Five lessons from Matchweek 8 of the Singapore Premier League
Matchweek 8 of the Singapore Premier League treated fans to exciting local footballing action with home teams pressing their advantage, with all four home teams securing victory in front of their supporters.
Hougang United return to winning ways
Hougang United 2-0 Young Lions | Bishan Stadium | 30 January
(Settawut Wongsai 30’, Victor Blasco Llorens 73’)
Hougang United enjoyed a routine win over the Young Lions, mustering 14 attempts compared to a measly four shots from the visitors. Settawut Wongsai opened proceedings with a near post effort in the 30th minute, after a quick exchange with Yuma Suwa on the right wing. Victor Blasco pressed home the advantage with a clinical penalty in the second half, after he was brought down by Abner Vinicius.
This result lifts the Cheetahs above Balestier Khalsa in the table, after the Tigers’ loss against the Lion City Sailors on Sunday, 1 February. The Cheetahs will be emboldened by this performance as they look to put more points on the board.
Hougang United: Zharfan Rohaizad, Jordan Vestering, Huzaifah Aziz, Saifullah Akbar, Gloire Amanda (Saharat Panmarchya 77’), Farhan Zulkifli, Settawut Wongsai, Washington Ayovi (Nabilai Absolom Kibunguchy 67’), Ryaan Sanizal (C), Yuma Suwa, Victor Blasco Llorens (Yang He 87’)
Unused subs: Ridhuan Barudin, Anders Aplin, Chonlawit Kanuengkid, Kanok Kongsimma, Rauf Sanizal, Brant Tan, Syady Sufwan, Woo Chun Wei, Jaushua Sotirio
Young Lions: Izwan Mahbud, Joilson Lucas Souza, Abner Vinicius (Nicolas Beninger 83’), Andrew Aw Yong (Enrico Silveira 89’), Sergio Mendonca, Amir Syafiz (C), Henry Lawrence Spence, Kieran Teo, Harith Danish (Danial Ukail 89’), Luth Harith, Andy Reefqy (Caelan Cheong 75’)
Unused subs: Aizil Yazid, Ajay Robson, Ainun Nuha Ilyasir, Marcus Mosses, Iryan Fandi, Fairuz Fazli, Garv Sahoo, Kian Jared Ghadessy
The Stags battle to secure three points at home
BG Tampines Rovers 2-1 Tanjong Pagar United | Our Tampines Hub | 31 January
(Hide Higashikawa 5’, Shah Shahiran 35’ | Estevez Tsai Emilio 66’)
BG Tampines Rovers emerged victorious on Saturday, 31 January in a game that they largely dominated. The Stags rotated the pack for this match, with four foreigners starting in the lineup. Hide Higashikawa scored with his head in the fifth minute after ghosting in between the Tanjong Pagar United defence. The lead was doubled in the 35th minute, Shah Shahiran scoring his first of the season from outside the box.
It looked to be a straightforward result for the home side, but the Jaguars were allowed back into the game with eight attempts in the second half. Tampines will be satisfied with the three points, as they look to keep pressure on the league leaders.
Jaguars show signs of improvement despite defeat
Despite the result, Tanjong Pagar United can be encouraged by the performance they put in to keep the game competitive. A 66th minute goal from Emilio Estevez made things interesting, despite the Jaguars having zero attempts in the first half.
After the confirmed departure of Youssef Ezzejjari, Tanjong Pagar started with Sahil Suhami who played for the entirety of the game. Jaguars fans will be keen to observe how their attackers fare in the coming weeks.
