PHU THO: Singapore’s slim hopes of making the ASEAN Championship final were dashed on , Sunday ( Dec 29 ) after a 1-3 loss to Vietnam at the Viet Tri stadium in Phu Tho.
This meant that following a 0-2 decline in Singapore last Thursday, the Lions were eliminated 1-5 on overall.
Tsutomu Ogura’s crew had competed with local heavyweights Vietnam for significant portions of the opening matchup, and they continued in the same spirit, never showing any signs of being overawed in Vietnam.
A long put from Lionel Tan early in the game caused problems in the field, and Faris Ramli was finally able to head home. The Lions had the game in the back of the internet.
But events were short-lived after a lengthy Video Assistant Referee (VAR ) check , deemed , he was wrong following the initial header by Shawal Anuar.
” The umpire is the decision-maker. We didn’t talk about:’ when (or ) if.’ This is football”, said Ogura, when asked if that determination had changed how things unfolded.  ,
In a controversial turn of events, VAR determined that Tan had pulled Argentine Nguyen Xuan Son from the penalty box just before half-time.
After a long VAR check, Tan was first red carded, but that was later changed to a discolored.  , Nguyen Xuan Son kept his composure to put his staff 1-0 off in the 46th moment.