NAYPYIDAW — Madhu Mohana stood next to his coach Aide Iskandar, having been singled out to sing before training got going for the Young Lions yesterday at the Paung Laung Stadium in Naypyidaw.

Sheepishly, the defender sung an Army song while his team-mates ribbed him merrily, as the team took a session of light training which included tactical drills that were off-limits to the media.

Tuesday’s 1-0 win over Vietnam has brought the initiative back firmly in the hands of Singapore’s national under-23 side who face Brunei tonight at the Zeyarthiri Stadium and looking to add three more points to consolidate their position at the top of Group A.

Singapore lead the group with four points after two matches, followed by Vietnam and Malaysia (3), Laos (1) and Brunei with no points. Defending champions Malaysia, who have played a game less, will face Laos in today’s other Group A match.

Certainly hands were the order of the day in the portion of the training session open to media as Aide’s boys played pass the ball — with their hands — with the rule allowing them to score with the heads, and later on with their foot.

Even after two days of rest, Aide opted for a training session focused on recovery, citing the compact schedule which saw his team tackling their opening two matches over a 72-hour period.

“All the training has been done before the competition and the most important thing is for them to be fresh against Brunei,” said Aide.

Asked if the pressure is on to pile on the goals against Brunei that lost 7-0 and 2-0 in their two matches against Vietnam and Malaysia, Aide stressed the priority lies in securing all three points.

“Of course goal difference will be crucial but first of all we must try to score, and then we can think about adding more. The opening game (1-1 against Laos) taught us an important lesson, that when we score one, we must be disciplined and composed enough to not concede goals.”

With forward Shahfiq Ghani suspended after picking up two yellow cards, midfielder Izzdin Shafiq will start, allowing Aide the option of pushing captain Hariss Harun or Zulfahmi Arifin further forward against Brunei. Madhu is also set to come in at right-back for Faritz Hameed who is nursing a sprained neck.

Certainly, forward Sahil Suhaimi — scorer of both of Singapore’s goals in this tournament — will need help to continue finding the net, although the fact that Singapore have not been more prolific in front of goal is not something that worries Aide.

“I’d be more than happy if we win every game 1-0. The aim is to go past the group stage, and I’d be more happy to win 1-0 and put ourselves in the position to put more pressure on Malaysia in our last game.” PHILIP GOH

Singapore (probable line-up): Izwan Mahbud; Madhu Mohana, Safuwan Baharudin, Afiq Yunos, Shakir Hamzah; Faris Ramli, Izzdin Shafiq, Zulfahmi Arifin, Hafiz Abu Sujad, Hariss Harun; Sahil Suhaimi.

Watch the match between Singapore and Brunei on MediaCorp Toggle LIVE and Okto at 8.10pm tonight, and the delayed telecast on Channel 5 at 11.30pm.