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Hassan Sunny pulled out a top-drawer performance to give Tampines Rovers a share of the spoils in their Friday Night Football clash with the Super Reds, as the two teams settled for a 1-1 draw.
The result ended the Stags’ dismal run against the Korean side, who had beaten them in all three of their league encounters last season but found Tampines harder to overcome this time around.
Japanese defender Seiji Kaneko gave Tampines the half-time lead with a strike six minutes before the break, before Super Reds equalized early in the second half through Choi Dong Soo to capture a point.
Having failed to put the ball past Hassan a second time, the Bears moved to fifth position in the league table with six points, while Tampines remain unbeaten with ten points at fourth place.
The match kicked off in a slow, almost casual fashion, as both teams steadily settled into the tempo of the game. A freekick was awarded to Tampines at the second minute which was headed away to reach Zulkarnaen Zainal, who however got his shot off target.
A pass from Qiu Li to Sutee Suksomkit along the left flank then saw the latter running down the wing before crossing the ball to Noh Alam Shah, who missed the connection before goalkeeper Jeon Bong Seong came out quickly to collect for safety.
At the other end of the field, it was Choi who came close to scoring for the Super Reds when he received at the edge of the box and tried to put the ball towards goal, but it was deflected for a corner instead.
Both sides put on an encouraging show of positive, passing football, but it was not until the latter part of the first half that the action was gradually brought up to a simmer.
Alam Shah cut back to Akihiro Nakamura inside the penalty box just after the half-hour mark, having snatched a poor clearance by Shin Dae Kyung. Shin tried to make amends by chasing after Nakamura, only for the latter to fall.
It seemed like a plausible penalty situation; however, when referee Abdul Malik Bashir pulled out his yellow card, it was shown to Nakamura instead for simulation.
Shin popped up at the other end in the 36th minute, and he managed to meet a Jeon Byung Euk corner with a powerful header that on most days might have led to a goal.
Hassan however responded by brilliantly tipping the effort over the bar to prevent the Super Reds from taking the lead.
It was to be the first of his Man-of-the-Match-winning saves, and his teammates did not disappoint his effort as two minutes later, right winger Ridhuan Muhammad beat the offside flag to reach Qiu’s cross from the other flank.
Trying to shoot from a tight angle, Ridhuan was unlucky to hit the underside of the crossbar, and the ball was subsequently cleared for a corner.
Up stepped Nakamura to float the ball to his countryman Kaneko, who converted easily from close range amidst the crowded penalty box for his second goal of the season.
Goalkeeper Jeon Bong Seong had to take some of the blame at least for the goal, having stretched his arm out unconvincingly instead of making a claim for the ball.
There was no such mistake at the other end from Hassan, who preserved the lead by pushing away Yu Hyun Koo’s freekick just before the break.
Qiu even had enough time to double the lead before the half-time whistle, but his long-range attempt off Alam Shah’s assist was way off target.
The Super Reds kicked off the second period with their characteristic short and crisp passes, and they managed to restore parity seven minutes after the restart.
Following Yu’s freekick at the right edge of the box, Joo Ki Hwan headed the ball across goal to Choi, who tapped it in with the slightest effort.
The game continued with both sides attempting to break the deadlock. Alam Shah passed the ball backwards to Ridhuan, who curled it back to him, but it bounced off his head to fly high over the crossbar.
A miscued clearance by Nakamura then gave Kim Yoon Sik the opportunity to turn around Shariff Abdul Samat to sneak in a shot, but Hassan was up to the task again as he comfortably pushed and collected the ball.
Choi cut past two defenders to get in front of the net in the 72nd minute, but with only Hassan to beat, he shot directly at the latter.
Kim was next to try from a tight angle on the right, and saw his effort go just past the crossbar.
Sutee blasted from out of the box six minutes from time, which Super Reds custodian Jeon duly pushed away only as far as to substitute Aliff Shafaein, who deflected the ball to an offside Ridhuan.
The Bears strengthened their resolve to get a second goal as the minutes ticked down, and they almost scored a last-minute winner.
Shariff’s failure to make a clean clearance presented Song Wang Suk an opportunity to head the ball, but once again it was Hassan on hand to punch away and save his side from embarrassment.
Despite the goalkeeper’s heroics, Tampines team manager Syed Faruk believed his team should have fared better.
“We did not play well enough. We could have kept the ball better,” he said of his team’s performance on the day.
“The Super Reds pressed very well, they had more possession and clear chances. They have started to gel now after their first couple of games. It was a good tactical game today.
“We were not happy with the three draws in the beginning of the season. We got two wins subsequently which was good. We thought we could get a win today but we knew it was going to be difficult.”
Super Reds coach Jeon Kyeong Joon too did not seem happy to earn only a point from the game.
“We prepared an attacking side but it did not really work out as much as we had prepared,” he revealed.
“The whole game was not that good. We had time to prepare after the Sengkang (Punggol) game ten days ago, but it did not really work out to what we planned today.
“If we had won today it would be a morale boost for the players as they can move forward and do better from now on, but since we just drew maybe we have to work harder.”
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