Singapore football coach admits to narrow escapes in J.League friendlies: 'We could have been defeated by 10-0, 20-0'

The Lions suffered a humbling 7-1 loss to J1 League giants Yokohama F. Marinos on Oct 14, bringing an end to their 10-day training camp in Japan.

Singapore coach Tsutomu Ogura did not mince his words as he told The Straits Times post-match at the F. Marinos Sports Park: “We need to improve everything – offence, defence, intensity, one-against-one, individual and group technique.

“Before this, they had a feeling how big the gap was between them and J1 teams, but this became real for them when they actually played.

“They knew what they had to do. I told the players we needed things like good defence and good organisation, and if we were missing any one of these areas, losing 10-0 or 20-0 is possible.”

A lopsided score did materialise in front of about 300 spectators that included the club’s youth teams, fans and coaches such as former Albirex Niigata coach Kazuaki Yoshinaga. The hosts started with seven players who have made at least 17 appearances this season, despite losing the J-League Cup semi-finals on aggregate a day earlier.

In contrast, Ogura fielded a young side with an average age of 23.5 years – they had four uncapped players and a combined total of only 104 caps.

Explaining the rationale for his line-up, Ogura said: “This preparation is important not only for the senior players, it is better for the younger generation to understand the standard required of them to succeed at the highest level. It will be very helpful for them, as they still have the time to change and improve for the long run.

“What they have just experienced is the high standard, it is what we should aspire towards and make good habits to achieve it. Japan football wasn’t like this 30 years ago, and we reached this level step by step, so Singapore can also try.”

Despite making a decent start with some good combinations and Zikos Chua firing over, while 19-year-old Raoul Suhaimi impressed with his steadiness at right-back, the gulf in quality soon emerged and was quickly exploited.

Each extra touch, a moment of hesitation on the ball, or a lapse in concentration often led to a goal-scoring opportunity for the Marinos, who are 12th in the 20-team J1 League but also last season’s Asian Football Condeferation Champions League finalists.

They demonstrated how to press as a team and individually, as players kept on the move and showed great awareness on and off the ball, and knew where their teammates were on the pitch.

One or two touches, combined with wall passes, were often enough to carve open the Lions defence as former Japan international Kota Mizunuma (two goals), Riku Yamane, Justin Homma and Yuta Koike put five past Syazwan Buhari without reply by half-time.

Singapore showed better communication and organisation in the second half after Ogura introduced his senior players, as all his fit and available outfielders got game time.