EAGLES AND CHEETAHS PLAY OUT THRILLING DRAW
Written by: Shawn Lim
Geylang International and Hougang United played out a thrilling 2-2 draw at Bedok Stadium on Monday evening.
The draw meant the the Eagles can go into their final game of the season with the certainty that regardless of the result, they will not be overtaken by the Cheetahs, who are rooted to the bottom of the Great Eastern Yeo’s S.League table.
Geylang International and Hougang United played out a thrilling 2-2 draw at Bedok Stadium on Monday evening.
The draw meant the the Eagles can go into their final game of the season with the certainty that regardless of the result, they will not be overtaken by the Cheetahs, who are rooted to the bottom of the Great Eastern Yeo’s S.League table.
A slow start to the match offered little hint of what was to follow as the net was bulged four times in a spell of 18 minutes just before the final whistle.
Geylang were the first to settle into the game as they established their tempo and threatened occasionally on the counter-attack.
Bruno Castanheira was able to nick the ball off Yuki Uchiyama in the box in the eighth minute and he laid it off to Jozef Kaplan, whose initial shot was blocked before he fired the rebound wide of the mark.
Tatusro Inui then chipped a beautifully-weighted pass to Shawal Anuar in the 19th minute and sent the latter through on goal, but Hougang custodian Ridhuan Bahrudin was quick off his line to claim the ball before the 23-year-old could get to it.
Geylang’s attempts at controlling possession had limited the Cheetahs’ openings, but Diego Gama almost opened the scoring for the visitors against the run of play in the 24th minute when Ruzaini Zainal’s cross into the box from deep found the Brazilian.
Despite being inches away from goal, the 32-year-old striker was unable to keep his header down.
Inui subsequently missed a glorious opportunity to give Geylang the lead three minutes later when his curling free-kick fizzed just wide of Ridhuan’s far post.
Shawal was unlucky not to fire the Eagles ahead in the 30th minute when he was allowed to run unchallenged to the edge of the box, but he saw his thunderous drive flew just wide of the goal.
Bruno Castanheira was able to nick the ball off Yuki Uchiyama in the box in the eighth minute and he laid it off to Jozef Kaplan, whose initial shot was blocked before he fired the rebound wide of the mark.
Tatusro Inui then chipped a beautifully-weighted pass to Shawal Anuar in the 19th minute and sent the latter through on goal, but Hougang custodian Ridhuan Bahrudin was quick off his line to claim the ball before the 23-year-old could get to it.
Geylang’s attempts at controlling possession had limited the Cheetahs’ openings, but Diego Gama almost opened the scoring for the visitors against the run of play in the 24th minute when Ruzaini Zainal’s cross into the box from deep found the Brazilian.
Despite being inches away from goal, the 32-year-old striker was unable to keep his header down.
Inui subsequently missed a glorious opportunity to give Geylang the lead three minutes later when his curling free-kick fizzed just wide of Ridhuan’s far post.
Shawal was unlucky not to fire the Eagles ahead in the 30th minute when he was allowed to run unchallenged to the edge of the box, but he saw his thunderous drive flew just wide of the goal.
Inui came close with a free-kick which was punched cleared by Ridhuan four minutes after the interval, but chances were few in the early part of the second period until Castanheira’s side-footed volley from close range went horribly wide two minutes after the hour mark.
Shawal’s fruitless quest to get on the scoresheet continued as he sliced Syed Thaha’s cross wide in the 64th minute despite being unmarked in the 18-yard box.
The deadlock was finally broken in the 72nd minute when the entire Hougang backline went to sleep and allowed Shawal to sneak in at the far post to meet Inui's free-kick and score for the second S.League match in a row.
Geylang’s delight at going ahead was short lived when Syed conceded a penalty four minutes later after bringing down substitute Vuk Sotirovic and the Serbian picked himself to convert the spot-kick.
The Eagles should have reclaimed the lead in the 81st minute when Kaplan went through on goal after leaving Kenneth Chang for dead but could only fire his shot at the side-netting.
In an end-to-end finish to the match, Hougang went ahead for the first time in the game in stoppage time when Fareez Farhan’s deflected shot in the 18-yard box was deemed to have crossed the line.
There was still time for Geylang to grab the equaliser though, and a long punt out of defence from Hafiz Osman found Hafiz Nor, who immediately sent an unmarked Castanheira through on goal.
The Japanese striker took a touch and then slammed the ball into the net with aplomb before the final whistle came minutes later.
