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SINGAPORE - It was a draw with the Philippines that kicked off Singapore's humiliating run at the AFF Suzuki Cup last year. The three-time champions failed to even get past the opening group stage, a result that ultimately proved fatal for some of the Lions in the squad.
The 1-1 draw set in motion events that led to changes in the national squad, with several of the old guard losing their spot to younger players.
Singapore will face the Philippines tonight in their final warm-up match at the Jalan Besar Stadium, before a must-win third round, Group A World Cup qualifier against Jordan here on Tuesday.
Veteran defender Daniel Bennett (picture), who is the most capped player in the team with 101, is aiming for two wins.
Speaking to Today before the Lions' final training session at Jalan Besar yesterday, Bennett said: "These next two games we hope we can get good results. Wins are important, obviously, but we also want to win because of what happened in the past. We have something to prove against both teams."
In January last year, the Lions faced Jordan in Amman only needing a draw to qualify for the 2011 Asian Cup finals for the first time in Singapore football history.
They lost 2-1.
"It would have been the perfect thing if we had got that result to qualify for Asian Cup ... and they're (Jordan) to blame," Bennett said.
"We're to blame for that too, of course, but we want a result against them."
This time, the Lions need to beat Jordan to keep alive their slim hopes of advancing to the fourth round of the Asian Zone of qualifiers for the 2014 World Cup finals.
Radojko Avramovic's side lost their first two matches - 2-1 to China and 2-0 to Iraq - in the group and are desperate for a win.
The current Singapore team is much changed for the one that faced the Philippines and Jordan last year, and 33-year-old Bennett is best-placed to describe the latest version of the Lions.
"Last year, we had players on the bench who were just as experienced as those who were playing. It's very different now, but that's part of transition," he said.
"We play a more open game of football now. In the past ... we played a very defensive system where we did not expose ourselves so much ... now we have players who are able to get forward more so we're pressing forward a bit more than we're used to," he added.
The Philippines are no longer whipping boys in the region and Jordan will start the game on Tuesday as favourites despite playing away, but Bennett believes the Lions can pull off two wins.
"We must show the desire that we desperately want to win.
"Something was missing against Iraq and hopefully we find it against Jordan (and the Philippines)," he said.
Probable Singapore first XI
Izwan Mahbud, Juma'at Jantan, Daniel Bennett, Safuwan Baharudin, Shaiful Esah, Hariss Harun, Isa Halim, Shi Jiayi, Shahril Ishak, Fazrul Nawaz, Aleksandar Duric
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