S. LEAGUE - SINGAPORE - NEWS

   

TEN-MAN BALESTIER HOLD HOME TO DRAW

Written By: Kenneth Ho

Ten-man Balestier Khalsa shared the spoils with Home United following a 1-1 draw at the Toa Payoh Stadium on Monday evening.

The Tigers had taken the lead in the first half through Miroslav Kristic but they had to play with ten men for over 30 minutes after the striker was given his marching orders on the hour mark.

Home took advantage of their numerical superiority to level matters, but that was all they could muster as they earned their seventh draw of the season.

The Protectors almost got off to a perfect start when Ken Ilso received Kamel Ramdani's pass in the six-yard box but his fierce drive was parried away by Zaiful Nizam in the fifth minute.

The Tigers would come close too in the 15th minute, with Home goalkeeper Shahril Jantan forced to push over Zulkiffli Hassim's close-range header.

Four minutes later, Tarik Cmajcanin's free-kick nearly found its way through but Shahril was alert to the danger as he scrambled across his line to gather the ball.

Both sides continued to create chances thereafter, but both Zaiful and Shahril had relatively routine saves to make.

The deadlock was finally broken in the 39th minute, when Kristic challenged Shahril for a high ball and managed to divert it into the back of the net.

Minutes later, Ignatius Ang was left with only Shahril to beat but the goalkeeper did brilliantly well to deny the former and allow his side to go into the break with a one-goal deficit.

After the break, Home tried to find a way back into the game but they found it hard to do so until Kristic received his marching orders for violent conduct in the 61st minute.

With the numerical advantage, Home found it easier to pour forward and it saw them grabbing the equaliser in the 64th minute through Azhar Sairudin.

The midfielder was left with the simplest of task to slot home a rebound after Zaiful had parried Juma'at Jantan's 30-yard shot into his path.

There was still time for Home to find a winner after that but they were let down by wayward finishing from their players.

Ilso was presented with a glorious opportunity in the 75th minute, but he failed to put his shot on target after Stanely Ng did well to find him in the box.

Ramdani and Masrezwan Masturi too did not make their attempts count, as both of them failed to beat Zaiful with their respective headers in the 81st and 88th minute.

In the end, both teams had to settle for a point each, as Balestier overtook Tampines to go fourth for the moment until the Stags play their next game, while Home climbed up to sixth after Harimau had lost their game on the same evening.

Balestier Khalsa: Zaiful Nizam (GK) (C), Yusiskandar Yusop, Emir Lotinac, Igor Cerina, Zulkiffli Hassim, Robert Pericic, Tarik Cmajcanin (Jonathan Xu 82'), Miroslav Kristic, Ignatius Ang (Hazzuwan Halim 82'), Poh Yifeng (Ridwan Jamil 70'), Ahmad Syahir

Home United: Sharil Jantan (GK), Redzwan Atan (Ang Zhi Wei 26'), Juma’at Jantan (C), Abdil Qaiyyim, Azhar Sairudin (Masreswan Masturi 73'), Ken Ilso, Yasir Hanapi, Sirina Camara, Ambroise Begue (Stanely Ng 60'), Kamel Ramdani, R.Aaravin

COURTS YOUNG LIONS SURVIVE LATE ONSLAUGHT TO SEE OFF RIVALS

Written by: Nigel Chin

Courts Young Lions survived a late scare from Harimau Muda to emerge victorious as they moved off the bottom of the Great Eastern Yeo’s S.League standings on Monday evening.

Amy Recha notched a brace as the Singapore Under-23 side won 3-2, although much credit has to go to Rudy Khairullah for pulling off a game-winning save right at the death to derail the Young Tigers’ hopes of a comeback.

The win means that the Young Lions leapfrogged over Hougang United into ninth spot and continued their unbeaten run where they have taken eight points last four games.

Harimau Muda could have taken the lead just three minutes into the game but Rudy pulled off a fantastic save to tip Faizat Ghazali’s free-kick onto the cross bar.

The visitors took advantage and got their noses in front in the sixth minute after Adam Swandi was gifted a goal by Harimau Muda goalkeeper Farhan Abu Bakar, who was making just his second start this season.

Reacting the quickest to Farhan’s miscontrolled back pass from Irfan Zakaria, Adam put the ball into the net with a first-time finish.

Syazwan Andik and Annas Rahmat both missed opportunities to draw level soon after, while Amy’s effort from a Sheikh Abdul Hadi flick-on was blocked by Azrul Nizam on the line.

Young Lions doubled their lead in the 36th minute after Annas Rahmat handled the ball inside the penalty area following a corner, and Amy Recha duly sent Farhan diving the wrong way.

The hosts almost pulled one back on the stroke of half-time, but Faizat saw his effort tipped onto the cross-bar by Rudy once again.

Harimau Muda came out of the break the more determined side, as they piled the pressure on Young Lions.

