The intensity rose again in Matchweek 10 of the Singapore Premier League, as the race at both ends of the table tightened further. Here are five talking points from the weekend:
Tigers snap skid with win on home soil
Balestier Khalsa 3-1 Young Lions | Bishan Stadium | 13 February
(Bogdan Mandic 37’ (P), Jakov Katusa 64’, 73’ | Sergio Mendonca 70’)
Balestier Khalsa halted a run of six consecutive defeats in all competitions, with this 3-1 win over the Young Lions. They were led by the returning Jakov Katusa who contributed with a brace. The Croatian forward scored a sumptuous first-time volley following an Ignatius Ang delivery, before fashioning a chance for himself in the 73rd minute and finishing at the near post.
His goals came either side of a Sergio Mendonca effort that beat Tigers’ goalkeeper Hafiz Ahmad who had just come on for his second appearance of the season.
The Tigers can be encouraged by the win, but Balestier fans will be concerned by the injury sustained by in-form custodian Mario Mustapic, who made several top-drawer saves on the night.
Young Lions have now lost nine of their ten games, and remain bottom with a solitary point on the board.
Balestier Khalsa: Mario Mustapic (Hafiz Ahmad 69’), Darren Teh (C), Tajeli Salamat, Lazar Vujanic, Bogdan Mandic (Ifat Sha’aban 90+6’), Elijah Lim, Tin Matic, Masahiro Sugita, Fudhil I’Yadh (Syafi Nur Hilman 90+6’), Jakov Katusa, Ignatius Ang (Daniel Goh 82’)
Unused subs: Martyn Mun, Aniq Raushan, Ilyasin Zayan, Daniyal Lynn Rasor
Young Lions: Izwan Mahbud, Joilson Lucas Souza, Enrico Silveira, Abner Vinicius (Caelan Cheong 90+1’), Sergio Mendonca, Amir Syafiz (C) (Nicholas Beninger 81’), Fairuz Fazli (Andrew Aw Yong 81’), Nathan Mao (Henry Lawrence Spence 69’), Harith Danish, Luth Harith, Andy Reefqy
Unused subs: Aizil Yazid, Ainun Nuha Ilyasir, Ajay Robson, Marcus Mosses, Iryan Fandi, Garv Sahoo, Yazid Rizal Rais, Danial Ukail
Stags hold firm for the win
BG Tampines Rovers 2-1 Albirex Niigata (S) | Our Tampines Hub | 14 February
(Hide Higashikawa 29’, 45+1’ | Shingo Nakano 75’)
BG Tampines Rovers parted ways with Head Coach Noh Rahman, after a series of continental defeats, but it was business as usual in the Singapore Premier League as they continued their winning run with a 2-1 win over Albirex Niigata (S) to tighten their grip on second place.
The Stags played much of the game without captain Syazwan Buhari after the goalkeeper collided with Albirex front man Abdul Rasaq, but raced into a two-goal lead before half-time, courtesy of league topscorer Hide Higashikawa.
Substitute goalkeeper Danial Iliya deputised well for most of the game, only conceding to a 75th minute Shingo Nakano shot from close range.
This result leaves the Stags within touching distance of the summit, ahead of a top-of-the-table clash against the Lion City Sailors.
Albirex momentum stalled
Albirex Niigata (S) will rue their missed chances, having hit the BG Tampines Robers woodwork and seeing efforts cleared off the line in this game. This 2-1 loss halts a positive start to the year for the White Swans, who have won four Singapore Premier League games in a row since the restart.
Albirex are now four points adrift of BG Tampines, and slipping further behind a dominant Lion City Sailors.
Talks of a title challenge will be shelved for a while, as they look to regroup and get their engines running again.
BG Tampines Rovers: Syazwan Buhari (C) (Danial Iliya 25’), Shuya Yamashita, Jacob Mahler, Seiga Sumi, Shah Shahiran, Trent Buhagiar (Tara Ndao 79’), Irfan Najeeb, Hide Higashikawa (Raoul Suhaimi 90+3’), Takeshi Yoshimoto, Yuki Kobayashi (Glenn Kueh 62’), Kohya Kazama (Joel Chew 79’)
Unused subs: Ong Yu En, Amirul Haikal, Zikos Chua, Kegan Phang
Albirex Niigata (S): Hassan Sunny, Kim Taeuk, Nozomi Ozawa, Komei Iida (Syed Firdaus Hassan 46’), Naoki Yoshioka, Zulqarnaen Suzliman, Katsuyuki Ishibashi (Takumi Yokohata 60’), Cho Eunsu, Abdul Rasaq Akeem (Yang Hyeonju 46’), Haziq Kamarudin (Nicky Melvin Singh 76’), Shingo Nakano (C)
Unused subs: Takahiro Koga, Dylan Pereira, Ren Nishimura, Jaden Heng, Syukri Bashir, Sim Jun Yen, Shoshi Kadowaki, Danish Qayyum
Hougang translate performances into results
Geylang International 1-2 Hougang United | Our Tampines Hub | 15 February
(Ryoya Taniguchi 61’ | Jaushua Sotirio 54’, Settawut Wongsai 83’)
Hougang United have put in strong performances of late, only losing to runaway Singapore Premier League leaders, Lion City Sailors, and Albirex Niigata (S) in the last 5 games.
