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New-look SAFFC have an eye on Asia

2009-12-25T16:03:00.000+08:00

Sazali Abdul Aziz
info@sleague.com

The man with the blonde hair looked relaxed, leaning back in his chair as members of the media fired questions at his new head coach sitting beside him. His striking pink track shoes stood out from his team-mates’, and perhaps hinted at the star quality he possesses.

“I like to win,” Niklas Sandberg declared, when asked what he hopes to achieve at his new club. “In the past three years, all the teams I have been in have finished top, and I hope to bring this experience to SAFFC.”

The Swede was one of ten new signings unveiled by S.League champions at Jalan Besar Stadium on Thursday, and is considered an integral part of a new-look SAFFC team which is looking to make an impact not only locally, but in continental competition as well.

Club chairman BG Tung Yui Fai said: “The club have won the S.League title 8 times in fourteen years, and four years in a row. It is an understatement that we are the premier team in the S.League.

“In terms of being the best in the S.League, we have nothing to prove anymore. The target we have set for ourselves now, is to carry the flag for the S.League in the region, in the AFC Champions League (ACL).”

With a renewed focus on the ACL, BG Tung feels that this is reflected in the signings the club has made, with Sandberg arguably the biggest name to sign on in the close season.

The 31-year-old helped CFR Cluj and Stabæk IF to the league championships of Romania and Norway in 2007 and 2008 respectively. He also helped FK Haugesund to the Norwegian second division title earlier this year, and counts his two caps for Sweden earned in January 2007 as one of his proudest achievements.

“I’ve played professional football for many years in Europe – 13 years – and I’m looking for a new challenge, a new adventure. Money is not so important for me right now, I took a big pay cut to join the team,” he explained.

Sandberg has been to Singapore three times since visiting the country on a training tour with AIK Stockholm in 1997, and says the humidity here is a big challenge for him. He is confident though, that he has what it takes to settle in. “In Romania, I played in 40 °C, and then one month later it was -10 °C, so I hope I can adapt,” he smiled.

Uruguayan striker Federico Martínez has also joined from Brazilian Série C side Cabofriense. The rangy attacker laughed – perhaps out of nervousness – after being told that he was brought in to replace three-time defending S.League top-scorer Aleksandar Duric.

“That’s why the job is harder,” he said. “I have to show my fellow players that I can be a good striker, but it is a very hard job to fill the shoes of a great striker.”

Bok though, has no worries about his new signings, and has been impressed with what he has seen so far. He has even likened Martínez to a former SAFFC great: “The thing about Rico is that he can create goals by himself, like Mirko (former striker Mirko Grabovac).”

“I knew he was good in the air, but when we started to do ballwork in training, man, he can shoot. Left foot, right foot, he can take shots well, and this is the type of striker I like,” gushed Bok.

Sandberg and Martínez are joined by former Albirex Niigata (Singapore) midfielder Taisuke Akiyoshi - who rejected a chance to join Albirex’s J-League squad for a training camp to sign on professional terms with SAFFC – and towering Croatian centre-half Ivan Lovric to make up SAFFC’s new foreign signings.

On the local front, the club have also snared six Singaporean players, including Singapore internationals Indra Sahdan and Noh Rahman. The upcoming season is especially important to striker Indra, who feels he has a point to prove.

“09 wasn’t a good season for me, and I am out to show that I have not become a bad player over the course of one year,” he said. “I still have two or three years of good football left in me, and I want to prove I am not over the hill.”

For the club to qualify for the ACL group stage though, they must first defeat Indonesian champions Sriwijaya on 30 January in the first of two playoff matches. If they manage to overcome the Palembang side, they will face either Vietnamese champions SHB Ðà Nẵng or Thai champions Muang Thong United in the second playoff game.

Head coach Richard Bok will need his new charges to gel quickly, and is hoping a training camp in Vietnam will do the trick. The Warriors will be playing V-League sides Đồng Tâm Long An F.C. and Navibank Saigon on 12th and 15th January, respectively.

