MANILA, Nov 22 — They battled hard and ran themselves to the ground, but it was all in vain as Singapore suffered a cruel 1-0 defeat to Thailand in this afternoon’s Asean Football Federation (AFF) Suzuki Cup Group A match.

A disciplined Lions side managed to contain the defending champions for majority of the game, but their brave resistance was finally broken in the 89th minute when Thai substitute Sarawut Masuk jumped highest to plant a header past Singapore custodian Hassan Sunny.

The result means that Singapore have made their worst-ever start — with just one point after two games — to an AFF championship.

And their fate in this year’s tournament remains up in the air. They will likely need a victory against Indonesia in their final group match on Friday in order to progress to the knockout stage.

The victory, however, means that Thailand, who beat Indonesia 4-2 in the previous match, becomes the first team in the tournament to secure passage to the semi-finals. — TODAY