Lions' Malaysia mauling a ‘reality check’ ahead of Asian Cup, fans need to be realistic, say observers

SINGAPORE: Singapore’s exit from the FIFA ASEAN Cup after a 6-0 demolition by neighbours Malaysia offers a reality check for the Lions, with the AFC Asian Cup just three months away, said observers on Friday (Oct 2).

The Thursday display in Bandung was the culmination of a tournament performance which proved a stark contrast to the team’s showing at the ASEAN Hyundai Cup earlier this year, where it made the semi-finals and also broke a 14-year winless run against giants Thailand.

It also drew a strong denouncement from the team’s fan group, the SingaBrigade, who called the performance “unacceptable” and told the players to “wake up now” and not to take the fans’ support for granted.

“I wouldn’t say if it’s a false dawn, as the Lions did decently well to hype up the public support during the Hyundai Cup with their overall performance,” said Mr Ko Po Hui, who runs local football blog Bolasepako.

“Nonetheless, what happened in the FIFA ASEAN Cup will serve as a good reality check and a timely one to see what are the shortfalls in our preparation for the Asian Cup.”

Former football commentator Edwin Yeo said that the FIFA ASEAN Cup showed that while Singapore is improving under new management, the team is still “not yet competing at the Asian level”.

“Indonesia and Malaysia, with their heritage players, would definitely be already at an Asian level. The gap is real. But I think if we set aside the results, Singapore has improved a lot under Gavin and his predecessor Ogura,” said Mr Yeo, who is general manager of strategic communications agency SPRG Singapore.

Gavin Lee was named as permanent head coach of the team in November last year, succeeding Japanese tactician Tsutomu Ogura. Earlier in April, billionaire tech entrepreneur