Bok also took the opportunity to announce his new team captain “for 2010 and beyond” – goalkeeper Shahril Jantan. Duric had been skippering the team for the last two seasons.

“When choosing a captain, you need someone with leadership. Shahril is someone who works well with both sides – the locals and the foreigners – and he fits the bill well,” explained Bok, who added that Daniel Bennett and John Wilkinson will be the team’s new vice-captains.

Shahril himself was humbled by the appointment, but feels he is up to the task. “I accepted the appointment having already played under two good captains in Noor Ali, who was good at rallying the team, and Aleks, who led with his professionalism.

“I don’t think it will distract me from my job as a goalkeeper, and I hope I can do well for the team as captain.”

SAFFC’s new signings: Rezal Hassan (player/goalkeeper coach) Hyrulnizam Juma’at (Young Lions) Noh Rahman (Sengkang Punggol) Ivan Lovric (Gosk KG, Croatia) Syaiful Iskandar (Woodlands Wellington) Niklas Sandberg (FK Haugesund, Norway) Rhysh Roshan Rai (Balestier Khalsa) Taisuke Akiyoshi (Albirex Niigata, Singapore) Indra Sahdan (Sengkang Punggol) Federico Martínez (Cabofriense, Brazil)

New coach Satria enjoying academy attachment

2009-07-09T08:42:00.001+08:00

Tam Cheong Yan
info@sleague.com

For seven years, Satria Mad has diligently served Tampines Rovers as a wingback on the playing field, patrolling the right flank with zeal and industry.

This year, the No.4 has found himself taking on an extra role with the Stags, as a coordinator and coach with the club’s youth academy.

The Tampines Rovers Football Club Soccer Academy, as it is formally known, has been part of the club setup since it was formed in 2003, the brainchild of club chairman Teo Hock Seng and goalkeeper coach Lim Chiew Peng.

Now into its seventh year, the academy has grown under the care of the club’s officials, who have from time to time enlisted the help of players to teach the boys football skills.

The newest addition to the coaching panel is Satria, who had earned his AFC ‘C’ Licence in coaching several years ago but never had a chance to put his learning into practical use.

That chance has now come for the 31-year-old, who has been spending Sunday mornings and evenings at the academy’s training field behind Tampines Stadium every week since 1 March.

Working together with staff coaches Narong Saiket and Hyrizan Jufri, as well as volunteers like Yunos Samad and A. Rangasamy, Satria was clearly enjoying his new job when sleague.com recently paid a visit.

“To tell you the truth, I’m still new to the idea of running an academy,” he said candidly.

“The club management asked me to take over the role this year, to see if I can cope with the work here while playing full-time. I guess it’s the club’s way of looking out for my welfare and my future.

“It has been a big learning experience for me, and one thing I have learnt is that there is a lot of work to do and a lot of sacrifices to be made running an academy. If doing a relatively small project like this takes so much work, imagine running a whole club office!

“Luckily this academy has many veterans running it for the last six years, all of them dedicated to developing youngsters. You never know, maybe out of the 100 or so boys, you may discover one Fandi Ahmad.

“Never mind one Fandi Ahmad, it is not easy to find one Aliff!” he then joked, referring to teammate Aliff Shafaein, the diminutive forward dubbed “The Little Master” for his outstanding on-the-ball technique.

“We get lots of Aliffs in terms of size. Now, we are hoping to find and develop an Aliff in terms of talent!”

Unearthing somebody of Aliff’s calibre may take a while yet, but the academy has not fared too badly in its time, having produced two Singaporean representatives in the ongoing Asian Youth Games in Jeffrey Lightfoot and Adri Adnan.

Having seen the other coaches nurture such bright talents, Satria knows the academy has set itself some high standards to live up to, particularly among parents who may have high expectations.

Fortunately for the newcomer, the pressure has not been on him as he continues to find his feet working with the younger boys.

