Five lessons from Matchweek 12 of the Singapore Premier League
Matchweek 12 of the Singapore Premier League provided more twists at both ends of the table, along with match-defining moments – including heroics at the goalscoring end for goalkeeper Ivan Susak. Here are five talking points from the weekend:
Young Lions improve on recent performances
Geylang International 1-1 Young Lions | Our Tampines Hub | 26 February
(Ryoya Taniguchi 17’ | Sergio Mendonca 44’)
Young Lions earned their second point of the season, courtesy of a battling display against an out-of-sorts Geylang International. The Eagles went ahead in the 17th minute when Ryoya Taniguchi guided Shahdan Sulaiman’s free-kick delivery past Izwan Mahbud.
Sergio Mendonca responded with a similar goal just before the break, heading in from Henry Spence’s pinpoint delivery. Both sides created opportunities in the second half, but the Young Lions held firm despite a late dismissal.
Having kept games competitive in recent weeks, the Young Lions can take plenty of heart from this result. A sterner test awaits against BG Tampines Rovers, where consistency will be key.
Geylang International: Yu Kanoshima, Shuhei Hoshino (Abuduryim Abdushukur 63’), Joshua Pereira (C), Ryoya Taniguchi, Vincent Bezecourt, Shakir Hamzah, Ko Jaehyun (Iqram Rifqi 63), Amy Recha (Ethan Pinto 46’ (Timothy Cheng 90+5’)), Shahdan Sulaiman (Ryu Hardy 63’), Shodai Yokoyama, Nazrul Nazari
Unused subs: Rudy Khairullah, Danial Crichton, Kim Tae Ho, Gareth Low, Raiyan Noor, Prince Rio Rifae’i
Young Lions: Izwan Mahbud, Joilson Lucas Souza, Ajay Robson (Harith Danish 71’), Abner Vinicius, Andrew Aw Yong, Sergio Mendonca, Henry Lawrence Spence, Fairuz Fazli (Enrico Silveira 90’), Kieran Teo (C), Nicholas Beninger(Amir Syafiz 63’), Andy Reefqy
Unused subs: Aizil Yazid, Ainun Nuha Ilyasir, Marcus Mosses, Garv Sahoo, Yazid Rizal Rais, Danial Herwan
Red Card – Harith Danish (Young Lions 90+5’)
Stags ease past resurgent Cheetahs
BG Tampines Rovers 3-0 Hougang United | Our Tampines Hub | 27 February
(Hide Higashikawa 48’, Kohya Kazama 64’, Trent Buhagiar 90+6’)
BG Tampines Rovers returned to winning ways after a stalemate against the league leaders Lion City Sailors, putting three past a Hougang United side in decent form. The hosts could not find the breakthrough in the first half, but the game turned on its head after Settawut Wongsai – better known for his goal celebrations – was given his marching orders after a dangerous challenge on Seiga Sumi.
The numerical advantage told after the restart, with Hide Higashikawa netting his 10th goal of the season. Further goals from Kohya Kazama and Trent Buhagiar brought Tampines back to winning ways – and only 5 points behind the Sailors.
BG Tampines Rovers: Syazwan Buhari (C), Shuya Yamashita, Jacob Mahler (Dylan Fox 84’), Seiga Sumi (Ong Yu En 75’), Shah Shahiran, Trent Buhagiar, Amirul Haikal, Irfan Najeeb, Hide Higashikawa (Glenn Kueh 75’), Yuki Kobayashi (Zikos Chua 62’), Kohya Kazama (Joel Chew 84’)
Unused subs: Danial Iliya, Kasey Rogers, Raoul Suhaimi, Iman Hakim, Takeshi Yoshimoto, Kegan Phang, Rae Peh
Hougang United: Zharfan Rohaizad, Jordan Vestering, Huzaifah Aziz, Saifullah Akbar, Farhan Zulkifli (Yang He 77’), Settawut Wongsai, Washington Ayovi (Parinya Nusong 77’ (Rauf Sanizal 84’)), Ryaan Sanizal (C), Yuma Suwa, Victor Blasco Llorens (Chonlawit Kanuengkid 77’), Jaushua Sotirio (Nabilai Kibunguchy 61’)
Unused subs: Ridhuan Barudin, Anders Aplin, Kanok Kongsimma, Saharat Panmarchya, Wong Ngang Haang, Syady Sufwan, Woo Chun Wei
Red Card – Settawut Wongsai (Hougang United 45+1’)
Susak rescues point in Jesus Casas’ Sailors bow
Albirex Niigata (S) 3-3 Lion City Sailors | Jurong East Stadium | 28 February
(Yang Hyeonju 1’, Hariss Harun O.G. 14’, Komei Iida 66’ | Anderson Lopes 39’ (P), Tsiy Ndenge 54’, Ivan Susak 90+8’)
Jesus Casas was given a quick introduction to the Singapore Premier League, after Korean forward Yang Hyeonju scored the fastest goal of the season 39 seconds in. The Lion City Sailors went further behind in the 14th minute, as captain Hariss Harun, under pressure from former teammate Abdul Rasaq, inadvertently bundled the ball into his own net.
