BOCAUE -- A valiant display by Singapore saw them battle until the end, but without reward, as they were beaten 1-0 by defending champions Thailand in Group A of the 2016 AFF Suzuki Cup on Tuesday.
Entering the game at the Philippine Sports Stadium as underdogs against the tournament favourites, it looked as though the Lions had done enough to earn a valuable point after repelling almost everything that was thrown at them.
But, with a minute remaining, substitute Sarawut Masuk popped up to head home the only goal of the contest to hand Thailand their second win in as many games.
The War Elephants are through to the semifinals with a game in hand, keeping alive their hopes of becoming champions of Southeast Asia for a record fifth time, while the Singaporeans must beat Indonesia on Friday to have any chance of progress.
Nonetheless, there were plenty of positives for the Lions to take, especially considering their discipline and determination which Thailand frustrated for most of the match.
They even had the first chance after just two minutes when Khairul Amri brought the ball down well, and fired away a left-footed snapshot straight at Kawin Thamsatchanan.
The Thais responded nine minutes later when Siroch Chatthong outpaced Faritz Hameed to get in behind the opposition defence, but his shot from a tight angle was kept out by Hassan Sunny.
Hassan was called into action again a minute before the half-hour mark, reacting at his near post to deny Rungrath Poomchanteuk. Then, Teerasil Dangda spurned an excellent chance when he nodded an inch-perfect delivery from Chanathip Songkrasin wide.
FULL-TIME | #Thailand are through to the #AFFSuzukiCup semi-finals! ����
A photo posted by AFF Suzuki Cup (@affsuzukicup) on
Just before the break, Singapore almost took the lead when Faris Ramli burst forward on the counter, and nearly broke through when Hariss Harun's deflected pass looked destined to break into his path.
However, Kawin was alert to the danger and raced off his line to deal with the threat.
The second half continued in the same vein as the first, with Thailand dominating proceedings, while the Singaporeans were looking dangerous on the counter.
Rungrath had another chance in the 62nd minute when he ghosted in at the back post to meet Sarach Yooyen's lovely cross, but he was only able to guide his volley into the side-netting.
Straight up the other end, Amri, who was working tirelessly as a lone man up front, threaded a neat through-pass to Juma'at Jantan. But he fired off target under pressure from a recovering defender.
The War Elephants responded through diminutive playmaker Chanathip, who broke free inside the box in the 66th minute, but was unable to power his shot past Hassan.
89' GOAL for #Thailand! Sarawut glances the ball into the back of the net to make it 1-0 with just minutes remaining! #AFFSuzukiCup #THAvSIN pic.twitter.com/YgfPpc5m54
- AFF Suzuki Cup (@affsuzukicup) November 22, 2016
As the game entered its closing stages, it was Singapore, remarkably, who had the better chances to snatch all three points.
From a breakaway, Izzdin Shafiq had a couple of openings but just could not fire a shot away. Then, Shakir Hamzah latched onto layoff from Faris, and unleashed a fierce drive that was clawed away by Kawin.
Just when it looked as though the Lions had done enough for the draw, Sarawut popped up to break their hearts, with a minute remaining.
Having been introduced as a substitute shortly after the hour mark, the Bangkok Glass man made an excellent run into the box. He climbed highest to meet Theerathon Bunmathan's inviting cross before glancing his header past Hassan to win it for the Thais.
"We almost got that important point for us to progress to the next game and see where we stand," lamented Singapore coach V. Sundramoorthy, who oversaw a 0-0 draw against co-hosts Philippines in Saturday's opening game. "We were just minute away.
"It's tough but that's football. Now we need to prepare ourselves for the last game against Indonesia because we still have a chance.
"We should have scored with the breaks we had if we had got the right show away.
"Juma'at had a great chance, Izzdin found himself in a great position, as well as Faris and Shakir -- It could have been very different if he had scored.
"But I'm very proud of the boys. They got stuck in and played to the game plan, but we cannot change anything now, so we need to move on."
Meanwhile, Kiatisuk Senamuang admitted it had not been a straightforward win, despite his side being huge favourites for the contest.
"It wasn't an easy game and you can see Singapore are very good defensively," said the 43-year-old.
"We changed from a back four, to a back three, and the players were working hard, so we managed to get the result in the end."
Thailand: Kawin Thamsatchanan, Tristan Do, Tanaboon Kesarat, Korawit Narmwiset, Theerathon Bunmathan, Pokklaw Anan (Charyl Chappuis 86'), Sarach Yooyen, Chanathip Songkrasin, Rungrath Poomchanteuk (Adisorn Promrak 72'), Siroch Chatthong (Sarawut Masuk 63'), Teerasil Dangda
Singapore: Hassan Sunny, Faritz Hameed, Madhu Mohana, Daniel Bennett, Shakir Hamzah, M. Anumanthan (Shahril Ishak 90'), Juma'at Jantan (Yasir Hanapi 81'), Hariss Harun, Safuwan Baharudin (Izzdin Shafiq 74'), Faris Ramli, Khairul Amri