BG Tampines Rovers: Syazwan Buhari (C), Raoul Suhaimi, Shuya Yamashita, Jacob Mahler (Seiga Sumi 81’), Shah Shahiran, Taufik Suparno (Trent Buhagiar 52’), Joel Chew (Glenn Kweh 68’), Irfan Najeeb, Hide Higashikawa (Tara Ndao 68’), Takeshi Yoshimoto, Yuki Kobayashi (Kohya Kazama 81’)
Unused subs: Danial Iliya, Ong Yu En, Dylan Fox, Amirul Haikal, Zikos Chua, Kegan Phang, Rae Peh
Tanjong Pagar United: Zaiful Nizam, Lim Li Kwan, Fathullah Rahmat (Azim Akbar 62’), Bruno Dybal (Naqiuddin Eunos 46’), Zenivio Mota, Raihan Rahman, Emilio Estevez, Aaron Evans (C), Shodai Nishikawa (Samuel Pillai 90+4’), Sahil Suhaimi, Lee Chanwoo (Faizal Roslan 89’)
Unused subs: Matthew Silva, Kenji Rusydi, Syahrul Sazali, Emmeric Ong, Aloysius Pang, Vincenzo Ucchino, Darius Lai, Haziq Zulkifli
Five-star Sailors continue their stellar start
Lion City Sailors 5-1 Balestier Khalsa | Jalan Besar Stadium | 1 February
(Anderson Lopes 22’, Diogo Costa 27’, Anderson Lopes 32’, Shawal Anuar 37’, Bailey Wright 66’ | Bogdan Mandic 24’)
Lion City Sailors continued their perfect start to the season, brushing aside Balestier Khalsa with relative ease. A quick equaliser from the Tigers proved to be a mere stumble, with the Sailors racing back into a convincing lead before the break.
Lucas Agueiro made his first appearance off the bench and contributed with an assist for Bailey Wright in the 66th minute. The former Young Lions midfielder looked energetic and eager to impress.
The Sailors will want to extend this winning run, after they matched a club record of eight consecutive victories.
Lion City Sailors: Ivan Susak, Lionel Tan (Hariss Harun 80’), Tsiy Ndenge, Shawal Anuar, Rui Pires (Lucas Agueiro 61’), Lennart Thy, Anderson Lopes, Bailey Wright (C) (Toni Datkovic 68’), Diogo Costa (Nur Adam Abdullah 80’), Akram Azman (Hafiz Nor 80’), Kyoga Nakamura
Unused subs: Benjamin Zerak, Adib Nur Hakim, Hami Syahin, Christopher Van Huizen
Balestier Khalsa: Mario Mustapic, Darren Teh (C), Lazar Vujanic , Bogdan Mandic (Ifat Sha’aban 80’), Harith Kanadi, Elijah Lim, Tin Matic, Masahiro Sugita (Ilyasin Zayan 81’), Fudhil I’Yadh, Aniq Raushan (Tajeli Salamat 46’), Ignatius Ang (Daniel Goh 46’)
Unused subs: Martyn Mun, Hafiz Ahmad, Karthigaya Varmaan, Daniyal Lynn Rasor
The White Swans fend off the Eagles again
Albirex Niigata (S) 2-0 Geylang International | Jurong East Stadium | 2 February
(Nozomi Ozawa 67’, Liska Haaziq Iskandar 90+1’)
It was a repeat of the previous scoreline when these two sides last met in the league, with Albirex Niigata (S) prevailing as 2-0 winners again. The game sparked to life in the second half, when Nozomi Ozawa found himself unmarked in the box to fire home from close range. A first goal for Liska Haaziq Isakandar in added time put the result beyond doubt.
Geylang International had chances of their own, hitting the woodwork on a few occasions. It is now three consecutive defeats for the Eagles since the league resumed, and Head Coach Noor Ali will be looking for a response to address their recent form.
Albirex Niigata (S): Takahiro Koga, Kim Taeuk, Nozomi Ozawa, Naoki Yoshioka (Komei Iida 79’), Zulqarnaen Suzliman (Nicky Melvin Singh 71’), Katsuyuki Ishibashi (Yang Hyeonju 63’), Syed Firdaus Hassan, Cho Eunsu, Abdul Rasaq Akeem (Liska Haaziq Iskandar 79’), Haziq Kamarudin (Danish Qayyum 79’), Shingo Nakano (C)
Unused subs:, Dylan Pereira, Ren Nishimura, Daniel Martens, Syukri Bashir, Shoshi Kadowaki, Aqil Zafri Junaidi
Geylang International: Rudy Khairullah, Iqram Rifqi (Kim Tae Ho 46’), Riku Fukashiro (Shahdan Sulaiman 71’), Joshua Pereira (C), Ryoya Taniguchi, Vincent Bezecourt (Shuhei Hoshino 71’), Shakir Hamzah, Nikola Ignjatovic, Shodai Yokoyama, Kaisei Ogawa, Nazrul Nazari (Amy Recha 84’)
Unused subs:, Yu Kanoshima, Danial Crichton, Gareth Low, Ethan Pinto, Ko Jaehyun, Raiyan Noor, Ryu Hardy, Abuduryim Abdushukur
