A crowd of nearly 5,000 packed into the Jalan Besar Stadium to watch Singapore and create a deafening atmosphere.

And the hosts certainly did not disappoint the night before the Opening Ceremony leaving the country partying well into the early hours.

In front of watching International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Jacques Rogge, as well as FIFA President Sepp Blatter, who was appearing at the football competition for the second night in succession, Singapore looked outstanding in their first appearance at the Games.

The hosts dramatically opened the scoring after just ten seconds with Ammirul Mazlan blasting a strike into the back of the net straight from kick off before Shuaimi jumped in to steal the show.

The lightning striker, who looks destined for a big future in the game, bamboozled Zimbabwe with his amazing trickery before latching on to an inch-perfect pass then lofting the ball past a disappearing keeper to make it 2-0 after just ten minutes.

The 15-year-old then put his side 3-0 up on the 29th minute as he delicately planted the ball across the line with his chest in a move that had a hint of offside.

With the game won and the crowd in buoyant mode, Singapore relaxed and took their foot off the pedal after half time.

Zimbabwe clawed a goal back with a penalty from Albert Kusemwa on the 63rd minute but his strike was merely a consolation as the hosts get set for the Opening Ceremony with a smile on their faces.

In the night’s first game, Bolivia beat Vanuatu 2-0 with goals from Carlos Anez and Luis Banegas.

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