Captain Ernie Sulastri chases for the ball, 10 May 2022. (Credit: Football Association of Thailand)

 

CAM PHA, 10 MAY 2022 – The Singapore women’s national team went down 3-0 to Thailand in their 31st Southeast Asian (SEA) Games opener on Tuesday night at Cam Pha Stadium, Quang Ninh in Vietnam.

 

Ranked 43rd in the world, Thailand’s superiority was clear from the get-go as they pinned the 135th-ranked Lionesses in their own half. Kanyanat Chetthabut broke the deadlock on seven minutes before strikes from Nutwadee Pram-nak and Chatchawan Rodthong had the Thais three goals up by the 21st minute as they threatened to overwhelm Singapore.

 

However, Stephen Ng’s charges refused to give up and dug in against a side that has qualified for the last two FIFA Women’s World Cups. Goalkeeper Noor Kusumawati Rosman put on a stellar display to prevent the Thais from adding to their lead, stopping over 20 Thai attempts on goal. Around her, team-mates in red snapped into tackles and challenges, while running their socks off to constantly close down and hassle the five-time SEA Games champions.

 

The battling display marked the Singapore women’s first appearance in the biennial Games since 2003. It is also our narrowest loss against Thailand in history and an improvement on their most recent encounter, which ended 8-0 to the Thais at the 2019 ASEAN Football Federation Women’s Championship.

 

Coach Ng said after the match: “We managed to settle down after the first 25 minutes and it was unfortunate that all the goals came in the early part of the game. The girls showed a lot of effort and they tried very, very hard to finish the game without any other goals conceded.”

 

Singapore next face Laos on Friday, 13 May at 5pm (SGT).

 

Singapore: Noor Kusumawati (GK), Nurhidayu Naszri (Syazwani Ruzi 88’), Stephanie Gigette Dominguez, Fatin Aqillah Ridzwan, Farhanah Ruhaizat, Dhaniyah Qasimah, Izzati Rosni (Danelle Tan 88’), Ernie Sulastri (C), Siti Rosnani Azman, Putri Syaliza Sazali (Ho Hui Xin 75’), Venetia Lim (Dorcas Chu 75’)
Unused subs: Beatrice Tan (GK), Nicole Lim, Mastura Jeilani, Khairunnisa Khairol Anwar, Umairah Hamdan.

 

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(Featured image credit: Football Association of Thailand)