Reds take best of five at Hougang

Cheryl Lim
info@sleague.com

The greater share of five goals, all in the first half, secured the Super Reds their first win of the season as they overcame Sengkang Punggol at the Hougang Stadium.

With Joey Sim and Amos Boon both red-carded in Sengkang’s last match, rookie keeper Fahmy Rahman stepped up for the Dolphins and faced a baptism of fire with the Koreans building a 2-0 lead after just seven minutes.

Having had his fingers warmed by a Super Reds effort in the opening minute, Fahmy was soon picking the ball from his net. An unmarked Kim Yoon Sik met Jeon Byung Euk’s cross from the right, and it was 1-0 on five minutes.

Just two minutes later, it was a cross from the left which did the damage as Park Han Seok slotted home.

As if the shell-shock was not enough of a wake-up call, more loose defending allowed Park time and space to fire, but this time his effort whistled wide.

The home side’s composure fortunately returned though, and they began to assert themselves, biting into tackles and forcing the issue.

Canadian Murphy Wiredu gave the Hougang crowd hope when he created space and hammered his shot past Jeon Bong Seong.

Minutes later, Sengkang’s new talisman Indra Sahdan Daud could have brought parity, but found the wrong side of the side-netting.

They had defending to do too, with skipper Aide Iskandar heading Choi Dong Soo’s cross away from danger.

It was a sign of things to come. With their quick movement catching Sengkang square once again, Jeon Byung Euk centered and Park snuck his second goal of the night from close range, 3-1.

The situation could have deteriorated for Sengkang but Fahmy did well to tip goalscorer Kim’s turn-and-shot from long range.

At the other end of the pitch, Wiredu was set free after a smart Sengkang move and kept his cool to net his second, setting the stage for an intriguing second half after a breathless first forty-five.

The 2,030-strong crowd might have expected a continuation of both teams’ goalscoring form after the break and Reds substitute Lee Du Ri nearly obliged four minutes into the second half, landing his header on top of Fahmy’s net.

Sengkang continued to search for an equaliser, and Indra’s strike partner Anthony Bahadur was presented with an opportunity on 66 minutes. But the Canadian’s hesitation allowed the Reds to clear their lines.

A sixth goal of the night never arrived, and Sengkang were consigned to their second defeat running. But their effort bodes well for the rest of the season, according to coach Jorg Steinebrunner.

“Looking at the situation we had (with both senior goalkeepers suspended), the boys played their hearts out. I could not ask for more from them. They had shown a lot of character,” said the German.

“The team came back after being two goals down, and we created enough chances. Fahmy performed very well, and our defense minimised the Super Reds’ threats. Our performance was encouraging for the whole team.

“We did not deserve to lose. This is very harsh to the boys.”

His counterpart Jeon Kyeong Joon was already looking ahead to the Reds’ upcoming fixtures.

“This is our first win so we will try to get more in future,” he said.

“We were doing well in our attack but our defending was a bit worrying, so we made some changes to our defensive strategy in the second half,” he added.