BANGKOK – The Singapore women’s football team are staring at a third consecutive group-stage exit at the SEA Games and only a miraculous victory against one of the region’s best sides will see them avoid another early flight home.
In their opening Group A match at the Games in Thailand on Dec 7, the Lionesses gave their all but their efforts ultimately proved futile as they slipped to a 3-1 defeat by Indonesia in Chonburi.
The result against the 106th-ranked Indonesia at the Institute of Physical Education Chonburi Campus Stadium leaves the world No. 149 Lionesses needing an improbable victory against the 53rd-ranked hosts Thailand on Dec 10 to qualify for the semi-finals of the women’s football tournament for the first time and avoid elimination.
The Thais, who have played in two Women’s World Cups in 2015 and 2019, thumped Indonesia 8-0 in their opening match on Dec 4.
The top two of the three-team group – following the withdrawal of Cambodia – and four-team Group B advance to the semi-finals.
Even with a David and Goliath challenge looming, Lionesses captain Rosnani Azman said the team are not throwing in the towel.
Rosnani, 28, said: “Probably tonight the team will still reflect on the Indonesia game. But I believe tomorrow onwards, it’s going to be a new day. We have one more game to play and I hope the team won’t dwell so much on the Indonesia (result).
“I know it’s a tough loss and it is going to be even tougher playing against Thailand, but we’re not going to give up.
“We are here to compete, so definitely we’ll regroup, and then we will go again together.”
Despite the painful defeat, Singapore coach Karim Bencherifa saw the positives.
The Moroccan, who pointed to the presence of several Dutch-born players with Indonesian roots in the rival camp, said that he had seen improvements from their previous outings with Indonesia.
Their most recent meeting against Indonesia ended in a 3-0 defeat at the Asean Football Federation Women’s Cup in December 2024. In May 2024, Singapore suffered a 5-1 drubbing by the same team in an international friendly played in Jakarta.
Bencherifa said: “We were really looking forward to getting the result today and hopefully make history. But at the end of the day, I’m really proud of the girls, seeing how they fought till the last minute. The 3-1 scoreline doesn’t reflect… how the game was played.
“It was a good contest. We worked very hard… and just that our performance on the day was not strong (enough) and while the difference (in quality between the teams) is not big, in some moments they had players who made the difference.”
The Lionesses, who won a silver in 1985 when it was a three-team tournament, are the lowest-ranked team in the current competition.
They had lost 4-0 to Thailand and 1-0 to Cambodia at the previous edition in 2023, before beating Laos 2-1 to finish third in their group.
At the Hanoi Games in 2022, where Singapore’s women made their first appearance at the biennial event since 2003, they beat Laos 1-0 but lost 1-0 to Myanmar and 3-0 to Thailand to finish third in the group.
Under the sweltering heat in Chonburi, the Lionesses in red withstood early pressure from the Indonesians and found the net with their first real attack in the 22nd minute.
Danelle Tan played a beautifully weighted pass with her left foot into the path of Farhanah Ruhaizat, who held her nerve to finish past Dutch-born goalkeeper Iris de Rouw.
(From left) Cara Chang, Danelle Tan, Farhanah Ruhaizat and Dorcas Chu celebrating after the Lionesses took the lead during their 3-1 SEA Games defeat by Indonesia in Chonburi on Dec 7.
PHOTO: SINGAPORE NATIONAL OLYMPIC COUNCIL
The Indonesians equalised in the 30th minute when Dutch-born winger Isa Warps ran into the box and produced a calm finish past goalkeeper Izairida Shakira.
They took the lead in stunning fashion in the 62nd minute when 16-year-old Claudia Scheunemann, who plays for Vrouwen Eredivisie club Utrecht Vrouwen, produced a sumptuous flick in the box that found the back of net.
Indonesia struck in the last minute of stoppage time to add gloss to the scoreline when a powerful effort from Al Mabruroh Aulia smashed the post and struck Izairida’s face before finding the net.
