Tampines Rovers vs Albirex Niigata(S) Report [1-0]

Early strike hands Tampines full points Ong Jiing Yih info@sleague.com An exquisite strike from Noh Alam Shah gave Tampines Rovers a much-needed 1-0 win at home over Albirex Niigata (Singapore). The victory helped the hosts stretch their unbeaten run in the league to ten games, while also pulling them level with third-placed Gombak United, who play on Friday. National forward Alam Shah’s early strike was one of several highlights in a high-tempo game where chances came and went. Qiu Li and Kenji Adachihara came close to scoring for their respective sides, but it was a denied penalty claim on 57 minutes that was the hot talking point at the end of the evening, when Qiu was brought crashing to the turf by Ryota Kobayashi. Albirex, having been handed a huge letoff, were then left to rue their failure to level late on in a mad goalmouth scramble. All in, though, it was excitement all around from the first whistle, as both teams made several changes to their starting personnel. Aliff Shafaein was dropped in favour of Qiu for the Stags as Zulkarnaen Zainal passed a late fitness test, while there were recalls for Ken Matsumoto, Takatoshi Uchida and Akira Takase in the White Swans camp. Takase in particular had been a surprise tactical omission in his team’s 2-2 draw with DPMM FC the previous week, but he could not create much of an impact on his return against a firm Tampines defence. Shariff Abdul Samat and Benoit Croissant deserved particular praise for keeping the young livewire tightly under their leash, thus making life much easier for their goalkeeper Hassan Sunny. Freed up to work on his ball distribution, Hassan delivered a trademark long goal kick towards the left flank on eight minutes, where Alam Shah was more than ready to receive. Having stayed onside, the national forward drew out the Albirex defenders in the area, before leaving them trailing in his wake. It was sheer class as he picked his spot perfectly and hooked the ball beyond the reach of Yoshito Matsushita, who for once could not be faulted for poor positioning. The home side threatened to open up Albirex at will, and could have extended their advantage four minutes later. Sutee Suksomkit sent Alam Shah clean through on goal, but despite facing the goal with Matsushita to beat, the No.9 flashed his shot wide off the mark. Tampines were evidently keen to wreak as much havoc in the Albirex box as possible, and Sutee and Alam Shah were involved in a 16th-minute move that finished with Qiu stashing the ball high over the crossbar. Uchida then had to bail the White Swans out when he intercepted a cross meant for Alam Shah, but if Naoki Naruo’s side had started the half under pressure from their hosts, they were determined to end it on a more even footing. Regrouping well with Adachihara at the forefront, they were given some encouragement when Keisuke Ogawa saw his attempted cross knocked out of play by Shariff. Albirex threatened on a more consistent basis from then on, and after Taisuke Akiyoshi had missed contact with a testing Takase cross, Adachihara miscued his diving header off a Matsumoto pullback three minutes before the break. Tampines were feeling the heat, and with decisions not going their way, skipper Fahrudin Mustafic took it upon himself to remonstrate with the referee over several decisions he disagreed with. He eventually paid the price with a yellow card three minutes after the interval, which ensured his non-participation in the Stags’ next league match – a visit to Choa Chu Kang Stadium no less. But it was not long before the men in yellow asserted themselves on the field through more proper means, and Qiu saw several opportunities to extend his side’s lead. Trying the make the most of a scuffed shot from Mustafic, he had disappointment written all over his face when he was foiled by Matsushita. Qiu came close to playing provider on 54 minutes, when he did excellently to dispossess Kobayashi before sliding the ball to Alam Shah, whose footing contrived to fail him with only the goalkeeper left in his sights. Kobayashi was once again at the heart of another crucial moment in the match three minutes later, when he was caught in a mix after knocking his clearance straight at the dangerous Qiu, who stormed into the box and looked all set to score his first goal since exactly a month ago. The Albirex skipper, pursuing desperately, went for broke and lunged for the ball, taking the Tampines No.10 with him right in front of a nervous Matsushita. To the amazement and incredulity of the Tampines bench, however, referee Johan Jahari waved for play to continue, and the usually-placid Vorawan Chitavanich instantly jumped to the edge of his technical area to protest the decision. The Stags faithful among the 2,420-strong crowd, normally a raucous lot, needed no invitation to chime in as they made their feelings known, but once that cloud of anger dissipated, the match became a rather more muted affair for quite a while. With the game still finely-balanced towards the end, though, Naruo’s charges made late rallies in search for the equalizer. Playmaker Akiyoshi crossed from the left channel firmly expecting some form of end product, but the hardworking Adachihara headed wide on 78 minutes. Ogawa then raced down the flank and sent in a hard ball, and as both Kobayashi and Takase took flight the ball rolled harmlessly out of play. Going into stoppage time, a mad scramble in the Tampines box saw several Albirex players exchange quick passes. The home rearguard stood watching as Adachihara looked like getting onto a stray ball that could have been the best chance to draw level, but the ball amazingly stayed out. 1-0 it thus finished, although Tampines coach Vorawan Chitavanich felt his team could have had a clearer win had they been sharper up front. “Though we’re good in defence we need to work on our attack,” he noted. “Alam Shah had his chances while Qiu Li got his one-on-one. But while we used to have the likes of Mirko (Grabovac) to partner with Alam Shah, we now need players like Khairul Amri or Ridhuan Muhammad to help the team in attack.” The Thai then praised Albirex for their contribution to what was an exciting game, although he had reservations on the penalty call he felt should have been given to his side. “Albirex are a very young and good side, which shows all team in the league are catching up with one another,” he said. “If all the teams in the league could reach this level at least, it will be good for the league. They came here to learn and gain experience, but they gave us a good game today. “But I think they were lucky the referee did not give a penalty. When I saw it, I thought it must have been a penalty and a sending off. “No defender would go and slide into a striker like that in a place like this; the chance of giving away a penalty was just too big. But the referee’s made up his mind, so what else can I say?” White Swans coach Naruo claimed he did not see the tackle, but revealed his thoughts were on something else when he heard the shouts from the opposing bench. “Our bench was too far away, so I could not see anything,” he said. “When I heard the shout, the first thing I thought was that the defence line was not there. I looked around and saw the defenders were not in the right place, and that put Ryota in a position he should not have to be in. “Luckily for us, nothing happened and we did not lose a second goal.”