“I’ve had some feedback about my work, both the good and not-so-good,” he said when asked about how parents have responded to his coaching.

“As a professional player, I’ve to learn to talk to the children at their level. But I think the club sees me as someone who is quite vocal and who can mix with kids, so they put me in charge of the Under-8 and Under-10 groups while the veterans work with the older boys.

“The easy thing about working with kids is they listen, and they like to listen. But their attention span is very short, so you have to keep repeating yourself and be patient.

“So far, I’m happy that the academy is doing well. It has been an enriching experience, and when you see the kids doing what you have taught them to do, you can feel a great sense of satisfaction.”

Apart from putting the boys through weekly training sessions, the academy also organizes its own tournaments and sends teams to take part in competitions held by other organizations, such as Northeast CDC and Singapore Cricket Club.

Boys who do not get to feature in these tournaments can also have their chance to play in specially-organized friendly matches with other football academies, thus ensuring that all of them can enjoy themselves.

The academy’s good work has drawn positive feedback from many participants’ parents, including systems analyst Allan Umandap.

The 32-year-old Filipino, who has been working in Singapore for the last three years, enrolled his 12-year-old son Whilce into the programme in June this year after the boy had learnt of the programmes from his schoolmates at Tampines North Primary School.

Mr. Umandap was visibly pleased as he watched Whilce, who plays for his school, mix comfortably with the 80 or so other boys despite being one of the newer faces at the academy.

“My son picked up football after he came to Singapore, and I thought that since he likes the sport, I’ll support his wish to come here,” he told sleague.com.

“I’m very happy to see him play with the kids here, and I can see he’s enjoying it. That’s really important.

“Actually, he’s always been telling me that he wants to train hard here, so that when he goes back he can play for the Philippines. The training here is better than what we can find back home, and if he does well, he can find opportunities when he goes to college.”

Like Mr. Umandap, technician Mok Kar Loon and his wife spend most Sunday mornings following the training sessions held by the academy.

Their 9-year-old son Shao Yang had completed the first three-month term this year, which was held from March, and has gone on to enroll for a second term.

“My son likes the sport; he’s started watching football since he was five,” revealed Mr. Mok.

“I then found out about this academy when I was surfing the Internet. I decided to have a look at the programme, and I found that it was better than what I initially expected.

“My son was shy about joining at first, but he enjoyed it very much, so we signed him for a second term. He even wanted to pay the registration fees himself instead of letting us pay for him!

“He’s now more outspoken when he is playing, and I can see he’s learnt to make more friends and work with people better. He’s also learnt to read the game better when I bring him to watch games, mostly over here when we watch Tampines Rovers.”

Mr. Mok is not the only parent who has brought his child to Tampines Stadium on S.League matchdays, as sleague.com has learnt. And that can only be good news for Tampines, who enjoy one of the highest average home attendances in the league.

The support from people who participate in the club’s programmes is an important part of the club’s wider plan to increase awareness of and interest in the Stags, as Narong, who also works with the club’s Centre of Excellence, explained.

“The Chairman hopes that, through the academy, we can also promote our team to the children and their parents,” he said.

“We make passes for the children who join the academy so they can come to our S.League matches. When the children want to come, their parents will bring them to the matches, so the parents are also here to watch us.”

“I’ve never taken business management courses when I was in school, but I’ve learnt things like this through working in the academy,” added Satria.

“As players, we used to ask a lot about our pay and our bonuses, but we never knew where all the money or all the fans came from. Now, as a part of the academy, I have come to appreciate what the club is doing not just for the future, but also for us.”

For more information on the Tampines Rovers FC Soccer Academy, please click here.

Tampines Soccer Academy’s boys will feature in a friendly match on 10 July at Jalan Besar Stadium, where they will play against a Global Football Academy team coached by Satria’s teammate Akihiro Nakamura.

