NAYPYIDAW — A goal in either half was enough for the Young Lions to deliver what their coach Aide Iskandar asked for, as the 2-0 win over Brunei delivered three precious points that kept Singapore at the top of Group A.

Crucially, it has simplified the equation for Singapore ahead of their final group match against Malaysia tomorrow: win and the Young Lions will go through to the semi-finals and have a shot of realising their target of making the final on Dec 22. To top it off, a draw will also be enough, as Vietnam would need first to beat Laos to set up a battle royale with Malaysia on Dec 17 for the top spot.

At the Zeyarthiri Stadium, Singapore dominated from the start with Hariss Harun in the thick of action from the outset, narrowly missing with two attempts within the first four minutes. Given the freedom to roam in the absence of a suspended Shahfiq Ghani, the skipper was at the end of a wonderful move in the 35th minute when he chested down a cross from Safuwan Baharudin to slot in the opening goal.

Reducing Brunei to half chances from outside the box, Singapore needed to wait until the 58th minute for Sahil Suhaimi to double the lead, as he collected a long pass, sidestepped his marker and, while losing his balance, managed to slide the ball past the Brunei custodian for his third goal in three matches.

Despite Brunei being reduced to 10 men when centre-back Khairil Shahme Suhaimi was sent off for an off-the-ball incident, the Young Lions were unable to add to their advantage, though coach Aide remained untroubled by his side’s lack of finishing.

“We could have done better but we continue to work on that and hope to improve, though I’m happy to come away without any injuries or suspensions,” he said. “Scoring goals and converting chances is definitely something we can do better but overall the defence was good collectively.”

With Malaysia coming into ominous form with the way they despatched Laos 4-1 courtesy of a three-goal burst in the second half, Aide acknowledged his side will start as underdogs tomorrow.

“They are the defending champions but of course we will go out there to put up a good performance,” he said. “It will be a good game because the rivalry between Singapore and Malaysia is always intense.

“I wouldn’t say we will go for a draw ... I don’t want to think much about it because the most important thing now is the next 24 hours to see how my players can react and recover as quickly as possible.” PHILIP GOH

Singapore: Izwan Mahbud (GK); Madhu Mohana, Safuwan Baharudin, Afiq Yunos, Shakir Hamzah; Faris Ramli, Izzdin Shafiq (71 Iqbal Hussain), Zulfahmi Arifin, Hafiz Abu Sujad (76 Gabriel Quak); Hariss Harun (C), Sahil Suhaimi

The Singapore-Malaysia game will be shown live at 5:25pm on Ch 5 & Toggle LIVE

SEA GAMES TV TIMES:

Ch 5 & Toggle LIVE

7:30pm – Daily LIVE Action: Swimming (Finals), badminton (Finals), basketball (Group Stage), hockey (Group Stage)

11pm – Today At The Games (Highlights)