HANOI (18 Dec 2008) – The loss of midfield maestro John Wilkinson was felt by Singapore in their first leg semi-finals clash of the AFF Suzuki Cup 2008 and head coach Radojko Avramovic will be looking at an improved performance for the return tie.

Defending champions Singapore battled to a scoreless draw against Vietnam and where they will be looking forward to the second leg in three days to return the favour.

"Sure we felt the absence of Wilkinson at the centre of the park where we could not keep the positional ball," said Radojko.

"But our game was bad not only because of that factor alone where I felt we were not playing our usual game.

"We were not supporting each other and we were not fighting for the ball as much as we should. And that contributed to why we did not play well in the first leg."

The return match of the semi-finals of the AFF Suzuki Cup 2008 will be played at the hallowed ground of the National Stadium which has seen many of Singapore's achievements.

And against such a backdrop will the Lions be looking for the edge as they chase their third Asean title on a trot.

"I expected Vietnam to play the way they did – full of speed and movement and I think that we can expect more of the same for the return tie," added Radojko.

"We have to improve our game obviously where we cannot play the same way we had done in the first leg."