Don’t miss the kids in action in the match, which will be a curtain-raiser to the Stags’ highly-anticipated Great Eastern-YEO’S S.League match with Bruneian side DPMM FC

SAFFC vs Gombak United [4-1]

2009-07-09T08:33:00.000+08:00

Warriors toil to overwhelm Gombak

Gary Koh
info@sleague.com

Defending S.League champions Singapore Armed Forces (SAFFC) widened the gap between themselves and the chasing pack at the top when they capitalized on home ground advantage and defensive mistakes to defeat second-placed Gombak United 4-1 at Choa Chu Kang on Tuesday evening.

A second-half brace from skipper Aleksandar Duric, added to earlier goals from John Wilkinson and Park Tae Won, put the Warriors in the driving seat before Thai midfielder Theerawekin Seehawong reduced the deficit late on.

The win put the home side eight points clear at the summit and avenged a 3-1 reverse at Jurong West earlier this season, while Duric pulled away in the goalscorers chart to claim outright leadership at 16 league goals so far.

SAFFC came into the match with several players carrying injuries and knocks. Mustaqim Manzur (concussion) remained sidelined while Thai veteran Therdsak Chaiman (shoulder separation) and Ahmad Latiff Khamarudin (hamstring) were only fit enough to make the bench.

Without regular wingers Mustaqim and Latiff, rightback Hafiz Osman was pushed up into the role as coach Richard Bok fielded a 4-1-4-1 formation to contain their opponents’ powerful attacking line.

After losing 1-2 to Woodlands Wellington at home over the weekend, Gombak coach Darren Stewart rang in several changes to the starting eleven.

Australian midfielder Goran Subara was omitted from the matchday squad and Nigerian forward Ojimi Gabriel Obatola, who was level with Duric on 14 goals in the top scorers chart before the game, was benched after suffering from a personal goal drought.

Bah Mamadou returned to central defence alongside captain Sevki Sha’ban while Emmanuel Emuejeraye slotted in at right wing.

The home side did not have the best of starts on the heavy pitch as they struggled to impose themselves in the game, and were put under constant pressure from the visitors.

They resorted to direct balls that often went straight back to a red shirt and struggled to control and retain possession.

Despite their initial troubles, the Warriors took the lead in the 17^th minute from their first coherent attacking move of the game.

After stretching the Gombak defence from both sides, Wilkinson pounced at the semi-circle to unleash a thunderbolt straight into the top corner.

Bulls goalkeeper Fadhil Salim had to be alert to keep the score at 1-0 midway through the first half, when he had to use his legs to clear Shaiful Esah’s free kick on the right off the line.

At the other end, the visitors continued to pile the pressure as they searched for the equalizer. But either last-minute interceptions or poor finishing from the forwards prevented them from threatening Shahril Jantan’s goal.

The closest they came to pulling level was on 37 minutes, when Nigerian forward Kingsley Njoku sent an Agu Casmir low cross on the side netting with the empty goal at its mercy.

They were undone five minutes before half-time when a calamitous mix-up among their defenders allowed Park to tap in a deflected Duric shot at close range and make it 2-0.

Stewart sent on Fazrul Nawaz in place of Fazli Jaffar after the interval as Gombak tried to retrieve something from the game.

However there was nothing Fazrul could do to help his colleagues when the visitors went three goals down seven minutes after the restart.

Another breakdown in communications within the defence allowed Duric to jog into the six-yard box unmarked and tap home the loose ball for his 15^th league goal of the season.

The veteran forward nearly doubled his tally just after the hour, when his shot off a Hafiz low cross on the right went just wide.

SAFFC were now in command of the proceedings after their labour to go three goals ahead, as they held off the increasingly desperate attempts from their fellow title challengers.

They eventually sealed three points at 4-0 with 13 minutes left when their captain scored off a Park assist, following a quick counter from Hafiz on the right after robbing Gombak leftback Hamqaamal Shah of the ball.

After numerous fruitless attempts to score past Shahril, Theerawekin provided some consolation for the visitors who suffered their second consecutive league defeat when his 35-metre piledriver was deflected into the net three minutes from time.

