Home United vs Young Lions [3-2]

Protectors maintain home record

Paul Green
info@sleague.com

It was a case of ‘mission accomplished’ when Home United trooped off the Clementi Stadium pitch on Saturday night after defeating the Young Lions 3-2.

The manner of securing the three points, though, was far from pleasing for Protectors’ coach, P N Sivaji.

“Quite a few of our players were below par tonight, for some reason. They did not perform to their own high standards in several cases,” he said.

While not naming anyone it’s unlikely that the coach would have included Singapore international Shi Jiayi who had a hand in two of the three goals the home side needed to run out narrow winners at the finish, and scored the third himself.

Home conceded a goal after only seven minutes when a terrible mix up between goalkeeper Lionel Lewis and his defenders allowed Young Lions to capitalise before the game had even settled down.

Izzdin Shafiq did some good work on the left to find Eugene Luo on the far side. The cross when it came in looked innocuous enough but Lewis came racing out while his defenders seemed to shadow him all the way.

This left the path clear for Fairoz Hasan to plant an uncontested header into the roof of an empty net.

Fortunately for the Protectors calamity was to follow at the other end, moments before the break, allowing them to go in leading 2-1 at half time.

Before that Home had fashioned an equaliser in the 13th minute with Jiayi stabbing a low ball through, committing the keeper, who therefore could not stop Kengne Ludovick toe-poking the ball clear of him and low into the corner of the net.

Rosman Sulaiman and Shahril Ishak had combined well down the left, with the ball cut back, by the latter, to the edge of the area where Jiayi took control of it.

Shahril Ishak almost scored one himself in the 25th when his low drive whistled narrowly past the left hand upright.

Jiayi also had a free kick that flew just wide in the 38th but at 1-1 coach Sivaji was clearly looking for more and had replaced Shahril Ishak with Azhar Sairudin by the 29th minute, a move that seemed to generate some additional forward movement.

Rosman’s cross in the 44th appeared to threaten little danger as it delivered the ball to just inside the penalty area.

In trying to meet it with his head, however, Young Lions’ defender Irwan Shah succeeded only in making contact with the ball with a raised hand.

Referee Zaid Hussein immediately pointed to the penalty spot and Home were virtually gifted a goal.

Jiayi put away the penalty with complete conviction and the Protectors had therefore recovered from a horror start.

They seemed to have the measure of their opponents in the second half, too, as they extended their lead in the 54th minute.

A ball lifted over the defence by Jiayi allowed Ludovick to make it 3-1 with a crisp finish.

Home United were apparently cruising at this stage with Norikazu Murakami being brought on from the bench in the 63rd to replace Peres de Oliveira, who had been having a quiet game.

Murakami almost at once let fly from 30 metres, forcing Young Lions’ keeper Izwan Mahbud to show good reflexes and tip the ball over the bar.

The Protectors nearly made it 4-1 in the 89th but when Itimi Dickson and Ludovick combined to set up substitute Azhar for a looping header the ball was cleared off the line by Faritz Abdul Hameed.

That let-off inspired the visitors who surged forward looking for some late goals to possibly salvage a point.

When Fadhil Noh got to the left by-line unchallenged a minute into stoppage time his cross gave Faritz the chance to volley the ball home and make it 3-2.

Home had almost thrown it away but the sound of the referee’s whistle for full time could not come soon enough for the Protectors, who managed their second win in a row to lift themselves into fifth spot, ahead of Super Reds on goal difference.

“After that match we are thinking only of recovery now,” said Sivaji.

The momentum the coach had spoken about before this match has carried the side level on points with Super Reds and the club is now looking to win again on Tuesday night at Woodlands.

Young Lions’ coach Terry Pathmanathan paid tribute to his players, but was not entirely happy with some aspects of their game.

“We showed great fighting qualities to come back from 3-1 down to score a second goal,” he said.

“But we gave away a silly goal with the handball and most of the game we were exposed down our left hand side, which was particularly disappointing as we are usually much stronger there than that."

Once again the Young Lions have indicated how to stretch one of the league’s top sides, but they still have no points to show for some great efforts against the likes of SAFFC, DPMM Brunei and now Home United whom they beat the last time the two sides met.

For Home United, about to face Gombak’s conquerors, Woodlands Wellington, on Tuesday night, there’s much food for thought.

Still anxious to field his strongest side at Woodlands Stadium, the coach has given his players the day off as ‘recovery’ is the key word now that much momentum has been gained with those two recent wins.