KUALA LUMPUR: The national football team let down the more than 30,000 Malaysian fans who made the trip to the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil on Friday.
They saw nothing much about Harimau Malaya and they saw not a single goal as Harimau Malaya drew 0-0 with the Lions in an Asean Cup match.
The Causeway derby is said to be filled with excitement and thrills, but sadly this wasn't the case this time.
World ranked No 132 Malaysia just couldn't have the better of world No. 160 Singapore who were content to hold out for a draw.
Billed as a do-or-die match for Malaysia, the team, coached by Spaniard Pau Marti Vicente, just couldn't do enough to stay alive in the Asean Cup.
Malaysia finished third in Group A behind Thailand and Singapore who both advanced to the semi-finals. Thailand defeated Cambodia 3-2 on the same evening.
Harimau Malaya needed to score at least one goal, but failed to breach a resolute Singapore defence put up by Japanese coach Tsutomu Ogura.
Malaysia's best opportunity came in the 69th minute when off an Endrick Dos Santos' corner kick, Harith Haiqal Adam Afkar's header rattled the crossbar but stayed out.
Vicente tried to make tactical changes and threw in fresh legs from the bench, but Singapore showed resilience and tactical discipline to hang on.
Outgoing interim coach, Vicente, who was in his final match in charge of Harimau Malaya, said: "I'm sad to finish like this. I believe we deserved more tonight, and in terms of the game, we couldn't have done much more to secure a win.
"At the same time, I am grateful for the support from the fans who have shown respect for the players' efforts over the last two weeks. Even in tough situations we could stay together and with the supporters in Bukit Jalil, I think this is a positive for Malaysian football."