Bok was delighted with his side’s continued winning streak as they increased their lead at the top of the table.

“The team play, team spirit, hunger and desire, all of them are slowly coming back,” he beamed.

“It was a good effort from the boys and they played simple and to instructions.

“It took a while to settle as Gombak are a tough and physical team, but we showed we are up for it this time round.

“Some of the play we had was good, we displayed nice play and great flow during the game, and hopefully we can keep it up.”

Meanwhile, Stewart felt his team were hard done by with the score but believed the long break ahead would help them overcome the trauma of two straight losses.

“I don’t think we deserve to lose 1-4, let alone go down 0-2 at half-time as the goals then came against the run of play,” lamented the Australian.

“I could not fault the boys, the chances they had and the effort they put in was fantastic though.

“I do not dwell on the decisions made and we cannot look back as what was past was past.

“The only good thing we have now is the 12 days’ break before our next game. This will give us some time to reorganize and regroup.

“The boys will not need much picking up after the losses. They are strong characters and good lads and it will not take long to make them bounce back.”

Woodlands Wellington vs Home United [2-1]

2009-07-09T08:31:00.000+08:00

Rams continue rise with Home scalp

Paul Green
info@sleague.com

Woodlands Wellington are beginning to make their move towards the top half of the Great Eastern-YEO’S S.League ladder, and they are doing it at the expense of teams like Home United, whom they defeated 2-1 at Woodlands Stadium on Tuesday night.

The Rams recorded their second win in a row, following their sensational 2-1 result over Gombak United the previous Saturday, and they put a real dent in the Protectors’ hopes of figuring among the top three or four teams again this season with this sound victory.

Any fears that a depleted Woodlands side might struggle against an experienced Home outfit were quelled as early as the 15th minute, when Singapore defender Precious Emuejeraye fired in a free kick that beat goalkeeper Lionel Lewis all ends up.

The Rams had lost captain Azlan Alipah to an injury sustained during the warm-up, and were already without the injured Hasrin Jailani, plus the suspended pairing of Luis Eduardo Hicks and Syaiful Iskandar.

While it must be mentioned that Protectors midfielder Shahril Ishak also had to pull out of the squad after a mishap during the warm-up, the visitors were really only missing Peres de Oliveira from their best possible lineup, according to their coach PN Sivaji.

“Our first half was very poor,” he said after the game.

“They were much quicker to the ball than we were and there were far too many individuals out there and not enough team work, though, to their credit, the players came back strongly in the second half and I could not fault their effort then.”

But by that stage the damage had been done.

Adding to the brilliantly-struck free kick from Precious 25 yards out, after a ‘silly foul’ had been given away in Sivaji’s words, Woodlands scored a second goal on the half-hour.

Iranian forward Mojtaba Tehranizadeh proved a real handful for the heavily-manned Home United defence throughout the first 45 minutes.

Several moves he was involved in had already led to some narrow misses, before he waltzed through on the right and gave Lewis no chance again with an authoritative finish from 15 yards in the 30th minute.

The ease with which the marauding striker had found his way past the weak challenge of Juma’at Jantan must have alarmed the visitors, who still had the job of containing both he and his striking partner, the Egyptian Zakaria Yousif, for the remaining hour of the game.

Jamil Ali was playing in an unfamiliar role in the middle of the park, too, due to injuries to others in the Woodlands squad, but he figured in some important moves and was, significantly, the man brought down by Itimi Dickson when the free kick that led to the opening goal was awarded.

Jamil clipped a good chance over the bar in the 19th from the Iranian’s cross and had another good shot blocked in the 32nd, but the home team’s dominance withered markedly after the break.

A more resolute Protectors side could see that the Rams were sitting back, hoping to catch them on the counterattack, but nothing dangerous materialised as Home made all the running after the break.

Home, however, were denied at least a share of the spoils and possibly a come-from-behind victory due to the superb saves of Rams goalkeeper Rezal Hassan.

