National Team - Lionesses ● Apr 03, 2022
Lionesses relish opportunity to play on home ground
Coach Stephen Ng at a training session, 28 February 2022.
SINGAPORE, 3 APRIL 2022 – Singapore Women’s National Team Head Coach Stephen Ng is looking forward to the opportunity to gain more international experience when the Lionesses take on Seychelles in the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) Tri-Nations Series 2022 (Women’s) tomorrow.
This will be the team’s first international outing since their Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Women’s Asian Cup qualifying campaign in Tajikistan last year. The Tri-Nations Series, which falls inside the women’s FIFA international window, will see Singapore face African teams Seychelles and Papua New Guinea in preparation for the 31st Southeast Asian (SEA) Games. Both games will be held at Jalan Besar Stadium and kick off at 8.30pm due to the fasting month.
Coach Ng shared his excitement ahead of tomorrow’s match and said: “We are looking to expose players, especially the younger ones, wherever possible and this match will give us that opportunity. Also, I want to look at the foreign-based players, Danelle and Putri, who came back to Singapore three days ago. The team is gelling together well, and we have had a good build-up from last year.”
The Lionesses’ opponents are helmed by a familiar face in former Lioness Angeline Chua. Chua amassed 32 caps and scored once for Singapore and served as an assistant coach for the Under-16 Women’s National Team before venturing to the Seychelles Football Federation as Director and Head Coach of women’s football.
The squad welcomed the return of overseas-based duo Putri Syaliza Sazali and Danelle Tan two days ago. The midfield duo are currently studying in Florida, United States of America and London, England respectively. Putri became Singapore’s youngest-ever international goalscorer at 14 years and 353 days in 2018, before being eclipsed by Danelle in 2019 when she scored a 96th-minute penalty against Timor Leste.
The Lionesses will have to do without midfielder Lila Tan, forward Nicole Lim and defender Siti Rosnani Azman. Tan and Lim are unavailable due to school examinations, while Rosnani is currently in the middle of the season with third-tier Japanese side Kibi International University Charme.
Coach Ng called on the team to make the most of the two matches: “I am going to look at their level of performance more than the result. We have worked on several areas in-depth at training, and I would like to see them apply it at the international level against Seychelles and Papua New Guinea next week.”
Vice-captain Stephanie Gigette crosses the ball, 25 March 2022.
Vice-captain Stephanie Gigette Dominguez is eager to put on a good showing as the Lionesses play at home for the first time since November 2018, where they faced Maldives and Luxembourg in the FAS International Women’s Quadrangular.
“I am excited to play in front of my friends and family as it has been four years since they have last watched us in person, and we want to show how much we have improved over the years,” she said. “It is a personal goal of mine to score goals, play the best I can and provide guidance to the team; where Coach advises on skills and tactics, I will advise on the mental and emotional part of the game.”
With up to 4,000 spectators allowed in the stadium, she has called on the fans to turn up and roar the team on. Tickets can be purchased at fas.org.sg/tickets and will also be available for purchase at the ticketing counters at Jalan Besar Stadium, priced at S$10.00 for adults and S$5.00 for concession for students aged 16 and below and senior citizens aged 60 and above.
