Contributed by Visakan Subramaniam

Binh Duong, Vietnam, Sunday, October 18, 2009 – The Singapore Olympic football team finished fourth in the Vietnam Youth Newspaper Cup after losing 2-1 to the Vietnam Under-21 team in the 3rd/4th placing match in Binh Duong, Vietnam.

Singapore started slowly and conceded two goals in the first 10 minutes of the game through a corner kick and a direct freekick.

Singapore regrouped after the break and pushed hard for a goal and were duly rewarded when Haikal Norasikin got his first goal of the tournament in the 71st minute.

The youngsters nearly found the equaliser in the last minute of the game but a legitimate claim for a penalty was waved off by the local referee.

Coach V Sundram Moorthy was none the less pleased with the experience the Olympic team has gained from this trip.

"The team has definitely gained from this experience. They have grown mentally stronger by being exposed to different environments and pitches.

"Playing teams like Thailand and Vietnam have also been advantageous as the boys get to adapt to different playing styles," added Sundram.

Singapore: 1 Muhammad Syazwan, 5 Ali Hudzaifi, 3 Rahim As’ari, 15 Abdil Qaiyyim, 14 Saiful Bahari (2 Muhammad Firman 90') , Hafiz Abu Sujad, 16 Muhammad Iryani, 19 Haikal Norasikin (Dharham Aziz 72'), 13 Izzdin Shafiq, 9 Zulfadhli Emran (7 Shahfiq Ghani 46'), 20 Ang Zhiwei