The stand-in captain made at least three crucial saves in the last half-hour to ensure the points would not slip away from his team’s grasp.

In addition, he cut out cross after cross with alacrity and was beaten only once, Norikazu Murakami getting another goal against the Rams to add to the hat-trick he collected in the teams’ previous meeting at the end of March.

Murakami and his lively strike partner, Kengne Ludovick, were both out of luck, either firing wide when well-placed or seeing defenders coming to the Rams’ rescue with well-timed tackles.

Murakami’s goal in the 71st, when it came, was spectacular.

A corner won on the right saw the ball quickly played short to Dickson, whose sweeping cross was latched onto by the Protectors No.9 with an overhead scissors kick that finally saw Rezal beaten from 12 yards.

There was still time for Home to win the game and every effort was made to achieve that objective, but when Ludovick could not converge with the best timing on the perfect cross from Dickson in the 74th and Valery Hiek’s stoppage-time free kick was tipped expertly over the bar, the visitors knew it was not to be their day.

Rams coach Nenad Bacina was a very happy man at the end.

“The players worked very hard for this result,” he said.

“Not just tonight but in many of our earlier games where we did not have any luck. Tonight we are getting the benefit of all our hard work at last.

“Tonight it was Home United who had none of the luck, but with our captain missing and two players in strange positions it was an excellent performance by the team against one of the best teams in the league.”

A week ago the Rams were among the strugglers in ninth place. Now they are on a roll, having moved on to 22 points and into seventh spot.

With a weekend home game to come against Balestier Khalsa they must fancy their chances of drawing level with the Protectors, who have 25 points and sit in fifth spot.

Home must now lick their wounds and return to Clementi Stadium on Saturday night to send Geylang United away pointless, so that they can at least keep the momentum going on their own turf.

Woodlands Wellington vs Home United

2009-07-06T10:07:00.000+08:00

Rams set sights on Home

Paul Green
info@sleague.com

Woodlands Wellington will be gunning for another big-name scalp when they host Home United on Tuesday night.

Nenad Bacina’s Rams have notched wins against SAFFC, Gombak United and DPMM FC this season, and Home will be aware of their threat at the Woodlands stadium.

Two home wins inside a week may have boosted the Protectors’ points tally and propelled them into fifth spot, but the true test of their aspirations is when they are on the road and their latest loss at Gombak, little over a week ago, does not inspire too much confidence.

It is going to be a task-and-a-half for coach PN Sivaji and his men, a crunch match if ever there was one.

Failure to deliver here and the tag of the Great Eastern-YEO’s S.League’s ‘worst travellers’ could easily be slapped on them.

Win this one and the full weight of expectation of their fans will return, pressure that the players may learn to thrive on.

A full-strength side delivered twice at home, but a weakened one lost at Gombak.

Fielding a full-strength starting eleven again here is a tall order for the club after their recent heavy programme.

Home can hardly take comfort from beating Woodlands 4-0 at Clementi Stadium at their last meeting as we now know the Protectors have struggled to reproduce that same form away from home.

There is a perception that home advantage in Singapore is over-rated at times, but here is one club that still has to prove it is as easy to win on the grounds of their opponents as on their own.

Woodlands, on the other hand, have been inconsistent at their own headquarters and are keen now to show more sound form on their own turf.

Losses in their last two home games hardly inspire confidence among the Woodlands faithful, but two earlier wins at Woodlands Stadium showed what the side was capable of.

After drawing their opening three home matches it was not until they faced DPMM that the Rams broke through for their first win on home soil.

By then it was almost the end of May and valuable ground had been lost, despite a sensational 3-2 win away to SAFFC and a nail-biting 1-0 at Toa Payoh against Balestier Khalsa.

Having beaten three of the top sides at least once this season, Tampines and Home United are the only prized scalps left to claim.

The Rams will be going all out to address that on Tuesday night.

A draw at Tampines and Balestier is the best Home United have so far managed from eight road trips.

Furthermore they have failed to score a goal in five of those encounters.

