SINGAPORE (12 Nov 2021) – Singapore head coach Tatsuma Yoshida acknowledged that the first 15 minutes in the team’s 2-1 loss to Kyrgyzstan last night ‘was a bit of a waste’.
Aizar Akmatov’s header after just three minutes into the game and then a close-range finish from Ernist Batyrkanov six minutes later put paid to Singapore’s first friendly in Dubai even though captain Shahdan Sulaiman did pull a goal back not too long afterwards.
“The first 15 minutes was a bit of a waste for us,” admitted Yoshida.
“Even though our opponents were very sharp and started well, the boys need to adapt to this level (and cope better).”
Singapore came close on several occasions after the break but it was not to be as Kyrgyzstan held on for the win even though they had to play with a man short after Kyrgyzstan’s Tokotaev Erzhan was red carded in the 54th minute.
“After the red card, we had an advantage so we did not need to rush (our attacks). We did so many crosses and we need to (learn to) create more chances from the ground,” added Yoshida.
“Of course, I wanted to win this match and so did the boys. In terms of improvements, I think we need to have better game control. If we have it, we will get closer to being able to challenge at a higher level.”
Singapore’s next match will be a training game against Morocco A’ on 16 November 2021 in Dubai.
The team is being prepared for the AFF Suzuki Cup 2020 next month where they have been placed in Group A against Thailand, Myanmar, the Philippines and Timor Leste.
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