Geylang International: Yazid Yasin (GK), Yuki Ichikawa, Kento Fukuda, Nor Azli (Anaz Hadee 58’), Hafiz Osman, Syed Thaha, Shawal Anuar, Tatsuro Inui (Shah Hirul 85’), Hafiz Nor, Jozef Kaplan (C), Bruno Castanheira
Hougang United: Ridhuan Barudin (GK), Delwinder Singh, Faizal Amir, Kunihiro Yamashita, Yuki Uchiyama (Kenneth Chang 44’), Atsushi Shimono, Ruzaini Zainal (Haidil Sufian 70’), Fazli Jaffar, Fareez Farhan, Nurhilmi Jasni (C), Diego Gama (Vuk Sotirovic 66’)
Shawal’s fruitless quest to get on the scoresheet continued as he sliced Syed Thaha’s cross wide in the 64th minute despite being unmarked in the 18-yard box.
The deadlock was finally broken in the 72nd minute when the entire Hougang backline went to sleep and allowed Shawal to sneak in at the far post to meet Inui's free-kick and score for the second S.League match in a row.
Geylang’s delight at going ahead was short lived when Syed conceded a penalty four minutes later after bringing down substitute Vuk Sotirovic and the Serbian picked himself to convert the spot-kick.
The Eagles should have reclaimed the lead in the 81st minute when Kaplan went through on goal after leaving Kenneth Chang for dead but could only fire his shot at the side-netting.
In an end-to-end finish to the match, Hougang went ahead for the first time in the game in stoppage time when Fareez Farhan’s deflected shot in the 18-yard box was deemed to have crossed the line.
There was still time for Geylang to grab the equaliser though, and a long punt out of defence from Hafiz Osman found Hafiz Nor, who immediately sent an unmarked Castanheira through on goal.
The Japanese striker took a touch and then slammed the ball into the net with aplomb before the final whistle came minutes later.
Geylang International: Yazid Yasin (GK), Yuki Ichikawa, Kento Fukuda, Nor Azli (Anaz Hadee 58’), Hafiz Osman, Syed Thaha, Shawal Anuar, Tatsuro Inui (Shah Hirul 85’), Hafiz Nor, Jozef Kaplan (C), Bruno Castanheira
Hougang United: Ridhuan Barudin (GK), Delwinder Singh, Faizal Amir, Kunihiro Yamashita, Yuki Uchiyama (Kenneth Chang 44’), Atsushi Shimono, Ruzaini Zainal (Haidil Sufian 70’), Fazli Jaffar, Fareez Farhan, Nurhilmi Jasni (C), Diego Gama (Vuk Sotirovic 66’)
COMEBACK VICTORY HELPS STAGS STAY IN TITLE RACE
Written by: Shawn Lim
Tampines Rovers remained in the Great Eastern Yeo’s S.League title race after putting up a tough fight to defeat Home United 3-2 at Yishun Stadium on Sunday night.
Mateo Roskam’s brace and Pedrag Pocuca’s second-half header in the second half was enough for the Stags to overcome the Protectors and cut Brunei DPMM’s at the top of the table to five points with a game in hand.
The stakes were high for the visitors coming into the game as they needed nothing less than three points, but it was the hosts who started brightly when Juma'at Jantan slided a low cross into the box for Azhar Sairudin in the 11th minute.
Despite being being inches away from goalmouth, Azhar could only balloon the ball over the goal post.
The tricky Stanely Ng then broke free on the right flank after easily turning Ismail Yunos in the 17th minute and his cut-back for an unmarked Ken Ilso was sliced narrowly wide.
The Stags found it difficult to break through the Protectors’ defensive lines and were limited to long-range shots from outside the box.
Roberto Alviz found an opening on the edge of the 18-yard box in the 25th minute, but saw his fierce drive deflected into the arms of Home custodian Shahril Jantan.
The hosts should have taken the lead four minutes later when Kamel Ramdani, back in the middle of midfield in place of the suspended Yasir Hanapi, sent Ilso through on goal with a visionary over-the-top pass.
However, the Dane saw his shot pushed away by Tampines custodian Rodrigo Pacheco first, before his rebound was headed off the line.
The visitors subsequently took the lead against the run of play in the 30th minute when Juma’at gave the ball away to Roskam on the edge of the 18-yard box and the Croatian laid the ball into path of Rodrigo Tosi.
Tosi then squared the ball to Firdaus Idros, whose piledriver was pushed away by Shahril before Roskam reacted the quickest to slam home the rebound.
Going a goal behind did not seem to faze the Protectors and four minutes later, Pacheco had to pull off a top-drawer save to deny Ilso’s header at point-blank after Sirina Camara’s pin-point cross.
The Stags could have doubled their lead in the 37th minute when Roskam’s accurate cross found Tosi, but the Brazilian sent his header just over the crossbar.
Home finally pulled level three minutes before the break when Jufri Taha stabbed Camara's shot into his own net with Pacheco caught in no man’s land.