These are issues coach Sivaji and his men will be well aware of, of course, and anxious to address.

Where will the goals come from? Peres de Oliveira has not been at his imperious best this term, though he has weighed in with a few goals occasionally.

Increasingly, it seems, the scoring has to come from the midfield these days, or perhaps from Norikazu Murakami, who has come off the bench in the latest two home games.

Kengne Ludovick has begun to find the net again so maybe he can produce the goods again this time? The Cameroonian has now notched nine and could be poised to strike a rich vein of scoring form.

It was he and Murakami who netted last time against the Rams so history may repeat.

A big contribution from the Japanese star is likely to tip the scales in favour of the visitors, who were grateful for the three goals the former SAFFC and Balestier man put away in the first meeting between these teams which finished 4-0 to the Protectors.

Watch out Woodlands if he strikes similar form!

Nenad Bacina, the Rams’ coach this season, knows it will not be easy.

“We are confident of success against Home United on Tuesday,” he told sleague.com on Sunday morning after his side had beaten Gombak 2-1 the previous night.

“I know they beat us 4-0 the last time, but we held them to 0-0 at half-time and they only scored twice from set-pieces to get their noses in front and we’ll be guarding against a repeat of that this time.

“I only have four players in my squad who played regular first team football for any club last season; so even if we have some older players we do not have the same experience as many of the other sides.

Chilean Luis Eduardo Hicks, red-carded at Jurong West after collecting two cautions, and his fellow defender Syaiful Iskandar, who picked up his fourth caution of the season against the Bulls on Saturday night, will need to sit out the game against the Protectors.

“I’d been hoping to rest Azlan (Alipah, captain of the Rams) for the Gombak game, but there was an ankle injury to Hasrin Jailani just before half time so I had no choice but to bring on the skipper, and now I can’t rest him due to suspensions as well.

Squad players Kamal Nasir and midfielder Asraf Abdul Rashid will be the most likely replacements for the suspended and injured players, with the latter likely to fill in at left back.

“We were badly affected by the build-up of games during the League Cup and right afterwards so we were unable to do much on fitness maintenance with the players,” the coach explained.

“I think the fact that we finally did some work on that after the SAFFC match contributed a great deal to our success at Jurong West.

“Motivation alone was not the key to winning that; it was general fitness.

“Now we and Home United are in the same position after both playing on Saturday night and our ability to play for eight minutes of stoppage time at Gombak with only ten men showed how important it was for us to be fit.

“We scored both our goals towards the end which shows you how we were able to keep going the whole game.

“This result has given us a lot of confidence ahead of our next match and even with some players out I still feel we can get a result.

“A lack of consistency has been our main obstacle to getting better results and we’ll be hoping to improve on that on Tuesday,” he laughed.

“Jamil Ali came on and scored the winner for us and many may have wondered why he did not start last time.

“It is all about keeping players fresh, so that tactic proved correct for us on Saturday night,” he pointed out.

Fans will be looking towards Iranian striker Mojtaba Tehranizadeh and Egyptian Zakaria Yousif for big contributions as the pair look to set the S.League alight. The latter netted again in the Gombak game and is getting into his stride now.

Although the pair have only three goals apiece they are beginning to forge a promising partnership and more goals seem certain to flow.

This match at Woodlands Stadium on Tuesday night could define the season for either club, something that neither coach would surely deny.

Sengkang Punggol vs DPMM FC

2009-07-06T10:06:00.001+08:00

Aide looks to push Dolphins on

Mohd Sham
info@sleague.com

Sengkang caretaker coach Aide Iskandar is aiming to translate their encouraging recent form into a morale boosting win when they welcome title pretenders Brunei DPMM at the Hougang Stadium on Monday evening.

Former national skipper Aide, who holds temporary reigns of first team affairs following the exit of former incumbent Jorg Steinebrunner, has overseen an impressive 1-1 draw against Tampines Rovers and a narrow 2-3 defeat at the hands of the Super Reds.

