Blog / Asia Women's Football Scene / Singapore / News

Fight, spirit and desire. These were the qualities displayed by both Singapore and Papua New Guinea in FAS Tri-Nations Series 2022 (Women’s). In this nail-biting match, Papua New Guinea emerged winners with a score of 1 - 0. Despite the loss, the Singapore team put up a spectacular performance for yet another record 2,344 fans in the stadium, who turned up for the third-ever ticketed women’s football match in Singapore.

“I think as a whole I am very pleased by the effort put up by our players. We gave a very good fight today, despite the difference in FIFA ranking. The importance is that we show that we can compete at this level. It's an ongoing process we want to work on, and hopefully, we can improve even more as we go into the SEA Games.” Head Coach of Singapore, Stephen Ng, commented on the performance of the team.

To put things into context, Papua New Guinea is ranked 49th in the FIFA Women’s World Ranking, versus Singapore which is ranked 135th.

Huge credit to Papua New Guinea who spent the first 73 minutes trying to break down Singapore’s defence. Finally in the 74th minute, Papua New Guinea Defender, Lavina Hola, sent a cross across the face of goal, where Midfielder, Sonia Emhabe, tapped it past the keeper and into the goal.

“The Singapore defence was very strong and we couldn’t find the combination to penetrate through the 18 yards. There were some combinations that didn’t work out. Most of the time we were shooting from the outside.” Papua New Guinea Forward, Marie Kaipu, commented on the difficulties faced playing against Singapore.

Indeed Singapore proved to be a tough opponent as they put their heart on the field. From the brilliant saves of Goalkeeper Noor Kusumawati, to the attacking opportunities seized by the team, it was simply a shame not to have seen an equaliser. It was a night to remember as we saw a fired up team fighting to the end and this is the team we are hoping to see at the SEA Games.

“We knew today’s game was going to be hard so we expected to work harder than we did in the Seychelles game. So we really motivated each other, with the support of our captain and vice captain, it really helps a lot.” Singapore Midfielder, Nur Farhanah Ruhaizat, commented on what allowed the team to turn up the heat at the match today.

She also expressed her gratitude for the supporters who helped spur the team on. “It’s fantastic. With the amount of support that we have, at the back, at the stands, even with you guys (the press) all here, it really gives us the fighting spirit when we play. You are not playing but you guys are helping us a lot in our gameplay. Having them (the supporters) standing by our side means a lot to us.”

Next up, Singapore will be preparing for the SEA Games by having training matches in Thailand, while Papua New Guinea will be participating in the 2022 OFC Women’s Nations Cup to qualify for the 2023 Women’s World Cup.

Here’s wishing both teams the best of luck and looking forward to witnessing the growth of women’s football all around the world!