Against an opponent considered to be slightly superior in force, the Singapore team actively entered the game cautiously. However, the home team faced many difficulties against China's ball control and attacking organization.
After a few situations of pressure, the away team had the opening goal in the 16th minute. From a cross from the right wing by Xie Wen Neng, naturalized midfielder Serginho jumped high to head dangerously, defeating the Singapore goalkeeper.
The conceded goal forced Singapore to push up the squad to look for opportunities. Despite trying very hard to compete and organize counter-attacks, coach Tsutomu Ogura's students could not create many clear chances in the first half.
Not only that, Singapore also conceded another goal at the end of the first half when Zhang Yu Ning successfully converted a penalty, increasing the score to 2-0 for China.
In the second half, Singapore played more determinedly and continuously put pressure on the opponent's half. The personnel adjustments of the coaching staff helped the home team significantly improve the game.
In the 76th minute, Fandi - a player who had just been brought on the field a few minutes earlier - scored to narrow the score to 1-2 after a close-range finish. The goal helped Singapore play more excitedly in the final minutes of the match.
The home team created some more notable opportunities but could not take advantage of them to find an equalizer. In the end, Singapore accepted a narrow 1-2 defeat to China.
Although not having a favorable result, the performance in the second half showed Singapore's positive fighting spirit and improvement against a higher-quality opponent.
