BG Tampines open WPL campaign with win as teen debutant shines
Tanjong Pagar United 0-2 BG Tampines Rovers | Choa Chu Kang Stadium | 24 January
(Victoria Hudson 63’, 87’)
BG Tampines Rovers opened their Women’s Premier League (WPL) campaign in emphatic fashion with a confident victory over Tanjong Pagar United, as 16-year-old debutant Victoria Hudson stole the spotlight with a stunning brace on Saturday, 24 January.
The match at Choa Chu Kang Stadium remained finely balanced for much of the first half, with both sides probing for openings but struggling to find a decisive breakthrough. BG Tampines eventually broke the deadlock in the 63rd minute when the JSSL academy graduate delicately lifted the ball over Jaguars’ goalkeeper Ilya Batrisyia to register her first WPL goal and put the Stags ahead.
Momentum swung firmly in BG Tampines’ favour following the goal, and the youngster struck again 20 minutes later. She latched onto a well-weighted through pass before firing home from distance with three defenders still in pursuit, to seal an impressive debut double.
BG Tampines will have a bye in the next matchweek following a strong start to their WPL campaign, while Tanjong Pagar will look to regroup quickly ahead of a challenging clash against Geylang International next Sunday, 1 February.
Tanjong Pagar: Ilya Batrisyia (GK), Abigail Goh (Shayeerah Huq 85’), Naomi Tan, Syakirah Jumain (Matthea Ashwini 64’), Nuriah Noor (C) (Gan Hui Yi 77’), Alyssa Deanna (Abigail Heng 85’), Anupriya Subramanian, Denise Chu, Crystal Wu, Faradila Rafidi, Pan Shi Yu
Unused subs: Vanessa Tan (GK)
BG Tampines: Izzati Safwanah (GK) (Atiqah Salihin 90’+1), Jia Samra, Kinley Melski, Shazana Ashiq, Victoria Hudson, Darvina Halini (C), Nur Fitrizah (Nahwah Aidilreza 53’), Shaniz Qistina (Cristina Clavel 56’), Aqilah Salihin (Sharifah Amira 82’), Siti Nor Aqilah (Beatrix Ong-Pratt 90’+1), Lucinda Ratcliffe (Lyra Ayaana 68’)
Unused subs: Vivian Eng, Mia Thomson
Japanese trio fires Albirex to commanding win over Hougang
Hougang United 0-12 Albirex Jurong | Choa Chu Kang Stadium | 24 January
(Manami Fukuzawa 1’, 10’ 19’, 52’, Kana Kitahara 6’, 23’, Siti Wan Nabilah 36’, Ruriko Takashima 3’, 9’, 12’, 54’, 90’+2)
Albirex Jurong made a blistering start to their Women’s Premier League (WPL) campaign with a dominant 12-0 victory over Hougang United, striking within seconds of kick-off to set the tone for a commanding attacking display.
Manami Fukuzawa showed her composure, delicately flicking the ball over the onrushing Hougang goalkeeper Tay Siew Yin with her right foot to open the scoring. From there, the White Swans never looked back, overwhelming Hougang with sustained pressure and fluid attacking movement.
WPL 2025 Top Scorer and Player of the Year Ruriko Takashima led the scoring with a remarkable five-goal haul, while Fukuzawa added four, player-coach Kana Kitahara contributed two, and Siti Wan Nabilah also found the net, as Albirex piled on the goals in a ruthless team performance.
Hougang managed to tighten up in the second half, conceding just three in the second half, but were unable to halt Albirex’s momentum as they continued to dictate proceedings.
Despite the emphatic opening day win, Albirex sit second in the WPL standings on goal difference behind Lion City Sailors, who recorded a 16-0 victory over Balestier Khalsa on Sunday. The White Swans will now look to close the gap when they face Balestier next week, while Hougang will hope to turn the page against a Tiong Bahru side who are set to play their first WPL match on Saturday, 31 Jan.
Hougang: Tay Siew Yin (GK), Michelle Ngui (Iffah Amrin 53’), Angela Hu, Claire Park, Su Jingyi, Devina Beins, Tia Nabella, Fatin Syarafana, Anna Vaswani (C), Nabilah Jeffere (Nadirah Jeffere 20’), Venya Jain (Rachel Ngui 75’)
Unused subs: Syafina Putri
Albirex: Talia Sachet, Sun Jie, Sitianiwati Rosielin (Monessha Nair 70’), Manami Fukuzawa (Nur Darwisyah 89’), Anaya Sehgal (Joie Teo 46’), Kana Kitahara, Siti Wan Nabilah (Miki Ayaka 76’), Natasha Kaur (Ananya Pande 62’), Ruriko Takashima, Izyani Ghani, Rosnani Azman
Unused subs: Ng Meizhi (GK), Erlinawaty Dewi, Chiyoko Okada
Second-half effort from Aerion denies Geylang win in WPL opener
Still Aerion 3-1 Geylang International | Bukit Gombak Stadium | 25 January
(Anna Seng 24’, Bernice Lim 78’, Pikul Khueanpet 80’ | Saranya Thiru 1’ )
Geylang International fell 1-3 to Still Aerion in their Women’s Premier League (WPL) opener at Bukit Gombak Stadium, as Aerion pulled away in the second half of what was a competitive fixture to claim all three points.
