BENNETT OUT FOR LIONS; MYANMAR TO MAINTAIN COOL HEADS

Singapore, fresh from their disappointing 1-1 draw against the Philippines in the first match, and Myanmar – still reeling from their 7-1 drubbing at the hands of the defending champions Vietnam – will play in the first match of the evening tomorrow at the My Dinh National Stadium.

“Yes Bennett will be out. We were hoping that he will recover in time from the knee injury he picked from the first game but he could not make a quick enough recovery,” said Radojko Avramovic, the chief coach for Singapore.

“We dropped two points against the Philippines when we had three in the bag. We wasted chances after chances and we should rectify for the match against Myanmar.”

Added Singapore team captain Shahril Ishak: “we are still feeling some of the disappointment from the first match but we are determined to be better and we will. We had a good rest and also some good training sessions, and so we should play better. It will be do or die for us but everyone will have to play their part tomorrow and be better from the last game.”

In the meantime, Myanmar stressed that the last several editions of the AFF Suzuki Cup have been painful lessons for the team when their failure to control the temper of their players saw the team being punished.

“In the last game, we were under pressure and several players lost their concentration. Against Singapore, it is not only important that they maintain composure but also their temperament. They have to maintain their head,” said Tin Myint Aung, the chief coach of Myanmar.

“It will be tough against Singapore but we have to win to make sure that we have the chance to get into the next round. In short, we just have to play better than we did in the last game.”

Added Zaw Lynn Tun, the captain of the Myanmar team: “we will try our very best to be better. I told the other players that we must fight on despite of the bad result in the last game. And also we must always maintain our cool and not lose our temper.”

AFF SUZUKI CUP 2010, FINAL ROUND RESULTS and FIXTURES

Group A – Jakarta, Indonesia (GELORA BUNG KARNO STADIUM, JAKARTA)

1 Dec THAILAND 2 LAOS 2/ INDONESIA 5 MALAYSIA 1

4 Dec Thailand vs Malaysia (1700hrs) / Laos vs Indonesia (1930hrs)

7 Dec Malaysia vs Laos (1930hrs at Jakabaring Stadium, Palembang) / Indonesia vs Thailand (1930hrs at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, Hanoi)

Group B – Hanoi, Vietnam (MY DINH NATIONAL STADIUM, HANOI)

2 Dec SINGAPORE 1 PHILIPPINES 1/ VIETNAM 7 MYANMAR 1

5 Dec Singapore vs Myanmar (1700hrs) / Philippines vs Vietnam (1930hrs)

8 Dec Myanmar vs Philippines (1930hrs at Hien Truong Stadium, Nam Dinh) / Vietnam vs Singapore (1930hrs at My Dinh National Stadium, Hanoi)