Arif Anwar had a sitter in the 61st minute, after Faizat Ghazali dribbled past three markers to set him up but the Harimau Muda striker could only fire wide from close range.

However, Arif atoned for his mistake seven minutes later with a stupendous effort as he finished Ashmawi Yakin’s cross with a scissors-kick that Rudy could do nothing about.

The game continued to be an end-to-end affair and Faizat had a superb opportunity after Rudy hesitated in coming out for a long ball, but the Malaysian attacker took too long to get his shot away and allowed Young Lions to recover.

A mistake by Syawal Nordin then allowed the Young Lions to restore their two-goal lead, as he gave away the ball to Amy and the winger played a one-two with Suria Prakash before putting the ball past the hapless Farhan.

The Malaysian Under-23 side refused to give up though, and pulled one back again a minute into injury time after the referee pointed to the spot for Rudy’s foul on Syafwan Syahlan. Arif smashed the ball right down the middle, with Rudy guessing the wrong way.

But the custodian redeemed himself right before the final whistle, as he produced a superb save to push Adam Nor’s header onto the crossbar, before Syawal fired wide inside the six-yard box from Syazwan’s cross in the final play of the game.

Harimau Muda: Farhan Abu Bakar (GK), Ashmawi Yakin, Syawal Nordin (C), Annas Rahmat, Azrul Nizam Muhammad, Adam Nor, Arif Anwar, Irfan Zakaria (Amirul Hisyam 90’), Faizat Ghazali (Shahrul Igwan 81’), Syahrul Azwari (Syafwan Syahlan 57’), Syazwan Andik

Courts Young Lions: Rudy Khairullah (GK), Faris Azienuddin (Shameer Aziq 64’), Amirul Adli, Sheikh Abdul Hadi (C), Farhan Rahmat, Ammirul Emmran, Afiq Noor (Nur Na’iim Ishak 90’), Jordan Webb, Adam Swandi, Suria Prakash, Amy Recha (Danial Razali 89’)

WARRIORS LOOKING TO RECLAIM TOP SPOT

Written By: Kenneth Ho

Hougang United vs Warriors FC
(Tuesday, 4 August, 7.30pm, Hougang Stadium)

Defending Great Eastern Yeo’s S.League champions Warriors FC will pay a visit to the Hougang Stadium to face Hougang United in a clash where victory will see them return to the top of the league table.

Until recently, Warriors were sitting atop the Great Eastern Yeo’s S.League table. However, they were displaced by Albirex Niigata (S) after the White Swans’ 2-0 win over Geylang International took their total points tally to 26, one more than Warriors.

However, nothing but a win will be enough for Warriors to overtake the White Swans, as the Japanese side have a superior goal difference.

While Warriors might be aiming for maximum points, they should do well not to underestimate Hougang, even though the Cheetahs are bottom of the league.

Hougang most recently held third-placed Brunei DPMM to a 1-1 draw in Brunei. What was most impressive is that Hougang were actually trailing in the game and had to make a fightback against the Wasps.

Salim Moin appears to have a fully-fit squad, with the exception of Atsushi Shimono, who was excused from the game against DPMM and granted compassionate leave to return to Japan. The midfielder might not make the squad again but Salim has more than capable replacements for him.

There will also be added incentive as the Cheetahs aim to move out of the bottom spot in the standings, after the Courts Young Lions overtook them following their win over Harimau Muda.

The result may be a foregone conclusion on paper, but with all the top teams having dropped points recently, Warriors will need to be wary of their hosts.

Key Men To Watch

Hougang United: Vuk Sotirovic

The striker has only scored two goals in four games so far, but each time they have proved invaluable. An unknown quantity so far as he only joined the S.League recently, Sotirovic might be able to catch Warriors’ defenders off-guard to pop up with another vital goal again.

Warriors FC: Nicolas Velez

If anyone wants to hold Warriors at bay, they should strive to keep Velez quiet. The forward is lethal in front of goal, and is equally capable of creating opportunities.

Warriors FC - WLWLD

30/07/15         Warriors FC 2-2 Home United (S.League)
23/07/15         Warriors FC 0-2 Courts Young Lions (S.League)
01/07/15         Warriors FC 1-0 Tampines Rovers (League Cup)
22/06/15         Balestier Khalsa 4-0 Warriors FC (League Cup)
18/05/15         Albirex Niigata 0-4 Warriors FC (S.League)

Hougang United -  DLWLD

29/07/15         Brunei DPMM 1-1 Hougang United (S.League)
24/07/15         Hougang United 0-3 Tampines Rovers (S.League)
20/07/15         Courts Young Lions 1-3 Hougang United (S.League)
06/07/15         Balestier Khalsa 3-2 Hougang United (League Cup)
02/07/15         Hougang United 1-1 Singapore Recreation Club (League Cup)