Singapore's water polo boys before their crunch match against Indonesia. (Yahoo Photo)
'There's never an easy game for us,' said Singapore's national water polo coach Lee Sai Meng, after his team decisively outmatched 'closest' contenders Indonesia 8-5 at the Southeast Asian Games in Myanmar Monday morning.
Lee told reporters after the game at Zayar Thiri pool that the mounting pressure of staying as regional champions - for the 25th straight time this year - far exceeded any scale that might exist for it.
But the Singapore squad has so far showed more than up to the task by winning all three of their matches to lead the Games table on points.
Gold is already within grasp: even if they lose to minnows Myanmar, Singapore will again be crowned kings based on a superior head-to-head record with current runners-up Indonesia.
'We cannot disrespect any opponents,' said Lee, but he was clearly pleased with how his charges performed against aggressive, counter-attacking Indonesia, who matched Singapore goal-for-goal in the middle of the game but lost out in the opening and closing exchanges.
Singapore got off on a strong foot with two early goals from vice-captain Loh Zhi Zhi and Games debutant Toh Zhi Hong.
The constantly-threatening Ridjkie Edot pulled one back for Indonesia and went on to score in every quarter, but Singapore goalie Nigel Tay otherwise orchestrated his backline admirably, 'preventing certain goals' at times, said team manager Samuel Wong.
Tay, 25, later pulled his right groin while attempting to save a shot and soldiered on through the pain.
Singapore goalkeeper Nigel Tay receiving medical attention after the match. (Yahoo Photo)
'Today was not our best performance,' insisted Lee. 'The defence did well, but the attack is worrying - our forwards are not scoring, and they used to be our strongest point.'
He attributed Singapore's misfiring to the pressure of expectation, which he said also led to situations such as 17-year-old Sean Ang failing to capitalise on a one-on-one with the goalkeeper.
Nevertheless, Lee was delighted by the final quarter, when his team 'showed true fitness by outsprinting' the faltering Indonesians. Toh, Loh and Chiam Kun Yang all found the net for Singapore to emerge victorious in what Wong dubbed the 'unofficial gold medal match'.
Photo: Samuel Wong / Singapore Water Polo
Also competing within the Zayar Thiri complex on Monday were Singapore silat exponents Ridhwan Selamat and Rudi Hermawanb B. Zahri, who both lost 0-5 on points to Thai opponents in their respective match classes.Later in the afternoon, Singapore's basketball squad suffered a 75-88 loss to giants Philippines in their round-robin tie.
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