SINGAPORE, 14 APRIL 2025 – The Singapore Premier League (SPL) title race took another twist with leaders Lion City Sailors held by Brunei DPMM, while BG Tampines Rovers eased past Tanjong Pagar United to close the gap to five points albeit having played a game more. Elsewhere, Geylang International edged a seven-goal thriller against Hougang United to consolidate third spot while Albirex Niigata (S) and Young Lions played out a goalless draw. We recap all the action here…
Doi ensures Eagles rediscover wings
Geylang 4-3 Hougang | Jalan Besar | 11 April
Naqiuddin Eunos 11′, Tomoyuki Doi 24′, 80′, 90+3′ | Dejan Račić pen. 35′, Farhan Zulkifli 77′, Daniel Henrique 90+2′
After setting up Naqiuddin for the opener, Doi then netted a clinical strike himself to put Geylang two goals up. Hougang rallied, with Račić pulling one back from the spot before knocking it on for substitute Farhan to equalise. Doi then put Geylang back ahead with a first-time shot on his left foot, before Hougang restored parity late on through Henrique’s header off Shahdan Sulaiman’s free-kick. The night was not done, however, as Doi then fired home from outside the area to complete his hat-trick – and seal the points for the Eagles.
Facts
- Geylang ended a run of four straight defeats in all competitions.
- Doi scored his eight SPL hat-trick of the campaign.
- Six out of eight Naqiuddin’s SPL goals so far have come this season.
Geylang: Hairul Syirhan (GK), Naqiuddin Eunos (Akmal Azman 63’), Joshua Pereira (C), Keito Hariya, Shakir Hamzah (Ahmad Syahir 78’), Huzaifah Aziz, Takahiro Tezuka (Iqbal Hussain 86’), Saifullah Akbar, Vincent Bezecourt, Ryoya Taniguchi, Tomoyuki Doi.
Unused subs: Rudy Khairullah (GK), Naufal Azman, Faisal Shahril, Zikos Chua, Hud Ismail, Nur Ikhsanuddin.
Hougang: Zaiful Nizam (GK), Tajeli Salamat, Anders Aplin, Daniel Henrique, Jordan Vestering, Shahdan Sulaiman, Ismail Salihović, Nazrul Nazari (C), Shodai Yokoyama (Tan-Vaissierre Louka 82’), Gabriel Quak (Farhan Zulkifli 60’), Dejan Račić.
Unused subs: Kenji Rusydi (GK), Danish Irfan, Hazzuwan Halim, Justin Hui, Nazhiim Harman, Zamani Zamri, Ratthathammanun Deeying.
Stags keep up faint title hopes
Tanjong Pagar 0-2 BG Tampines | Jurong East | 11 April
Faris Ramli 39′, 59′
A brace of Faris headers for BG Tampines did the track, as the Singapore international flicked home Joel Chew’s inswinging corner in the first half before nodding in Kyoga Nakamura’s floated cross to the back post after the break to complete an easy victory.
Facts
- BG Tampines have now won their last five matches in all competitions.
- Tanjong Pagar are now winless in their last five SPL outings.
- Faris increased his season tally to 10 goals for the season – this is the first time he reached double figures in a SPL campaign since netting 16 in 2019 for Hougang.
- BG Tampines’ Syazwan Buhari kept his ninth clean sheet of the campaign – a league-leading statistic.
Tanjong Pagar: Matthew Silva (GK) (C), Syed Akmal, Timur Talipov, Faizal Roslan, Zenivio Mot, Azim Akbar, Raihan Rahman, Marcus Mosses, Tomoki Wada, Thorsten Takashi Cross (Sahil Suhaimi 90’+1), Syahadat Masnawi (Izrafil Yusof 80’).
Unused subs: Riki Kimura (GK), Ryan Effendy (GK), Farid Jafiri, Umar Akhbar, Hariysh Krishnakumar, Suhairi Sabri, Casey Ethan Seddon.
