Protectors avoid slip-up in Male

Tam Cheong Yan
info@sleague.com

Home United put their AFC Cup campaign back on track as they beat back the elements and a determined Club Valencia side to triumph 1-0 in the Maldives on Tuesday evening.

Peres de Oliveira scored the decisive goal on 69 minutes to settle a match which was held in very rainy conditions.

The result was enough to move Home into second spot in Group H, after Vietnamese side Becamex Binh Duong stunned Thailand’s Provincial Electric Authority 3-1 in Bangkok.

All three Southeast Asian sides are now on six points, with Binh Duong going first and the Protectors second based on head-to-head records.

Home were notified upon their arrival in Male that they could expect plenty of rain all week, and that message rang true as the skies opened midway into the afternoon.

The Protectors faced another setback during the warm-up, when captain S. Subramani felt a groin strain and was withdrawn from the playing squad in a last-minute call.

Club Valencia had the first shot of the game when Maldives skipper Assad Abdul Ghani fired a free kick over the crossbar in the second minute, and Home responded shortly afterwards when Shahril Ishak drew a save from Hassan Rameez.

Both teams had their chances in the exchanges that ensued, although Home were more involved in attack with Kengne Ludovick in particular seeing plenty of action.

The Cameroonian saw his effort from inside the box saved shortly after the quarter-hour mark, and was then denied twice inside the space of a minute – the second from a rare close-range header.

Ridzuan Fatah Hassan, who had shaken off a stiff shoulder to start as promised by his coach, was seldom called into action as Home gradually gained control of the match.

But the 27-year-old was at hand ten minutes before the break to save an effort by Club Valencia’s Marcelin Nkemi, who caused some trouble for Valery Hiek and Shahril Alias with his size and physical prowess.

Nkemi was denied again nine minutes into the second half, when he picked up a through pass by Ahmed Nashid, only to blast his shot straight into a Home defender.

The fortuitous block turned out to be a decisive moment in the match, as the visitors rode their luck to break the deadlock.

Shi Jiayi started the move with a through pass to Shahril Ishak on the right, who quickly crossed the ball into the box, Fadzuhasny Juraimi cleverly dummying for Oliveira.

Rameez rushed out to claim the ball, but could not maintain his footing on a pitch made very slick by the downpour, and Oliveira made the most of the goalkeeper’s fall to put the chance away in the easiest of fashions.

The hosts, who were yet to claim their first point in Group H, were stung by the goal, and they nearly equalized five minutes later when Ibrahim Shiyam’s shot flew inches past a goalpost.

Home held on firmly though to claim full points, and even came close to scoring a second goal in injury time but for some heroics by Rameez.

Nonetheless, the players won praise afterwards from Sivaji for a ‘professional’ performance.

“We are very happy with three points under the circumstances,” he told sleague.com.

“We managed to play some very good football given the conditions, and there were 24 chances for us during the game. Overall, apart from a period in the second half when our opponents caused some anxious moments, the statistics showed that we really dominated.

“Overall, I am very pleased with the performance. We went out there to do a professional performance and get three points, coming as we did on the back of a very exciting and brilliant performance against Woodlands Wellington last week.

“Despite the weather, the players managed a continuation of that performance with the way they played today. There’s no one at all I could have faulted today.”

Binh Duong’s victory in Thailand however leaves the group evenly poised at the halfway mark, and with qualification for the knockout stages on the line, the Protectors need to churn out the results necessary to keep them in the top two spots.

Sivaji has challenged his charges to achieve that mission by claiming a minimum of seven points in their three remaining matches in the group stage, starting with their rematch with the Maldivian league champions.

“We await the arrival of Club Valencia in Singapore two weeks from now,” said the Protectors coach.

“That is a game we must win, as well as the game at home against PEA. If we win those two games, we’d have twelve points, and we also need to hold Binh Duong to a draw at least in Vietnam.”

Club Valencia: Hassan Rameez; Mohamed Jameel, Norbert Elek, Ali Shareer, Mohamed Amir (Arugam Ibrahim 81’); Assad Abdul Ghani, Yameen Ibrahim, Ahmed Nashid (Abdulla Zubair 56’), Ahmed Shafiu; Ibrahim Shiyam, Marcelin Nkemi.

Home United: Ridzuan Fatah Hassan; Rosman Sulaiman, Shahril Alias, Valery Hiek, Juma’at Jantan; Itimi Dickson (Fadzuhasny Juraimi 59’), Syed Fadhil (Tengku Mushadad 75’), Shi Jiayi (Azhar Sairudin 86’), Shahril Ishak; Peres de Oliveira, Kengne Ludovick.