Tampines came out after the interval determined to find the second goal and almost succeeded in the 52nd minute when Roskam’s effort from 30 yards out flew narrowly wide of Shahril’s near post.
The Protectors had a glorious opportunity to take the lead a minute later when a one-two between Ilso and Camara saw the Frenchman sending a low-curling cross for Azhar.
However, the 29-year-old once again sent his shot over the crossbar despite being in front of a gaping goalmouth.
Ilso was next to try his luck in the 57th minute when he was allowed to run unchallenged horizontally across the 18-yard box, but he fired straight at Pacheco.
The hosts took the lead six minutes later when Sufianto Salleh’s low cross into the box was met at the far post by the onrushing Ng, who fired an unstoppable left-footed drive into the net.
Home’s joy at going ahead for the first time in the game only lasted three minutes when Tampines grabbed the equaliser after Roskam’s first time volley from Fabian Kwok's corner hit the back of the net.
The Stags reclaimed the lead in the 71st minute when Home’s defence failed to properly clear another one of Kwok’s corner and the midfielder sent the ball back into box for Pocuca to head home.
There was a chance for the Protectors to pull level again with seven minutes left on the clock when Ng hit the byline before playing the ball into the box for Ilso, but the striker shot straight at Pacheco.
Further goals failed to materialise for Tampines to kill the game off, but the Stags held on to seal victory as time ran out for a Protectors’ equaliser.
Home United: Shahril Jantan (GK), Juma’at Jantan, Noh Rahman (C), Abdil Qaiyyim, Sirina Camara, Song Uiyong, Azhar Sairudin, Stanely Ng (Nur Hizami 85’), Sufianto Salleh (Imran Sahib 74’), Kamel Ramdani, Ken Ilso
Tampines Rovers: Rodrigo Pacheco (GK), Jufri Taha, Fahrudin Mustafic (C) (Ismadi Mukhtar 58’), Ismail Yunos, Pedrag Pocuca, Firdaus Idros, Fabian Kwok, Roberto Alviz (Ridhuan Muhamad 85’) (Shaiful Esah 89’), Isa Halim, Mateo Roskam, Rodrigo Tosi
Tampines Rovers remained in the Great Eastern Yeo’s S.League title race after putting up a tough fight to defeat Home United 3-2 at Yishun Stadium on Sunday night.
Mateo Roskam’s brace and Pedrag Pocuca’s second-half header in the second half was enough for the Stags to overcome the Protectors and cut Brunei DPMM’s at the top of the table to five points with a game in hand.
The stakes were high for the visitors coming into the game as they needed nothing less than three points, but it was the hosts who started brightly when Juma'at Jantan slided a low cross into the box for Azhar Sairudin in the 11th minute.
Despite being being inches away from goalmouth, Azhar could only balloon the ball over the goal post.
The tricky Stanely Ng then broke free on the right flank after easily turning Ismail Yunos in the 17th minute and his cut-back for an unmarked Ken Ilso was sliced narrowly wide.
The Stags found it difficult to break through the Protectors’ defensive lines and were limited to long-range shots from outside the box.
Roberto Alviz found an opening on the edge of the 18-yard box in the 25th minute, but saw his fierce drive deflected into the arms of Home custodian Shahril Jantan.
The hosts should have taken the lead four minutes later when Kamel Ramdani, back in the middle of midfield in place of the suspended Yasir Hanapi, sent Ilso through on goal with a visionary over-the-top pass.
However, the Dane saw his shot pushed away by Tampines custodian Rodrigo Pacheco first, before his rebound was headed off the line.
The visitors subsequently took the lead against the run of play in the 30th minute when Juma’at gave the ball away to Roskam on the edge of the 18-yard box and the Croatian laid the ball into path of Rodrigo Tosi.
Tosi then squared the ball to Firdaus Idros, whose piledriver was pushed away by Shahril before Roskam reacted the quickest to slam home the rebound.
Going a goal behind did not seem to faze the Protectors and four minutes later, Pacheco had to pull off a top-drawer save to deny Ilso’s header at point-blank after Sirina Camara’s pin-point cross.
The Stags could have doubled their lead in the 37th minute when Roskam’s accurate cross found Tosi, but the Brazilian sent his header just over the crossbar.
Home finally pulled level three minutes before the break when Jufri Taha stabbed Camara's shot into his own net with Pacheco caught in no man’s land.
Tampines came out after the interval determined to find the second goal and almost succeeded in the 52nd minute when Roskam’s effort from 30 yards out flew narrowly wide of Shahril’s near post.
The Protectors had a glorious opportunity to take the lead a minute later when a one-two between Ilso and Camara saw the Frenchman sending a low-curling cross for Azhar.
However, the 29-year-old once again sent his shot over the crossbar despite being in front of a gaping goalmouth.