The Sailors eventually composed themselves and responded through goals from Anderson Lopes and Tsiy Ndenge to draw level, but they were pegged back again when Komei Iida restored Albirex’s lead midway through the second half.
There was to be another dramatic twist in this thriller. Deep in stoppage time, Ivan Susak volleyed home to send the away fans into raptures.
White Swans show their credentials
Albirex Niigata (S) will take encouragement from a spirited performance that saw them lead twice against the unbeaten champions. They became the first team to score more than once against the Sailors, underlying their attacking threat.
If replicated consistently, displays of this level could keep them as dark horses for a title challenge.
Albirex Niigata (S): Hassan Sunny, Kim Taeuk, Nozomi Ozawa (Naoki Yoshioka 74’), Komei Iida, Zulqarnaen Suzliman (Sim Jun Yen 60’), Katsuyuki Ishibashi, Syed Firdaus Hassan (Danish Qayyum 88’), Cho Eunsu, Abdul Rasaq Akeem (Nicky Melvin Singh 60’), Yang Hyeonju (Takumi Yokohata 74’), Shingo Nakano (C)
Unused subs: Takahiro Koga, Dylan Pereira, Ren Nishimura, Jaden Heng, Helmi Shahrol, Delwinder Singh, Shoshi Kadowaki
Lion City Sailors: Ivan Susak, Tsiy Ndenge, Rui Pires (Lennart Thy 68’), Bart Ramselaar, Hariss Harun (C) (Lionel Tan 46’), Hami Syahin (Shawal Anuar 46’), Anderson Lopes (Lucas Agueiro 80’), Bailey Wright, Diogo Costa , Akram Azman (Nur Adam Abdullah 63’), Kyoga Nakamura
Unused subs: Benjamin Zerak, Adib Nur Hakim, Toni Datkovic, Hafiz Nor, Christopher Van Huizen, Luka Adzic
Tigers continue upward trajectory
Tanjong Pagar United 1-4 Balestier Khalsa | Jurong East Stadium | 1 March
(Lougah Junior Djile 45+6’ | Syahadat Masnawi O.G. 38’, Bogdan Mandic 61’, 64’, Lazar Vujanic 79’)
Free-scoring Balestier Khalsa followed up their big win last week with another convincing performance against Tanjong Pagar United. Despite missing a penalty and hitting the woodwork, the visitors did enough to punish the home side. Bogdan Mandic netted for the third game in the row, as he led the charge against the Jaguars.
Balestier have now scored 12 in their last three games, highlighting a sharp improvement in output. For Tanjong Pagar, it was a 10th defeat of the season and a result that leaves them searching for a response.
Tanjong Pagar United: Matthew Silva (C), Azim Akbar, Kim Li Kwan, Fathullah Rahmat (Vabio Canavaro 75’), Zenivio Mota, Syahadat Masnawi (Anaqi Ismit 46’), Faizal Roslan, Naqiuddin Eunos , Emilio Estevez, Samuel Pillai (Izarfil Yusof 90’), Lougah Junior Djile
Unused subs: Kenji Rusydi, Sunny Tia, Aiqel Aliman, Aloysius Pang, Danny Ali, Haziq Zulkifli, Hafid Rifa’i Sohan, Erfan Azhar
Balestier Khalsa: Hafiz Ahmad, Darren Teh (Fudhil I’Yadh 90+2’), Mario Subaric, Madhu Mohana (C), Lazar Vujanic, Bogdan Mandic, Harith Kanadi (Tajeli Salamat 79’), Tin Matic (Elijah Lim 85’), Masahiro Sugita, Jakov Katusa, Ignatius Ang (Daniel Goh 79’)
Unused subs: Martyn Mun, Dany Irfan, Aniq Raushan, Ilyasin Zayan, Yanir Ben Eliezer, Syafi Nur Hilman, Karthigaya Varmaan, Ifat Sha’aban
