Taipei in football friendly

SINGAPORE: Tsutomu Ogura will have his work cut out for him ahead of next month’s Mitsubishi Electric Cup if the Lions’ defeat by Chinese Taipei on Monday (Nov 18) was anything to go by.
In an international friendly at the National Stadium, goals from Christopher Tiao and Miguel Sandberg gave the away side the lead before Singapore pulled one back through Irfan Najeeb.
But an Ange Kouame header would seal the deal for Gary White’s men, despite a late strike from Singapore substitute Shawal Anuar to narrow the scoreline to 3-2.
Chinese Taipei are ranked 168th in the FIFA world rankings, six spots below the Lions. Singapore last faced Chinese Taipei in a friendly last year, winning 3-1.
This was the team’s final warm-up match ahead of their Mitsubishi Electric Cup campaign, which will begin on Dec 11 against Cambodia. On Thursday (Nov 14), Singapore beat Myanmar 3-2 in another friendly.
In a tepid first 45 minutes where the Lions struggled to put anything together going forward, it was the away side which looked more likely to make the breakthrough.
And it was the onrushing Tiao who would hammer home a left-footed strike in the 22nd minute to silence the home crowd of 6,746.
Joel Chew came the closest for the Lions as he was put through on goal minutes later, only for Chinese Taipei custodian Huang Chiu-Lin to close the space down.
It was more of the same in the second half as Chinese Taipei capitalised on a loose Hariss Harun touch in a move which eventually saw Sandberg round the goalkeeper and hit the back of the net.
This seemed to shock the Lions into life and they were denied what looked like a penalty after Faris Ramli was brought down in the box by Huang.
Singapore eventually pulled one back after Irfan arrowed in a strike from close range in the 85th minute.
As the Lions continued to press forward, they left gaps at the back and Ange had a free header to nod his side 3-1 ahead in injury time.
While the lively Shawal would once again provide a sliver of hope, it was swiftly extinguished as Chinese Taipei held on for the win, snapping a seven-game losing streak.
The result doesn’t augur well for the Lions, who are preparing for their first Mitsubishi Electric Cup under Ogura.
Ogura, a former assistant coach of the Japanese national football team, was announced as the new Singapore head coach in February.
The 58-year-old led the Lions to a 2-2 home draw against China in his first match in charge, with Singapore mounting a comeback from two goals down.
In the subsequent World Cup Asian qualifying matches, Singapore lost 1-4 to China, 7-0 to South Korea and 3-1 to Thailand.
The Lions ended their group-stage campaign with a solitary point – after no wins, a draw and five losses.
As part of the team’s preparations for the Mitsubishi Electric Cup, the Lions played two home training matches in September. The games against BG Tampines Rovers and Malaysia’s Johor Darul Ta’zim were played behind closed doors.
In a training camp in Japan last month, Singapore faced three J1 League sides. They lost 4-0 to FC Tokyo before beating Tokyo Verdy 2-1. The Lions were then hammered 7-1 in their final match by Yokohama F Marinos.
The Lions have been grouped with Cambodia, East Timor, Malaysia and Thailand in Group A of the Asean tournament, popularly known as the AFF Championships. The top two teams from Group A and B will progress to the semi-finals.
Singapore was eliminated in the group stage in the last edition of the tournament.