SINGAPORE, 7 APRIL 2025 – The Singapore Premier League (SPL) returned with Lion City Sailors tearing Young Lions apart to remain seven points clear of nearest challengers BG Tampines Rovers, who emerged victorious against Geylang International in the Eastern Derby. Elsewhere, Hougang United kept up their top four hopes with a narrow win over Albirex Niigata (S) while Balestier Khalsa and Tanjong Pagar United played out a thrilling draw. We recap all the action here…
Stags stay in the hunt
BG Tampines 3-1 Geylang | Jalan Besar | 4 April
Miloš Zlatković 2′, Itsuki Enomoto 19′, Seia Kunori 41′ | Shakir Hamzah 33′
After teeing up Zlatković to nod home the opener, Faris Ramli was it again as he put in a precise cross for Enomoto to sweep home BG Tampines’ second of the night. Shakir pulled one back for Geylang through a striker-like finish, but Kunori capitalised from a slack Takahiro Tezuka back pass to restore the two-goal lead and seal the points for the Stags.
Facts
- BG Tampines have now won four straight games in all competitions.
- Zlatković scored his seventh goal of the season – he is the SPL’s top-scoring defender, with two more than nearest challenger Shakir.
- Enomoto has now scored in each of his last four appearances, tallying five goals.
- Geylang’s Syafi Suhaimi made his professional debut.
BG Tampines: Syazwan Buhari (GK) (C), Amirul Adli, Shuya Yamashita, Dylan Fox, Miloš Zlatković, Shah Shahiran, Kyoga Nakamura (Arya Igami Tarhani 86’), Glenn Kweh (Taufik Suparno 64’), Faris Ramli (Joel Chew 64’), Itsuki Enomoto, Seia Kunori (Yasir Hanapi 90’+1).
Unused subs: Ridhuan Barudin (GK), Amirul Haikal, Irfan Najeb, Kegan Phang.
Geylang: Rudy Khairullah (GK), Akmal Azman (Iqbal Hussain 46’), Rio Sakuma, Keito Hariya, Shakir Hamzah, Huzaifah Aziz (Naufal Azman 46’), Takahiro Tezuka, Naqiuddin Eunos (Syafi Suhaimi 85’), Vincent Bezecourt (C), Ryoya Taniguchi (Raiyan Noor 90’+1), Tomoyuki Doi (Zikos Chua 85’).
Unused subs: Hairul Syirhan (GK), Faisal Shahril, Ahmad Syahir, Prince Rio Rifae’i.
Cheetahs keep top-four hopes alive
Hougang 1-0 Albirex | Jalan Besar | 5 April
Dejan Račić 74’
A tight game was decided late on through a familiar connection, with Stjepan Plazonja whipping in a brilliant cross for Račić to rifle first-time past Hassan Sunny for the match-winner.
Facts
- Hougang kept their first clean sheet in 11 matches across all competitions.
- Albirex have lost half of their 26 SPL matches this season.
- Račić has now reached 20 SPL goals in just 23 appearances.
Hougang: Zaiful Nizam (GK), Nazrul Nazari (C), Daniel Henrique, Anders Aplin, Tajeli Salamat, Shahdan Sulaiman, Ismail Salihović, Farhan Zulkifli (Hazzuwan Halim 83’), Shodai Yokoyama, Stjepan Plazonja (Tan-Vaissierre Louka 90’), Dejan Račić.
Unused subs: Kenji Rusydi (GK), Danish Irfan, Justin Hui, Nazhiim Harman, Zamani Zamri, Ratthathammanun Deeying.
Albirex: Hassan Sunny (GK), Junki Yoshimura, Koki Kawachi (C), Stevia Egbus Mikuni, Gareth Low (Amy Recha 86’), Naoki Yoshioka, Syed Firdaus Hassan, Haziq Kamarudin (Daniel Goh 79’), Yohei Otake, Shuhei Hoshino, Shingo Nakano.
Unused subs: Zainol Gulam (GK), Syukri Bashir, Arshad Shamim, Hilman Norhisam, Helmi Shahrol, Jaden Heng, Sim Jun Yen.