The match started in dramatic fashion, with midfielder Saranya Thiru lobbing the ball over the WPL 2025 Golden Glove winner Lutfiah Hannah in the Aerion goal within seconds of kickoff to give Geylang an early lead. Still Aerion responded in the 24th minute when forward Anna Seng struck for her first goal with the club, keeping the sides level heading into halftime.
The second half saw both teams under pressure, with both Lutfiah and Geylang’s Nurul Illyanis called into action on multiple occasions to deny dangerous attempts on goal.
Aerion eventually broke the deadlock in the 78th minute, with WPL 2024 Young Player of the Year nominee and 17-year-old defender Bernice Lim reacting quickest to a scramble in the box following a Nicole Lim cross to slot home just one minute after being subbed in.
Just two minutes later, Thailand Women’s World Cup player Pikul Khueanpet scored her first WPL goal to make it 3-1 and seal the victory.
Aerion will now face the WPL’s early front runners, Lion City Sailors as they look to build on their opening-day triumph, while Geylang will aim to bounce back when they take on Tanjong Pagar next Sunday, 1 February.
Still Aerion: Lutfiah Hannah (GK), Angelyn Pang, Janet Tan (Bernice Lim 77’), Fonda Chai (C), Pikul Khueanpet (Rachel Chan 84’), Nicole Lim (Andrea Moska 84’), Sunisa Srangthaisong, Nurul Unaisah (Ayla Chin 77’), Mikayla Simons (Calista Li 58’), Anna Seng (Zoey Chua 66’), Afiqah Omar (Bhanu Krishnasamy 72’)
Unused subs: Hazel Lim (GK), Dini Dannisha
Geylang: Nurul Illyanis (GK), Siti Fathimah, Saranya Thiru (Nadia Nuraffendi 71’), Nadhra Aqilah, Nasriah Ibrahim, Elyssa Qistina (Nur Humaira Ibrahim 84’), Naureen Qadriyah, Nabilla Aina, Farhanah Ruhaizat (C), Olliana Davies (Nurul Syuhadah 41’), Lauren Reese (46’)
Unused subs: Faizal Ramle (GK), Mastura Jeilani, Alvina Chik, Aliyah Imarsha
Sailors claim statement win over Balestier in season opener
Balestier Khalsa 0-16 Lion City Sailors | Bukit Gombak Stadium | 25 January
(Eri Kitagawa 5’, 70’, 83’, Farah Nurzahirah 23’, 35’, 47’, Ami Takeuchi 14’ (P), 18’, 20 (P), 46’, 67’, 77’, Ain Salleh 44’, Ami Kawase 31’, 38’, Izzati Rosni 90’+2)
Lion City Sailors made a commanding start to their Women’s Premier League (WPL) campaign, thumping Balestier Khalsa 16-0 at Choa Chu Kang Stadium in a statement victory as they kicked off their mission to reclaim the WPL title.
The Sailors’ new faces made an instant impact, with former Urawa Red Diamonds Ladies starlet Ami Takeuchi leading the charge with a stunning six-goal haul to move to the top of the WPL scoring charts once again. Eri Kitagawa and Farah Nurzahirah both came away with hat-tricks, while Nur Ain Salleh scored once, and Ami Kawase — from the Sailors’ WPL B-team — struck twice and Nur Izzati Rosni marked her return with a late goal.
The scoring started early, with Kitagawa opening the scoring in the fourth minute from a perfectly weighted pass from Nur Ain Salleh. Takeuchi made it 2-0 from the penalty spot nine minutes later and added two more in quick succession to complete a first-half hat-trick inside six minutes.
Ain continued to pull the strings in midfield, teeing up Farah for her first goal in the 21st minute, before Kawase got in on the act to make it 6-0 by the half-hour mark. Team moves continued to produce goals as captain Syazwani Ruzi, Kitagawa, and Farah combined to set up further finishes, putting the Sailors nine goals up at half-time.
Firmly in control, the Sailors carried the momentum into the second half. Takeuchi scored twice more, Farah completed her hat-trick, Kitagawa added another two goals, and Izzati capped the scoring with a header from a corner to complete the 16-0 rout.
The emphatic win sent the Sailors to the top of the WPL standings, edging out defending champions Albirex Jurong on goal difference after their 12-0 victory a day earlier. The Sailors’ women will next face last season runners-up, Still Aerion, on Saturday, 31 January with the opening-day rout providing an early confidence boost.
Balestier, despite the heavy defeat, will look to regroup as they prepare for another tough task next Sunday against Albirex.
Balestier: Adra Nur Qaisara (GK), Siti Nur Aisyah, Vafa Dhabitah, Iffah Liyana (Dinah Sajidah 52’), Svea Hertzman (Sofea Niesya 61’), Maidah Mahboob (Nurshamirah Norshaidi 52’ (Insyirah Azmi 76’)), Hannah Teo, Sharifah Nur Amanina (C), Laura Tatiana, Dini Aleeya, Alia Ballout (Yumi Ng 68’)
Unused subs: Syifaa Nurdianah (GK), Bernice Ong
