With a two-goal deficit to overturn in the semifinals of the 2026 ASEAN Championship, it may be easy to assume that Singapore will abandon all of their footballing principles and go gung-ho in Tuesday's second leg against Thailand at Bangkok's Rajamangala Stadium.
The inherent risk is that, against a side like Thailand -- who only needed 28% of possession to claim a 3-1 win in the weekend's first leg in Singapore -- their quality always makes them capable of exploiting any extra space or time given to them.
That is the conundrum that Singapore and coach Gavin Lee are faced with.
They obviously have two goals to chase. But if they go all out right from the start and Thailand add another to their aggregate lead, then it would effectively be game over.
"We're very aware of the situation, and the kind of scoreline or outcome, that we need," said Lee in Monday's prematch news conference.
"But I think it'll be very dangerous if we just focus on chasing the result because, in football, things can don't go your way. And it things don't go our way, it'll just cause unnecessary stress.
"So ultimately, it's just us going back to focus on what we can control, and what's what we do on the pitch. We weren't satisfied with the first leg and the good thing about this competition is that we get a chance to go again three days later.
"Tomorrow is about going out there to, first, put in a better performance -- a performance that's worthy to bring us to the next stage. That will ultimately be our focus."
Singapore have already claimed some big results at the tournament, notably battling to a 0-0 draw away to defending champions Vietnam in the group stage, while also coming from behind to force a 1-1 tie with Indonesia that sealed their place in the last four.
In those games, the Lions did create their fair share of chances even if they were primarily on the back foot -- and Lee did not necessarily agree that it was a counterattacking approach that reaped those results, when asked if he might need to be more cavalier on Tuesday.
"If you look at our past history -- against China, against Vietnam, against Indonesia, against Thailand [in the] last game, we haven't [adopted a] 'soak-and-strike' [approach]," he added.
"We just did what we needed to do in the different phases of the game, and tried to do it well. Against good teams, naturally you're being forced back a little more.
"I'm not a numbers guys but people have told me we dominated the game against Thailand in terms of possession. So the question is why we still conceded so many goals. That was the question we needed to answer internally, and we spoke about it.
"It gives us a chance to work a little bit more in terms of closing the door at the back but, at the same time, creating more opportunities up front."
Both Lee and his star striker Ilhan Fandi, who once again helping his coach fulfil the team's media obligations on the eve of a game, spoke again -- like they did after the first leg -- about wanting to make amends and give the supporters a performance worthy of the fanatical support the team has been shown of late.
Still, Ilhan stressed that should come as an added motivation. The main incentive is simply what is at stake.
"I don't think [it is about having] to face the fans," said Ilhan.
"We know we are fighters and tomorrow is another chance to show that. It's not [only] for the fans.
"It's for us firstly to show we are two goals down but capable of turning it around. And then it goes [on] to the fans.
"We're grateful for their support but I've said it many times that you have to be motivated yourself. It's a semifinal.
"You can't be not motivated even if you're 2-0 down because, if you go into a game thinking you can't turn it around, you might as well stay at home. I know this group of players think the same."