SINGAPORE, 5 MAY 2025 – The enthralling 2024/25 Singapore Premier League title race took another twist, with leaders Lion City Sailors suffering a shock defeat to Geylang International while BG Tampines Rovers swept aside Hougang United to close the gap to eight points with a game in hand. Elsewhere, Balestier Khalsa thrashed Young Lions to strengthen their grip on fourth spot while Brunei DPMM continued their late-season resurgence with a narrow win over Tanjong Pagar United. We recap all the action here…
DPMM continue red-hot form
DPMM 2-1 Tanjong Pagar | Bandar Seri Begawan | 2 May
Dāvis Ikaunieks 9′, 30′ | Sahil Suhaimi 82′
After capitalising on a Timur Talipov defensive error to put DPMM ahead, Ikaunieks was it again later in the first half as he nodded home Hakeme Yazid’s cross to double their lead. Sahil swept home Zenivio Mota’s low cross to pull one back for Tanjong Pagar late on, but it was too little too late for the home side.
Facts
- DPMM have now won three straight SPL games and are unbeaten in their last six league matches.
- Ikaunieks scored a brace for a third successive SPL match.
- Tanjong Pagar are winless in their last six SPL outings.
DPMM: Haimie Nyaring (GK), Nurikhwan Othman (Hanif Hamir 46’), Yura Indera Putera (Syafiq Safiuddin 46’), Damir Muminović, Najib Tarif, Abdul Hariz Herman (Nazry Aiman 79’), Gabriel Gama, Azwan Ali Rahman (C) (Hanif Farhan 65’), Hakeme Yazid, Naziruddin Ismail (Abdul Mu’iz Sisa 79’), Dāvis Ikaunieks.
Unused subs: Ishyra Amin (GK), Azwan Saleh, Faturrahman Embran, Hariz Danial Khallidden.
Tanjong Pagar: Matthew Silva (GK) (C), Syed Akmal, Timur Talipov, Faizal Roslan, Zenivio Mota, Azim Akbar (Izrafil Yusof 78’), Raihan Rahman, Marcus Mosses (Thorsten Takashi Cross 57’), Tomoki Wada, Salif Cissé, Syahadat Masnawi (Sahil Suhaimi 60’).
Unused subs: Riki Kimura (GK), Farid Jafiri, Umar Akhbar, Hariysh Krishnakumar.
Red Card – Syed Akmal (Tanjong Pagar) 61’
Stags keep faint title hopes alive
Hougang 1-4 BG Tampines | Our Tampines Hub | 2 May
Stjepan Plazonja 4′ | Itsuki Enomoto 38′, 53′, Seia Kunori 47′, Taufik Suparno 87′
Hougang got off to a dream start with Plazonja clinically converting Shodai Yokoyama’s low cross, but BG Tampines found a crucial equaliser before half time through Enomoto’s brilliant finish off Miloš Zlatković’s cross. Kunori then fired inside Zaiful Nizam’s near post from close range, before setting up Enomoto to nod home his second of the night. Super-sub Taufik then wrapped up the three points and completed the comeback victory with a curling finish.
Facts
- Hougang have now lost three straight SPL matches.
- BG Tampines are unbeaten in seven matches in all competitions since a 1-0 loss to Sailors on 26 February.
- Enomoto has scored eight goals in 12 matches in all competitions since joining the Stags in the January transfer window.
Hougang: Zaiful Nizam (GK), Nazhiim Harman (Danish Irfan 82’), Anders Aplin, Daniel Henrique, Jordan Vestering, Shahdan Sulaiman (Ismail Salihović 58’), Zulfahmi Arifin, Hazzuwan Halim (Tan-Vaissierre Louka 58’), Shodai Yokoyama (Gabriel Quak 86’), Stjepan Plazonja, Ratthathammanun Deeying (Farhan Zulkifli 46’).
Unused subs: Kenji Rusydi (GK), Justin Hui, Zamani Zamri, Dejan Račić.
BG Tampines: Syazwan Buhari (GK) (C), Irfan Najeeb (Taufik Suparno 73’), Shuya Yamashita, Dylan Fox, Miloš Zlatković, Shah Shahiran, Kyoga Nakamura (Ong Yu En 89’), Glenn Kweh (Amirul Adli 73’), Joel Chew (Faris Ramli 58’), Itsuki Enomoto, Seia Kunori (Yasir Hanapi 89’).
