SINGAPORE, 20 MAY 2025 – The penultimate matchweek of the 2024/25 Singapore Premier League season saw Albirex Niigata (S) thrashing Tanjong Pagar United to stay within the top five, while Brunei DPMM stunned BG Tampines Rovers to remain a point behind in sixth. Elsewhere, Young Lions produced a stunning comeback against Hougang United to end their campaign on a memorable note. We recap all the action here…
White Swans cruise past Jaguars
Albirex 5-1 Tanjong Pagar | Jurong East |16 May
Shingo Nakano 4′, 66′, 78′, Junki Yoshimura 42′, Shuhei Hoshino 83′ | Salif Cissé 14’
Nakano’s close-range opener was quickly cancelled out by a cleverly dinked finish by Cissé, but Albirex retook the lead through Yoshimura’s fine volley from the edge of the box. Nakano was then alive in the box to net another two to complete his hat-trick, before turning provider for Hoshino to thump in a brilliant first-time finish to complete the rout.
Facts
- Albirex have scored nine goals in their past two matches.
- Nakano has netted 24 goals in 28 SPL appearances this season.
- Tanjong Pagar is the first team to concede 100 goals this season.
Albirex: Hassan Sunny (GK), Syed Firdaus Hassan (C) (Daniel Goh 74’), Koki Kawachi, Stevia Egbus Mikuni, Junki Yoshimura, Naoki Yoshioka, Yohei Otake, Haziq Kamarudin (Syahrul Sazali 70’), Shuhei Hoshino, Arshad Shamim (Amy Recha 64’), Shingo Nakano.
Unused subs: Dylan Pereira (GK), Zainol Gulam (GK), Syukri Bashir, Daniel Martens, Hilman Norhisam, Sim Jun Yen.
Tanjong Pagar: Riki Kimura (GK), Farid Jafiri (Thorsten Takashi Cross 46’), Syed Akmal, Faizal Roslan (C), Zenivio Mota, Azim Akbar (Sahil Suhaimi 64’), Rezza Rezky (Syahadat Masnawi 64’), Fathullah Rahmat (Raihan Rahman 46’), Marcus Mosses, Tomoki Wada (Izrafil Yusof 81’), Salif Cissé.
Unused subs: Ryan Effendy (GK), Naufal Ilham, Hariysh Krishnakumar.
DPMM keep up outstanding form
DPMM 2-1 BG Tampines | Bandar Seri Begawan | 17 May
Naziruddin Ismail 6’, 33′ | Seia Kunori 23′
A slack Shah Shahiran backpass led to Nazirrudin opening the scoring, before Glenn Kweh slipped in Kunori for the latter to net the equaliser for the Stags. However, another error – this time by Syazwan Buhari – led to Naziruddin scoring the second goal and sealing the victory for the home side.
Facts
- DPMM are unbeaten in nine of their last ten outings across all competitions, including five consecutive SPL wins.
- Three out of four Naziruddin’s SPL goals this season have come against BG Tampines.
DPMM: Haimie Nyaring (GK), Syafiq Safiuddin (Hanif Farhan 61’), Nurikhwan Othman (Hanif Hamir 52’), Damir Muminović, Abdul Mu’iz Sisa (Najib Tarif 46’), Farshad Noor (C), Gabriel Gama, Miguel Oliveira, Naziruddin Ismail (Azwan Ali Rahman 52’), Hakeme Yazid, Dāvis Ikaunieks (Abdul Hariz Herman 68’).
Unused subs: Ishyra Amin (GK), Faturrahman Embran, Hariz Danial Khallidden, Nazry Aiman.
BG Tampines: Syazwan Buhari (GK) (C), Amirul Adli (Arya Igami Tarhani 84’), Shuya Yamashita, Dylan Fox, Miloš Zlatković, Shah Shahiran, Kyoga Nakamura, Glenn Kweh (Faris Ramli 69’), Joel Chew (Taufik Suparno 69’), Itsuki Enomoto, Seia Kunori.
Unused subs: Ridhuan Barudin (GK), Ong Yu En, Amirul Haikal, Yasir Hanapi, Kegan Phang.
A stunning comeback by Young Lions
Young Lions 4-3 Hougang | Jalan Besar | 19 May
Amir Syafiz 22′, Kan Kobayashi 73′, 90+4′, 90+7′ | Stjepan Plazonja 16′, Shodai Yokoyama 57′, Dejan Račić 89′
Plazonja’s powerful near-post finish gave Hougang the lead, but Amir quickly swept home Andrew Aw’s cutback to equalise. Yokoyama then bundled home Danish Irfan’s cross to put the Cheetahs back ahead, before Kobayashi fired home from the edge of the box to restore parity once again. Račić’s late goal looked to have won it for Hougang, but Young Lions rallied with Kobayashi netting two goals late into injury time to cap off a stunning turnaround.
Facts
- This is Young Lions’ first win in 11 SPL matches.
- Hougang have only won three out of their last 12 matches in all competitions, including a five-match winless streak in the league.
- Kobayashi netted his first career hat-trick.
Young Lions: Umayr Sujuandy (GK), Aqil Yazid (Danial Crichton 58’), Jun Kobayashi, Ikram Mikhail, Andrew Aw, Kaisei Ogawa, Kan Kobayashi (C), Danish Haqimi (Syafi Nur Hilman 46’), Ryu Hardy (Nyqil Iyyan 90’), Ethan Pinto (Lim Zheng Wu 82’), Amir Syafiz.
Unused subs: Rauf Erwan (GK), Wong Ngang Haang, Izz Anaqi, Rasul Ramli, Ryan Vishal.
Hougang: Zaiful Nizam (GK), Nazrul Nazari (C), Anders Aplin, Nazhiim Harman, Jordan Vestering (Danish Irfan 45+6), Shahdan Sulaiman, Zulfahmi Arifin (Ismail Salihović 84’), Ratthathammanun Deeying (Pariya Kaochukiat 76’), Shodai Yokoyama (Farhan Zulkifli 76’), Stejpan Plazonja, Dejan Račić.
Unused subs: Kenji Rusydi (GK), Hazzuwan Halim, Justin Hui, Gabriel Quak, Tan-Vaissierre Louka.
Red Card – Jun Kobayashi (Young Lions) 78’
