Frustration was the name of the game for Singapore as a cagey 0-0 draw with Indonesia meant that the Lions missed their chance to seize the advantage in Group A.

The result means that Radojko Avramovic's side will have to hope that there is a winner from the Vietnam-Indonesia tie on Saturday, or bag a hatful of goals against Laos and Cambodia.

Where the Lions had started slowly but finished strongly against Vietnam two days ago, it was the reverse at the Thong Nhat Stadium as Singapore dominated the the first half before losing their shape in the second.

Said Avramovic: "We didn't finish them off in the first half with at least two clear chances that we had, and then we were lucky to survive two chances that they had in the second half.

"Our keeper Lionel and the defence did well, but for me the other departments were disappointing.

"Before the tournament started, I thought that we would need at least a win in the first two games. But I think that a semi-final place is still in our hands if we can get a few goals against Laos and Cambodia."

The need for goals in Singapore's next two matches would not have been as pressing, had the Lions stuck one away against the Indonesians.

The best chance of the match fell early on to Agu Casmir, after Indra Sahdan's low cross evaded the Indonesian defence. But the Young Lions striker had to slide to reach the ball, and his effort from inside the six yard box was gratefully smothered by Hendro Kartiko.

The Indonesian keeper was on hand again in the 18th minute to save bravely at the feet of Agu as the striker looked to pounce on a rebound from Goh Tat Chuan's shot.

Such was Singapore's domination of play that Indonesia only had their first shot at Lionel Lewis' goal in the 39th minute, Ilham Jayakusuma dragging his effort harmlessly wide.

Avramovic's bugbear, the attacking links between his midfield and strikeforce, was frustrating the Serbo-Montenegrin yet again as Indra and Agu found themselves with little support.

Unusually quiet, midfielder Shahril Ishak and Agu were replaced in the second half for Khairul Amri and Noh Alam Shah respectively. But the new arrivals too failed to spark the Singapore attack.

Indonesia began to assert themselves and Lions keeper Lionel Lewis came to the forefront in the second half with a series of excellent saves to keep Singapore in the match.

The 22-year-old did well to save at the feet of an on-rushing Ilham after S Subramani's header back fell short in the 57th minute, while a superb one-handed block from Charis Yulianto's header averted near disaster for the Lions four minutes from the end.

Skipper Aide Iskandar's second yellow card of the tournament, picked up after a crunching tackle on Boas Salossa, means that he will miss Singapore's next game against Laos.