Juma’at strike sparks Home victory

Tam Cheong Yan
info@sleague.com

Juma’at Jantan scored on his return to the Home United starting eleven to inspire his side to a 2-1 win over Becamex Binh Duong at Jalan Besar Stadium on the opening night of the AFC Cup 2009 group stage.

The Singapore fullback pounced on a loose ball in the penalty area to put the two-time S.League champions ahead on the stroke of half-time, before Kengne Ludovick doubled their lead just before the hour mark.

Binh Duong managed to pull a goal back through striker Kesley Alves, setting up a tense final quarter-hour as both sides threw everything into the game.

But PN Sivaji’s side showed enough defensive strength to hold out till the end, giving them the perfect start to their continental campaign.

Juma’at had been out of the starters in Home’s last two S.League matches, but earned a recall after a nagging knee ailment prompted Sivaji to omit new signing Ismail Yunos.

Also making his return was veteran skipper S. Subramani, while Shi Jiayi shifted to his favoured role at the centre of midfield as Peres de Oliveira moved up front.

The hosts had the better of the early exchanges, Oliveira firing wide of the top corner with seven minutes on the clock after he was allowed to drift inwards from the left side of midfield with no defenders closing in on him.

After a hurried start to the game, however, the reigning V-League champions gradually settled themselves down on the field, playing in an expansive 3-4-3 formation that placed particular emphasis on their strength down the right flank.

That was where rightback Huynh Quang Thanh and winger Nguyen Vu Phuong teamed up, often to credible effect as they tested the Home defence for weaknesses on that side.

Down the middle, Phung Cong Minh was a key character too, an early yellow card for a crunching tackle on Juma’at doing little to diminish his impact as a box-to-box operator.

Up front, the combination of Alves and Zimbabwean target man Philani Bhekizizwe made for imposing threats, and the latter almost gave Binh Duong the lead on 24 minutes when he barely reached a long overhead pass and flashed his shot across the Home goal.

That moment sparked a series of attacks by the visitors, and Home’s resilience was tested as Rosman Sulaiman blocked a Nguyen shot and Huynh cracked another effort wide.

Home always had the tools to threaten, though, and Juma’at was particularly active down the left flank as he frequently roamed forward in support of his teammates’ advances.

That enterprising spirit was rewarded right at the end of the half as Home took the lead against the run of play.

It all started with a cross-field pass by Oliveira to an unmarked Juma’at, who surged forward before releasing the ball to Shahril Ishak.

The Home No.17 weaved his way into the box only for his shot to be blocked, but he quickly reclaimed the ball and tried a short flick that too was deflected by a defender.

The loose ball spilled towards the edge of the area, though, and Juma’at, who had continued his run, promptly let rip with a shot that left Tran Minh Quang no chance.

There was hardly a better time for the 25-year-old to open his account for the season, and it gave the Protectors much confidence as they strode out for the second half.

An under-hit backpass by Phung just three minutes in could have gifted Home an easy second goal, but Itimi Dickson skewed his shot wide after Ludovick was forced to send the ball square under pressure from his marker.

Dickson was guilty of fluffing another gilt-edged chance three minutes later when he fired a close-range shot into Tran, although to be fair, he did have a good defensive game as he constantly harassed his opponents.

Huynh then watched in dismay on 54 minutes as his cross from the right swerved away from Lionel Lewis’ goal, and he was to rue that missed opportunity shortly afterwards.

That was when Shi, picking up on a good piece of defending by Rosman, stormed unopposed from his box into enemy territory, before finding Ludovick with a low pass.

Ludovick saw Tran well off his line and decided to go for a snap shot, and the goalkeeper initially reckoned the effort, which went towards his right, would go out of play.

To his horror, however, when the ball took a bounce on the Jalan Besar turf, it made very little change in direction, and instead had itself tucked up neatly at the bottom of the net.

Binh Duong responded by stepping up their attacks even further, and they were rewarded for their efforts on 74 minutes.

A deep cross by Nguyen was met by Alves with a powerful header, and Lewis only managed to palm his save straight back into the striker’s path for an easy follow-up finish.

Sensing a second goal on the horizon, the Vietnamese side threw everything they had at the Protectors defence, for whom Subramani was outstanding as he led by example.

This was no less clear than on 84 minutes, when the 36-year-old put his body on the line and blocked a Helio da Silva shot in probably the most painful way possible.

Survive the barrages the hosts had to, and survive they did; they even had late chances to lock things up as Shi saw his shot inside the box saved and Oliveira steered a diving header wide from a cross by Shahril.

In the end, though, a one-goal margin was enough to separate the two sides, as the Protectors picked up just the result they needed for a positive start in Group H.

Sivaji: Binh Duong did not disappoint me

Home United coach PN Sivaji hailed leftback Juma’at Jantan for his ‘great’ goal that guided the team to a 2-1 victory over a ‘tough’ Becamex Binh Duong side.

Noting that the Vietnamese outfit’s past involvement in the AFC Champions League made them challenging opponents as he had expected, he admitted luck played a part in the victory but was happy all the same.

“We knew it would be a tough game, because teams like Binh Duong are Champions League teams, and they didn’t disappoint,” remarked the 57-year-old.

“We tried to catch them on the break, and we did that quite well, so I am very pleased the result. Yes, we rode our luck, but if you look at the chances created by both sides, many of which came from counterattacks, both teams rode their luck.

“I started Juma’at today because Ismail Yunos is injured. He’s out for two weeks; he’s seen the doctor this morning, and he has been advised not to play after the last few games he had, especially against SAFFC.

“That said, Juma’at is there on merit. He had been out because of reservist training, but he has shown good desire and quality in training, and he scored a great goal today.”

Lack of game time meant Juma’at was not in peak form as he had to drop out early with cramp, but the 25-year-old, who had scored twice last year for Home, claimed ‘shock’ at being able to get on the scoresheet again.

“For me, it was a difficult game because my match fitness wasn’t that good,” he said.

“But to get a chance to score was a shock to me. It’s a one-in-a-million thing, the kind of thing that happens one or two times every year.

“I don’t want to think too much about what the goal does for me starting the next game though. There’s healthy competition between Ismail, Rosman Sulaiman and myself as versatile defenders, so maybe we will rotate again soon and Ismail will come back.”