Hougang fans have been treated to interesting goal celebrations from their players, and this time those celebrations came with a win — over an inconsistent Geylang International side, a win that helps the Cheetahs keep pace with their opponents in the league table.
The game sparked into life when Jaushua Sotirio slalomed past a few defenders to score for the second game in a row, before Ryoya Taniguchi equalised with a similar effort minutes later.
The contest was ultimately decided by Settawut Wongsai, who broke into another dance celebration – much to the delight of the Hougang Hools.
Geylang International: Rudy Khairullah, Shuhei Hoshino, Joshua Pereira (C), Ryoya Taniguchi, Vincent Bezecourt (Abuduryim Abdushukur 81’), Shakir Hamzah, Nikola Ignjatovic, Amy Recha (Prince Rio Rifae’i 71’), Shahdan Sulaiman (Kim Tae Ho 71’), Shodai Yokoyama, Kaisei Ogawa
Unused subs: Aniq Matin Zuladli, Danial Crichton, Gareth Low, Ethan Pinto, Ko Jaehyun, Raiyan Noor, Ryu Hardy, Faisal Shahril
Hougang United: Zharfan Rohaizad, Jordan Vestering, Huzaifah Aziz, Saifullah Akbar, Farhan Zulkifli, Settawut Wongsai (Yang He 90+5’), Washington Ayovi, Ryaan Sanizal (C), Yuma Suwa, Victor Blasco Llorens (Chonlawit Kanuengkid 78’), Jaushua Sotirio (Nabilai Kibunguchy 80’)
Unused subs: Ridhuan Barudin, Anders Aplin, Kanok Kongsimma, Saharat Panmarchya, Parinya Nusong, Rauf Sanizal, Nasrul Pujiyono, Syady Sufwan, Woo Chun Wei
Seventh Heaven for the Sailors
Lion City Sailors 7-0 Tanjong Pagar United | Jalan Besar Stadium | 15 February
(Bart Ramselaar 5’, 69’, Anderson Lopes 19’, Shawal Anuar 51’, Akram Azman 82’, Lennart Thy 83’ Kim Li Kwan O.G. 45+4’)
Lion City Sailors continued their perfect start to the league campaign, by putting seven past a hapless Tanjong Pagar United.
Suggestions of lifting their foot off the gas were dismissed, with goal contributions spread across the team. Akram Azman scored the pick of the bunch, placing the ball in the top corner via his weaker left foot.
Tanjong Pagar goalkeeper Zaiful Nizam had a busy game, making a slew of saves – including a point blank stop to deny Kyoga Nakamura in the 64th minute. However, it was a miserable evening for the Jaguars, with Shodai Nishikawa receiving his marching orders in the 17th minute, gave them little chance of battling back into the game.
The Sailors will face a huge test in their next game against BG Tampines Rovers, but they will approach it with the same confidence that has seen them triumph on every occasion this season so far.
Lion City Sailors: Ivan Susak, Toni Datkovic, Shawal Anuar (Hafiz Nor 60’), Rui Pires, Bart Ramselaar (Tsiy Ndenge 70’), Hami Syahin, Anderson Lopes (Lennart Thy 60’), Bailey Wright (C) (Lionel Tan 73’), Diogo Costa (Nur Adam Abdullah 70’), Akram Azman, Kyoga Nakamura
Unused subs: Benjamin Zerak, Adib Nur Hakim, Hariss Harun, Christopher Van Huizen, Luka Adzic, Lucas Agueiro
Tanjong Pagar United: Zaiful Nizam (C), Kim Li Kwan, Fathullah Rahmat (Vincenzo Ucchino 68’ (Anaqi Ismit 81’)), Zenivio Mota, Faizal Roslan, Raihan Rahman, Naqiuddin Eunos (Azim Akbar 46’), Emilio Estevez (Vabio Canavaro 46’), Shodai Nishikawa, Lee Chanwoo (Samuel Pillai 75’), Lougah Junior Djile
Unused subs: Matthew Silva, Kenji Rusydi, Syahadat Masnawi, Aloysius Pang, Sahil Suhaimi, Haziq Zulkifli, Izarfil Yusof
Red Card – Shodai Nishikawa (Tanjong Pagar United 17’)
