Going into their final match of the Asean Football Federation (AFF) Women's Cup, the Lionesses faced mounting challenges.
The effects of fatigue and a packed playing schedule became apparent as they lost key forward Nur Farhanah Ruhaizat and first-choice goalkeeper Hazel Lim earlier in the competition.
But the injury-hit side, who already had to cope with several players' unavailability for this qualifying tournament, still had a task to accomplish - to earn a spot at the 2025 Asean Women's Championship.
At the Lao National Stadium KM16 in Vientiane on Dec 5, they got the job done as they beat Timor-Leste 1-0 in the third-place play-off to clinch the final qualifying berth for the championship, joining champions Indonesia and runners-up Cambodia, who had grabbed the first two spots.
Having achieved what they set out to do, Singapore coach Karim Bencherifa said: "I am proud of the players and the team. They fought hard and showed resilience.
"It was our fourth match in nine days, which is why we lost a few players along the way."
In a tactical change, world No. 138 Singapore started with a 3-4-3 formation instead of their usual 4-4-2 diamond.
This story is from the December 06, 2024 edition of The Straits Times.
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This story is from the December 06, 2024 edition of The Straits Times.
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