Ilso was next to try his luck in the 57th minute when he was allowed to run unchallenged horizontally across the 18-yard box, but he fired straight at Pacheco.
The hosts took the lead six minutes later when Sufianto Salleh’s low cross into the box was met at the far post by the onrushing Ng, who fired an unstoppable left-footed drive into the net.
Home’s joy at going ahead for the first time in the game only lasted three minutes when Tampines grabbed the equaliser after Roskam’s first time volley from Fabian Kwok's corner hit the back of the net.
The Stags reclaimed the lead in the 71st minute when Home’s defence failed to properly clear another one of Kwok’s corner and the midfielder sent the ball back into box for Pocuca to head home.
There was a chance for the Protectors to pull level again with seven minutes left on the clock when Ng hit the byline before playing the ball into the box for Ilso, but the striker shot straight at Pacheco.
Further goals failed to materialise for Tampines to kill the game off, but the Stags held on to seal victory as time ran out for a Protectors’ equaliser.
Home United: Shahril Jantan (GK), Juma’at Jantan, Noh Rahman (C), Abdil Qaiyyim, Sirina Camara, Song Uiyong, Azhar Sairudin, Stanely Ng (Nur Hizami 85’), Sufianto Salleh (Imran Sahib 74’), Kamel Ramdani, Ken Ilso
Tampines Rovers: Rodrigo Pacheco (GK), Jufri Taha, Fahrudin Mustafic (C) (Ismadi Mukhtar 58’), Ismail Yunos, Pedrag Pocuca, Firdaus Idros, Fabian Kwok, Roberto Alviz (Ridhuan Muhamad 85’) (Shaiful Esah 89’), Isa Halim, Mateo Roskam, Rodrigo Tosi
WIN PUTS DPMM ONE GAME AWAY FROM TITLE
Written by: Nigel Chin
Brunei DPMM have one hand on the Great Eastern-Yeo’s S.League trophy after dispatching Warriors FC 3-1 at the Choa Chu Kang Stadium on Friday evening.
Their victory meant that second and third-placed Balestier Khalsa and Albirex Niigata (S) are out of the running for the title, although fourth-placed Tampines Rovers still stand a mathematical chance of catching the Bruneians.
DPMM will still need to win their final game of the season against the Tigers to wrap up the title, although they can do so earlier should Tampines fail to win any of their games in hands.
The Wasps got off to the best possible start in the match, taking the lead just after eight minutes through Paulo Sergio.
Warriors goalkeeper Daniel Ong made a mess of his clearance and sent it straight to Sergio, who made no mistake by slotting it into the net.
The lead was doubled 13 minutes later, through another mistake from the hosts.
Emmeric Ong lost the ball to Azwan Ali deep inside Warriors half, and the latter got the ball to Sergio, who sent Rafael Ramazotti through to fire home his 20th league goal of the season.
Warriors could have pulled one back in the 31st minute, but Miroslav Pejic’s deflected effort landed inches wide of the goal instead.
It was almost 3-0 before half-time when Azwan’s shot was palmed out by Daniel Ong towards the onrushing Maududi Hilmi, but the midfielder smashed it over instead.
DPMM then hit the post two minutes after the restart through Azwan, after Warriors failed to clear a Sergio low cross.
Daniel Ong was called into action once more three minutes later, this time catching Joseph Gamble’s shot from just outside the box, but there was nothing he could do to prevent a third goal in the 58th minute.
Surrounded by players inside the box. the goalkeeper was powerless against Raspudic’s bullet header after he got onto the end of Azwan’s corner.
Both Maududi and Ramazotti wasted excellent chances midway through the second half, as DPMM continued to rip apart the Warriors’ backline.
The hosts pulled a goal back with 10 minutes left on the clock when Brian McLean diverted Thomas Beattie’s cross past the hapless Wardun Yussof.
But any hopes of a comeback proved a task too tough, as they struggled to break down the solid DPMM defence before referee Muhd Taqi blew the full-time whistle.
Warriors FC: Daniel Ong (GK), Syaqir Sulaiman, Daniel Bennett (C), Marin Vidosevic, Irwan Shah (Hamqaamal Shah 88’), Thomas Beattie, Emmeric Ong (Hafsyar Farkhan 70’), Kevin McCann, Hafiz Rahim, Miroslav Pejic, Fazrul Nawaz.
Brunei DPMM: Wardun Yussof (GK), Helmi Zambin, Brian McLean, Boris Raspudic, Sairol Sahari, Rosmin Kamis (C), Joseph Gamble, Paulo Sergio, Azwan Ali (Azwan Saleh 80’), Maududi Hilmi (Aminuddin Zakwan 89’), Rafael Ramazotti.
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