SINGAPORE – Singapore's hopes of qualifying for the Asian Cup finals for the first time were dealt a hammer blow at the Jalan Besar Stadium on Saturday night (June 10) when the Lions crashed 1-2 to Taiwan in their second Group E qualifying match.

On a night when local football fans were left fuming by the news that not just Barcelona striker Lionel Messi but also Juventus marksman Gonzalo Higuain will now be skipping Argentina's international friendly against Singapore at the National Stadium on Tuesday (June 13), they were also made to endure an abject display by Singapore against a side ranked three spots below them in the Fifa standings, which has now thrown a spanner into their plans to qualify for the Asian Cup finals.

A win, especially after the Lions' creditable 0-0 away draw with Bahrain in March, would have strengthened Singapore's campaign to finish in the top two of Group E, and such a result seemed well within the realms of possibility particularly after Taiwan's 1-3 loss to Turkmenistan in their opening Group E game.

And it had all started so promisingly for Singapore too, as a perfect header from captain Hariss Harun gave them the lead after just six minutes.

But by the end of the match, it was Taiwan who were left celebrating on the Jalan Besar turf after staging a successful comeback to seal an upset 2-1 triumph

“We wanted to win this game so that we can be in a good position,” national coach V. Sundramoorthy admitted afterwards.

“I feel a draw would have been a better (fairer) result, but it’s football – we must take responsibility and move on.

“You can’t use the word ‘complacent’ (to describe our performance) as I think the boys tried (their best), but I think we need to do better.”

Indeed, Singapore hardly threatened Taiwan goalkeeper Chiu Yu-hung after they broke the deadlock through Hariss, who guided Shahdan Sulaiman’s corner into the top left corner.

Kazuo Kuroda’s charges produced a positive response to going behind and began to dominate possession, with only Hassan Sunny’s brilliant reflexes preventing Yaki Yen’s effort from 12 yards drawing them level on 26 minutes.

But Taiwan did not have to wait long to equalise.

Just five minutes later, right-back Xavier Chen, who plies his trade for Belgian top-flight side F.V. Mechelen, smacked a stunning half-volley from range that beat Hassan and went in off the post.

It was a goal that had been coming, with Sundram acknowledging that Singapore were bound to be punished for conceding a string of free-kicks in “dangerous” areas.

It got worse for the home side on the hour mark when a defensive mix-up left Chen Chao-an with an empty goal to head into from point-blank range.

Singapore barely had a shout at goal after that and when chances beckoned, Hafiz Sujad scuffed a tame effort straight at Yu-hung from a promising position and Khairul Nizam slipped just when it looked like he would bury the ball in goal from close range. The Lions resorted to a barrage of desperate long balls aimed at Safuwan Baharudin, Irfan Fandi and Nizam in the closing stages but they all came to nothing.

Kuroda, pleased with the win, said: “We were a bit nervous, but in the second half we calmed down and played better.”

The result extended Singapore’s win-less streak to six competitive games, four of which have ended in defeats, and Hariss concurred that they were not good enough on the night.

“The result says so,” he admitted. “We haven’t had positive results for a long time and the 0-0 draw (with Bahrain) was undone with this result. 

“It was crucial to get the points and even more so at home, so it was very disappointing, but… we cannot put our heads down and let this affect us, we still have four more games to play and there are points still up for grabs.”

With the win, Taiwan are now level on points with leaders Turkmenistan, who take on Bahrain next Tuesday.

Singapore will face Argentina on the same date at the National Stadium in a glamour friendly, though much shine has been lost as Jorge Sampaoli’s side will not boast of Barcelona superstar Messi, Juventus striker Higuain, and manchester City defence Nicolas Otamendi.

Match organisers UNICESS confirmed in a media release on Saturday night that the pair would be absent due to “personal reasons”, with Messi flying into Singapore in the evening together with the team but then flying out again a few hours later back to Barcelona as he prepares for his wedding on June 30.

Singapore: Hassan Sunny, Madhu Mohana, Irfan Fandi, Daniel Bennett, Shakir Hamzah, Hariss Harun (C), Izzdin Shafiq, Shahdan Sulaiman (Nazrul Nazari 75’), Yasir Hanapi (Khairul Nizam 79’), Faris Ramli (Hafiz Sujad 50’), Safuwan Baharudin.