Jaguars denied by last-gasp equaliser
Balestier 3-3 Tanjong Pagar | Bishan | 5 April
Anton Fase 59’, Marcus Mosses O.G. 71′, Alen Kozar pen. 90+7′ | Faizal Roslan 11′, Syahadat Masnawi 36′, Zenivio Mota 80′
Tanjong Pagar led by two at the break, with Faizal finishing off Mota’s right-wing cross before Syahadat joined the scoresheet with an unerring shot. Balestier rallied and pulled level, with Fase netting a fine individual effort before Masahiro Sugita forced Mosses to clear into his own net. Mota restored the Jaguars’ lead with a fine chip, but Kozar then converted a late penalty to help the home side claim a share of the spoils.
Facts
- Balestier reached the 70-goal mark for the first time in SPL history.
- Tanjong Pagar’s Marcus Mosses made his first professional start, while Thelonious Max Linden came on to make his SPL debut.
- Mota became the first Timorese to score in SPL history.
Balestier: Hafiz Ahmad (GK), Darren Teh, Madhu Mohana, Cher Garang, Fudhil I’yadh (Harith Kanadi 60’), Alen Kozar (C), Jared Gallagher, Riku Fukashiro, Masahiro Sugita, Anton Fase, Kodai Tanaka.
Unused subs: Martyn Mun (GK), Emmeric Ong, Elijah Lim, Amiruldin Asraf, N Sakthivelchezhian, Ignatius Ang, Abdil Qaiyyim, Sheikh Faris.
Tanjong Pagar: Matthew Silva (GK) (C), Syed Akmal, Timur Talipov, Faizal Roslan, Zenivio Mota (Thelonious Max Linden 86’), Azim Akbar, Raihan Rahman, Marcus Mosses, Tomoki Wada, Sahil Suhaimi (Izrafil Yusof 86’), Syahadat Masnawi (Thorsten Takahashi Cross 66’).
Unused subs: Riki Kimura (GK), Ryan Effendy (GK), Farid Jafiri, Shahrin Saberin, Umar Akhbar, Suhairi Sabri.
Sailors run riot
Young Lions 0-8 Sailors | Jalan Besar | 6 March
Ikram Mikhail O.G. 12’, Bart Ramselaar 15’, Lennart Thy 25’, 43’, 60’, 90′, 90+2′, Song Uiyoung 58’
After Ikram diverted Christopher van Huizen’s cross into his own net, Ramselaar and Thy then joined the scoresheet with clinical finishes to make it 3-0 before Young Lions were reduced to 10 men due to Umayr Sujuandy’s sending off. Thy then netted on either side of a Song long-range scorcher to complete his hat-trick, before producing another couple of first-time finishes off crosses from Diogo Costa and Abdul Rasaq Akeem to round off a handsome Sailors win.
Facts
- The Sailors equalled their second biggest-ever winning margin in the SPL — matching their 8-0 triumph over Geylang back in April 2021.
- Thy is the fourth player have ever scored five goals in a SPL match, after Tsubasa Sano (2016), Andrei Varankou (2019) and Reo Nishiguchi (2022) – he is the first to do so since Nishiguchi achieved the feat for Tanjong Pagar on 1 October 2022.
- Thy has now scored 27 goals in 21 appearances – he still trails Geylang’s Tomoyuki Doi by 12 goals in the SPL Golden Boot race.
Young Lions: Umayr Sujuandy (GK), Aqil Yazid (Aizil Yazid 29’), Bill Mamadou, Ikram Mikhail (Ryu Hardy 59’), Raoul Suhaimi, Jun Kobayashi, Kan Kobayashi, Kaisei Ogawa, Andrew Aw (Syafi Nur Hilman 77’), Danish Qayyum (Iryan Fandi 77’), Amir Syafiz (Fathullah Rahmat 77’).
Unused subs: Danish Haqimi, Rasul Ramli, Ryan Vishal, Danial Crichton.
Sailors: Izwan Mahbud (GK), Christopher van Huizen (Akram Azman 72’), Lionel Tan, Bailey Wright (C), Toni Datković (Hariss Harun 46’), Diogo Costa, Shawal Anuar (Abdul Rasaq Akeem 59’), Rui Pires (Hami Syahin 59’), Song Uiyoung, Bart Ramselaar (Haiqal Pashia 76’), Lennart Thy.
Unused subs: Adib Nur Hakim (GK), Zharfan Rohaizad (GK), Hafiz Nor, Zulqarnaen Suzliman.
Red Card – Umayr Sujuandy (Young Lions) 27’
