Tigers claw back point at Jurong East
Fabius Chen
info@sleague.com
Balestier Khalsa’s Bryan Soane scored a stoppage time equaliser to salvage a 2-2 draw against 10-man Albirex Niigata (Singapore) in a pulsating encounter at Jurong East Stadium on Thursday evening.
It was the sort of game the world’s greatest writers would not have dared script: red cards, goals from free-kicks, gritty comebacks and late, late drama; this game had it all and then some.
There was a hint that it was going to be a special night as the bottom-of-the-table Tigers took the game to their hosts right from the get-go.
They took just four minutes to carve out their first opening, as Ednardo Moura burst into the White Swans’ penalty area and drilled a left-foot shot across the face of Yoshito Matsushita’s goal that just went wide.
The Brazilian’s return to the side after injury has taken some of the attacking burden off Soane’s shoulders and the two were combining effortlessly, forcing the Albirex defenders into committing fouls in dangerous areas.
The home side, meanwhile, looked like they were still in long weekend mood and it wasn’t until the 25th minute that they found a way though the Balestier backline.
Akira Takase’s long ball over the top of the visitors’ defence found his strike partner Kenji Adachihara in the box but Balestier skipper Jufri Taha was there with a splendid saving challenge to deny his Albirex counterpart a chance to pull the trigger.
Just two minutes later, Tigers right-back Mahmod Hashim sent a hopeful long ball upfield for Soane to chase.
Sensing danger, Matsushita came charging out but took his eyes off the ball just long enough for it to slip past him. The stranded goalkeeper clattered into the onrushing Australian right on the edge of the box, leaving referee Jeevanathan little option but to send him off.
Shunsuke Sunaga was the man taken off to allow reserve goalkeeper Junichi Watanabe to go between the sticks and the 21-year-old’s first job was to pick the ball out of his net.
Ednardo stepped up to take the free-kick and sent a lovely curling effort into the top corner, leaving the newcomer stranded.
It was the visiting fans making all the noise as their side looked to be in cruise control against the 10 men of Albirex.
They had to endure a scare right at the end of the half, though, as Taisuke Akiyoshi found some space in the Balestier penalty area and unleashed a low drive that beat Hafez Mawasi in the Tigers goal, only to see it come back off the foot of the post.
One goal up and with their opponents a man down, Balestier went into the break looking comfortable but within three minutes of the restart, Balestier’s Anantha Rajan, who had done an excellent job of pulling the strings in midfield, had to go off injured.
It was the last thing Tigers coach Nasaruddin Jalil needed, with foreign stars Seth Galloway and Julio Eduardo already nursing injuries.
“After losing Anantha, we had to reshuffle but just didn’t press as much as we did in the first half,” he lamented.
“When your key players get injured, you have no choice but to take gambles.”
Things would get from bad to worse for Nasaruddin’s side just a minute later.
Kunihiro Honda’s inswinging corner from the Albirex left was met by his captain Adachihara, who had ghosted in at the near post ahead of two defenders. The forward’s emphatic header bulged the net and all of a sudden, it was game on.
The 10 men of Albirex were riding a wave of confidence now, while their opponents struggled to come to terms with losing one of their best players.
Just before the hour mark, Keisuke Ogawa’s pull-back found Takase on the edge of the six-yard box but he could not escape the attention of his marker and toe-poked his shot wide.
When Takase’s daisy-cutter of a cross was desperately scrambled away by the Balestier defence, it was obvious that the visitors were on the ropes.
The White Swans were finally rewarded for their brave performance in the 77th minute when a long ball out of defence found Takase in space and the forward coolly lifted the ball over the head of Hafez to put his side ahead.
Albirex very nearly finished the visitors off just five minutes later, as substitute Tetsuya Kishida laid the ball off for Adachihara, who saw his low shot well pushed away but Hafez.
With just five minutes to play, Nasaruddin made his final roll of the dice, sending midfielder Ithamar Rangel on for the more defensive-minded Mahmod.
And the coach’s faith in the Brazilian was repaid deep, deep into stoppage time.
A Balestier corner was hoofed clear all the way to the centre circle, where Hafez was waiting. The goalkeeper’s long pass found Ithamar on the right flank and his cross eventually fell at the feet of Soane.
The Australian’s first-time shot was beyond the dive of Watanabe in goal and just inside the post.
The scene that ensued was a case study in juxtaposition: in the background of the Tiger’s euphoric celebrations, no less that eight Albirex players were slumped on the ground in their own penalty area in despair.
There was barely enough time for the home side to kick-off before the final whistle went, drawing a close to one of the most dramatic games of the season so far.
It was a painful result for Albirex coach Naoki Naruo, especially after recovering so well from having their goalkeeper sent off.
“I thought we played well in the second half,” he said.
“Especially since we were able to take the lead, even with 10 men, it’s two points lost for us.”
Naruo refused to attribute Balestier’s late equaliser to fatigue after playing for over an hour with just 10 men.
“Sometimes we lose concentration late in games. Whether we are playing with 10 or 11 men, this shouldn’t happen,” he stated plainly.
In contrast, his Balestier counterpart Nasaruddin was understandably delighted with his side’s fighting spirit.
“I’m happy with the effort we put in and the result we got. Scoring in the last minute really shows the character of the players,” he gushed.
He did, however, make sure to highlight his side’s shortcomings.
The Tigers coach commented: “Our marking was loose and it cost us dearly. You simply cannot win matches with defending like that.
“We did very well in the first half and it’s probably due to inexperience that the boys don’t really know how to defend a lead.
“The only thing we can do is to train and train.”
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