The Singapore Select XI suffered their second straight defeat as visiting Stoke City defeated them 2-0 to claim third place in the 2015 Barclays Asia Trophy on Saturday night.
After losing 4-0 to Arsenal in Wednesday's opening match, V. Sundarmoorthy's men put in another brave display but they were outclassed by the side who finished ninth in last season's English Premier League.
Stoke's goals were scored by Steve Sidwell (seventh minute) and Marko Arnautovic (73rd) at the Singapore National Stadium.
Here are three thoughts on Singapore's final match in the four team tournament:
1. The spirit of Sundram
Having faced visiting Manchester United and Bayern Munich as a player during the 1980s, Singapore Select's coach was determined to oversee a good performance in this tournament just three weeks before the island nation celebrates its 50th birthday.
He reunited with many of the players with whom he won the 2013 Malaysia Super League crown with LionsXII. He's had less success as a coach since then, in charge of second tier Malaysian side Negeri Sembilan last year before teaming up with an ageing Tampines Rovers squad in the S.League this season.
Sundram's selection for Stoke saw just one change from the Arsenal game, with defender Shakir Hamzah coming in for Shaiful Esah.
After falling behind to Sidwell's early goal, the character of the Singapore Select XI side was tested. But they responded well, with the experienced Khairul Amri dropping deeper to pull the strings and ease the nerves.
Despite Stoke's reputation as a tall and physical side reliant on set pieces, they again played enterprising football. Technical players like Marko Arnautovic, Peter Odemwingie and ex-Barcelona defender Marc Muniesa looked dangerous.
Arnautovic scored Stoke's second goal to kill off the game midway through the second half when he cut in from the left before unleashing a right-footed shot. Last ditch defending from Baihakki Khaizan, Madhu Mohana, backed by another solid performance from keeper Izwan Mahbud, kept the Premier League side at bay for large periods of the match.
Izwan saved Baihakki's blushes in the 74th minute -- after the big defender's error -- by making a desperate save with his feet from the Odemwingie shot. Three minutes later, he denied the Nigerian again with his hands.
It wasn't to be an upset result like the night when Sundram inspired a Singapore XI to a famous 2-1 victory over Bayern Munich in 1983, but the man they called 'The Dazzler' could be satisfied of his side's efforts.
2. Crouching Peter in the Lion City
It's one of the football's best trivia questions: where did Stoke and former England striker Peter Crouch spend three of the first four years of his life?
The answer is Singapore, where his father Bruce was posted as an advertising copywriter in the early 1980s when his son was just one year old.
Crouch went to nursery school in Singapore and spoke Mandarin Chinese before he'd mastered English.
By the age of four, he was back in England. In a parallel universe, the unusually tall, blonde-haired lad might have stayed in Asia to proudly wear the red shirt of Singapore alongside fellow foreign-born talents like Aleksandar Duric, Dan Bennett and John Wilkinson.
And the 34-year-old took little time to make his mark on the game, flicking the Marco van Ginkel corner from the right, into the path of Steve Sidwell, who slotted the ball home for a 1-0 lead in the seventh minute.
Just past the half hour, Crouch rose high to head the cross from Phil Bardsley at close range only to see the ball sail over the bar.
The fans in the Singapore Stadium let out a collective groan when Crouch was substituted for Mame Biram Diouf at the start of the second half.
3. Singapore's Mister Dependable
When he plays for LionsXII Khairul Amri is sometimes criticised for his lack of goals, but he offers so much in other ways.
Strong in holding the ball up, visionary in the way he can spray passes and almost always able to run into good positions, the 30-year-old forward remains one of Singapore football's best servants.
His long range shot in the 24th minute -- Singapore's first on target -- was dealt with easily enough by Stoke keeper Shay Given.
But he was at the centre of the action when the home side had their best period of the match just before half time. He combined with Nicolas Velez as Nazrul Nazari made an incisive, overlapping run on the right in the 43rd minute.
And then after a superb touch from Sirina Camara on the left, the LionsXII star let fly with another long range shot that almost grazed the right hand post.
Plenty of possession continued to go through Khairul in the second half as he looked increasingly assured. A probing run saw him brought down by Sidwell in a dangerous position on the hour.
The crowd clapped and cheered excitedly as Safuwan stood over the free kick but the former Melbourne City fullback sent his attempt to the right of the post.
Subbed off in the 83rd minute, Khairul left the field without the goal that the Singapore fans craved, but with his reputation enhanced after another tireless display.