Unused subs: Ridhuan Barudin (GK), Arya Igami Tarhani, Amirul Haikal, Kegan Phang.
Tigers on a roll
Young Lions 0-4 Balestier | Our Tampines Hub | 3 May
Kodai Tanaka 4′, Ignatius Ang 40′, 42′, Anton Fase 69′
After Tanaka put Balestier ahead early on with a near-post finish, Ang then stole the show with a clinical brace – cutting inside his man to lash home, before getting to the end of Fase’s cross to roll it into an empty net. Fase then completed the rout with a brilliant curler from outside the box.
Facts
- Balestier are now unbeaten in their last four SPL outings.
- Fase has netted in three straight SPL matches.
- Ang reached double digits in a season for the first time in his career – 10 out of his 20 SPL goals have been netted in 2024/25.
Young Lions: Aizil Yazid (GK), Danial Crichton (Rasul Ramli 81’), Jun Kobayashi, Aqil Yazid (Ikram Mikhail 81’), Syafi Nur Hilman (Danish Haqimi 71’), Kan Kobayashi (C), Kaisei Ogawa, Lim Zheng Wu (Ryan Vishal 54’), Ethan Pinto, Ryu Hardy (Nyqil Iyyan 71’), Amir Syafiz.
Unused subs: Umayr Sujuandy (GK), Wong Ngang Haang, Izz Anaqi, Zaki Jumlan.
Balestier: Hafiz Ahmad (GK), Fudhil I’yadh (Elijah Lim 66’), Abdil Qaiyyim (Ignatius Ang 35’), Cher Garang, Harith Kanadi (Darren Teh 46’), Alen Kozar (C) (Emmeric Ong 80’), Jared Gallagher, Riku Fukashiro, Masahiro Sugita, Anton Fase (Amiruldin Asraf 80’), Kodai Tanaka.
Unused subs: Martyn Mun (GK), Syukri Noorhaizam, N Sakthivelchezhian, Tariq Shahid.
Red Card – Amir Syafiz (Young Lions) 60’
Setback for Sailors
Sailors 2-3 Geylang | Our Tampines Hub | 4 May
Lennart Thy 34′, Shawal Anuar 38′ | Tomoyuki Doi 44′, 86′, Ryoya Taniguchi 73′
After setting up Thy for a clinical opener, Maxime Lestienne then teed up Shawal to net a second as the Sailors looked to be cruising. However, Doi quickly pulled one back for Geylang before Taniguchi benefitted from Takahiro Tezuka’s lofted pass to level the score. Doi then applied the finishing touch to a lethal counter-attacking move to complete a famous comeback victory.
Facts
- The Sailors suffered their first loss in 17 SPL matches.
- Geylang are the only team to take points off the Sailors on three separate occasions this season.
- Doi has now scored 44 league goals this season – 16 more than nearest challenger Thy.
Sailors: Izwan Mahbud (GK), Christopher van Huizen (Hafiz Nor 75’), Hariss Harun (C) (Abdul Rasaq Akeem 87’), Bailey Wright, Toni Datković, Diogo Costa, Maxime Lestienne, Rui Pires, Hami Syahin, Shawal Anuar, Lennart Thy.
Unused subs: Zharfan Rohaizad (GK), Lionel Tan, Anumanthan Kumar, Zulqarnaen Suzliman, Haiqal Pashia, Akram Azman, Andy Reefqy.
Geylang: Rudy Khairullah (GK), Joshua Pereira (C), Rio Sakuma, Keito Hariya, Shakir Hamzah, Huzaifah Aziz (Iqbal Hussain +4), Takahiro Tezuka, Naqiuddin Eunos (Saifullah Akbar 79’), Vincent Bezecourt (Akmal Azman 90’+4), Ryoya Taniguchi, Tomoyuki Doi.
Unused subs: Hairul Syirhan (GK), Naufal Azman, Faisal Shahril, Ahmad Syahir, Zikos Chua, Nur Ikhsanuddin.
