After a year away from their home ground, the Singapore Women’s National Football Team made a triumphant return to the Jalan Besar Stadium. The Lionesses took full advantage of their homecoming, securing a resounding 9-0 victory in a friendly match over the Macau Women’s Football Team on July 16.
This victory marks their biggest ever win on the international stage and their first win since defeating Pakistan at the same venue a year ago. Singapore head coach Karim Bencherifa expressed his elation with his players' performance and believes this young team has a bright future ahead.
“There are a lot of positives to build on from this… they gave their 100 percent and showed their quality. I can assure you this is just the start. It’s a work in progress and, hopefully, women’s football will rise in the future.”
The Lionesses asserted their dominance from the start, controlling the first 45 minutes in Macau’s half. Despite this, they struggled to create clear threats from open play. The breakthrough came in the 37th minute when Dorcas Chu capitalised on Venetia Lim’s well-delivered corner, sneaking in at the far post.
Dorcas Chu opened the scoring for Singapore. (Photo Credit: FAS)
Putri Syaliza doubled the lead in stoppage time. Another corner saw Syaliza’s left-footed effort deflected into the net by Macau’s Lok I Lam.
Syaliza, a player for Oakland University, was a constant threat on the right flank in the first half and became even more influential when moved to the left to start the second half. She won a free kick just outside the box, which Venetia took and scored with a superb curler into the top far corner.
Four minutes later, Syaliza showcased her dribbling skills, beating two defenders before crossing to Danielle Tan, who made it 4-0. The Borussia Dortmund player, who had a quiet first half, celebrated her goal by gesturing a deep breath in front of the home crowd.
Their celebrations continued when Siti Rosnani scored from 40 yards out in the 57th minute, casually placing the ball into the top left corner after a Macau clearance.
Danielle Tan scored a hat-trick in the second half. (Photo Credit: FAS)
Danielle then completed her hat-trick with goals in the 61st and 65th minutes, bringing her national team goal tally to seven.
Syaliza added her second goal in the 85th minute with a high-quality strike reminiscent of Lion City Sailors star Maxime Lestienne. She cut in from the right flank and, after peeking at the Macau goalie’s position, released a finesse shot from the edge of the box into the far corner.
Putri Syaliza was a constant threat and scored 2 goals in the match. (Photo Credit: FAS)
The Lionesses wrapped up their historic win with a wonder goal from debutant Kyra Elise Taylor, who scored from midfield just 10 metres away from the halfway line, making it 9-0. This surpassed their previous record win, a 6-0 thrashing of the Maldives in the 2007 Beijing Olympics qualifier.
Coach Bencherifa expressed pride in his players and emphasised that the team can build on this success as they prepare for major competitions such as the AFF tournament in November and the 2025 SEA Games in Bangkok.