BG Tampines: Syazwan Buhari (GK) (C), Irfan Najeeb (Amirul Adli 71’), Shuya Yamashita, Dylan Fox, Glenn Kweh (Arya Igami Tarhani 80’), Shah Shahiran, Kyoga Nakamura, Faris Ramli (Taufik Suparno 71’), Joel Chew (Nanthiphat Chaiman 88’), Itsuki Enomoto (Yasir Hanapi 88’), Seia Kunori.
Unused subs: Ridhuan Barudin (GK), Amirul Haikal, Kegan Phang.
Sailors frustrated by visitors
Sailors 0-0 DPMM | Bishan | 12 April
Despite having the lion’s share of possession and enjoying 16 shots as compared to DPMM’s four, the Sailors were ultimately unable to break the visitors down as they dropped two crucial points in the title race.
Facts
- This was just the second 0-0 draw in the SPL this season – the first also involved DPMM in a 0-0 draw with Albirex on 10 August 2024.
- This is just the second time in 26 SPL matches this season in which the Sailors failed to score – the first was the 5-0 defeat to BG Tampines on 18 July 2024.
- Sailors’ Izwan Mahbud have now kept three straight clean sheets in all competitions.
Sailors: Izwan Mahbud (GK), Hafiz Nor (Song Uiyoung 46’), Lionel Tan (Hariss Harun 73’), Bailey Wright (C), Toni Datković, Sergio Carmona Pérez (Christopher van Huizen 53’), Maxime Lestienne, Rui Pires, Hami Syahin (Akram Azman 88’), Abdul Rasaq Akeem (Shawal Anuar 53’), Lennart Thy.
Unused subs: Adib Nur Hakim (GK), Zharfan Rohaizad (GK), Zulqarnaen Suzliman, Haiqal Pashia.
DPMM: Kristijan Naumovski (GK), Syafiq Safiuddin (Nazry Aiman 65’), Yura Indera Putera, Damir Muminović, Najib Tarif, Abdul Hariz Herman (Nurikhwan Othman 80’), Farshad Noor (Faturrahman Embran 80’), Gabriel Gama, Azwan Ali Rahman (C) (Hanif Farhan 73’), Naziruddin Ismail (Hariz Danial Khallidden 73’), Dāvis Ikaunieks.
Unused subs: Haimie Nyaring (GK), Azwan Saleh, Hanif Hamir, Wafi Aminuddin.
Stalemate at Jurong East
Albirex 0-0 Young Lions | Jurong East | 13 March
There were some top saves on display by both goalkeepers Hassan Sunny and Rauf Erwan, with both sides having to settle for a share of the spoils.
Facts
- This was only the third goalless draw of the 2024/25 SPL season.
- Young Lions are now winless in their last five SPL matches, while Albirex have gone five games in all competitions without a win.
- Young Lions’ Lim Zheng Wu made his professional debut.
Albirex: Hassan Sunny (GK) (C), Junki Yoshimura, Koki Kawachi, Stevia Egbus Mikuni, Gareth Low (Amy Recha 86’), Naoki Yoshioka, Syed Firdaus Hassan, Haziq Kamarudin (Arshad Shamim 69’), Yohei Otake, Maeda Taiki (Amy Recha 85’), Shingo Nakano.
Unused subs: Zainol Gulam (GK), Daniel Goh, Syukri Bashir, Syahrul Sazali, Daniel Martens, Hilman Norhisam, Jaden Heng.
Young Lions: Rauf Erwan (GK), Syafi Nur Hilman (Lim Zheng Wu 65’), Bill Mamadou, Aqil Yazid (Ryu Hardy 76’), Raoul Suhaimi (C), Jun Kobayashi, Kan Kobayashi, Kaisei Ogawa, Andrew Aw, Danish Qayyum (Iryan Fandi 82’), Amir Syafiz (Ryan Vishal 82’).
Unused subs: Firman Nabil (GK), Ikram Mikhail, Fathullah Rahmat, Rasul Ramli, Danial Crichton.
