Must-win Hong Kong match a chance for Lions to banish past regrets, says skipper Hariss

HONG KONG: Lions skipper Hariss Harun is more than familiar with the agony of being so close but yet so far.

As a 19-year-old, he and his teammates were on the brink of making the Asian Cup in 2010. In cold, blustery Amman, a draw in a qualifier against Jordan would have been enough to send Singapore through to the tournament the following year.

But a 2-1 defeat sealed Jordan's qualification to the tournament and the Lions' fate. And it remains a "fresh memory" for Hariss, now 34.

"The heartache after the game was really huge because a lot of the players knew the significance of what we did to get so close," he added.

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"But to not get there was really painful ... We were in the game, we had the result for (part of the game). Then we conceded the set piece."

Ten of the starting eleven from that match have since retired. The last man standing is Hariss, who is now in a position to put things right.

"Now after so many years, we have the chance and opportunity to extinguish those regrets of yesteryears and breathe new life, new impetus, (and) be the catalyst for our football moving forward," he said.

"It's huge ... Not only for the national team, the players here, but for the whole country in terms of what are the plans back home and how we want to progress as a nation in football."

On Tuesday (Nov 18), Singapore will face Hong Kong at Kai Tak Stadium in a winner-takes-all Asian Cup qualifier. If the Lions win, they will qualify for the tournament on merit for the first time.

Their only appearance at the Asian Cup was in 1984, with an automatic qualification as the host nation.

Speaking to CNA on Sunday (Nov 16) at the team's hotel in Hong Kong, Hariss said his side is focused on the task at hand.

"The biggest respect we can give to this game is that we prepare for it as best as we can, (put in the) best effort (and give) everything that we have to be ready," he said.

As part of preparations for the crunch clash, the Lions faced Southeast Asian heavyweights Thailand in an international friendly on Thursday (Nov 13).

Buoyed by a Glenn Kweh double, Gavin Lee's men gave a good account of themselves against the home side but fell to a 3-2 defeat.

"It was alright performance-wise, but of course we didn't get the result, so a little bit disappointed with that," said Hariss.

"We really took (the game) to them, and we went toe to toe with them in terms of playing football. Some of the Thai boys that I've known for a long time were a little bit surprised that in the first half we managed to play through them."

The Lions arrived in Hong Kong on Saturday night, and had their first training session on Sunday evening.

"We know what we should have done better against Thailand, which was a very good prep game for us. We look to Nov 18 to hopefully make history for Singapore football," Hariss said.

In a tune-up match of their own, Hong Kong were held to a 1-1 draw by Cambodia at the Hong Kong Stadium.

"WE NEVER DOUBTED OURSELVES"

The Lions will also be up against fervent home support, with tickets allocated for the Hong Kong supporters at the 50,000-seater stadium sold out in under 80 minutes last Friday.

Tickets were reportedly being resold for up to seventeen times their original price.

About two thousand Singapore fans are expected to cheer their team on.

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