While acknowledging that news of the departures of both their former German honcho and former chairman Ben Lim departure caused more than a few ripples within the camp, Aide was keen to move on.

“The news definitely came as a shock to the team and we had a meeting where we discussed about it but we have moved on,” he explained.

“At the end of the day, we have to be professionals and do our job and the team morale is good and we have responded as proven in our past two matches.”

Aide also spelt out his notion that regardless of the managerial changes, every player should be inclined to give nothing less than 110% percent on the pitch.

“We shouldn’t talk about the past and we must look towards the future with 18 games left to go,” said Aide.

“Each and every individual here are trying their best to do their job and at the end of the day, they need to justify their place in the team regardless of whether a coach leaves.”

While the decorated defender admitted that DPMM would represent a huge challenge for his charges, Aide expressed his belief that their performance during their clash against the very opponents in March would give them cause for optimism.

“DPMM have clearly shown that they are no pushovers and their coach has done a great job.

“They have good foreign players and also have a few good local players and the main thing about them is that they are a very hardworking and collective side.

“But we had our chances the last time we played them but we didn’t finish them off and be ruthless.

“We have to take our chances and scoring goals is the only way to win games so we have to take any chances that come our way.”

Aide admitted that he is enjoying in his current capacity as first team coach.

“So far, so good and I have enjoyed the last two games,” he added.

“My ‘A’ licence coaching course has really helped me in terms of handling the professional side of things and the support from the players and the chairman has helped a lot too.”

DPMM would be hoping to continue their fine form which has seen them yield back-to-back wins against Geylang United and Balestier Khalsa in the aftermath of being crowned as League Cup champions.

Currently perched in fourth place, the Brunei outfit can propel to second spot should they take advantage of their game in hand and triumph against the Dolphins.

Sengkang will be without the suspended duo of Noh Rahman and Nor Azli Yusoff, while Hiroyuki Yamamoto is carrying a hamstring niggle along with Anthony Bahadur.

DPMM’s Algerian forward Abdel Hamid Berguiga sits this match out through suspension, as does wide midfielder Haji Subhi Abdilah.

Geylang United vs Balestier Khalsa [2-0]

2009-07-06T10:02:00.001+08:00

Masrezwan strike caps Geylang victory

Cheryl Lim
info@sleague.com

Geylang United striker Masrezwan Masturi celebrated his first home appearance in Bedok Stadium for the 2009 Great Eastern-YEO’s S.League season with a goal as his team overcame Balestier Khalsa 2-0 on Sunday evening.

He had featured at Tampines Stadium as a substitute last week following a long layoff, but lasted much longer this time as a starter to mark his return in impactful style.

Captain Noor Ali opened the scoring for Geylang in the fifth minute before Masrezwan added another on the stroke of half-time, as the Eagles picked up their first S.League win in over a month.

On a waterlogged pitch which saw the kickoff delayed by almost 25 minutes due to wet weather, Masrezwan, who had just recovered from an anterior cruciate ligament injury which kept him away from action for nearly ten months, had the first shot of the game as he sent the ball over the bar.

Minutes later, American Seth Galloway fouled the 28-year-old on the left of the outside of the penalty box, to which referee Johan Jahari reacted by awarding the Eagles a freekick.

Up stepped the wily Noor Ali, and he sent the ball floating past everyone in the box into the far end of goal to give Geylang an early lead.

Unwilling to give up at such a premature stage, Balestier tried to respond by making the effort to surge forward. Midfielder Anantha Rajan’s through pass found Rizawan Abdullah, who did well to prevent the ball from rolling over the touchline, but his attempt to send it back deeper into the field was foiled by Walid Lounis.

Noor could have added to his personal tally in the 17^th minute after receiving a pass from Miroslav Latiak, but he hit the left post as the Balestier defence scrambled to clear the danger.

The action soon turned to the other end of the pitch, as Anantha saw his attempt tipped away over the crossbar by goalkeeper Yazid Yasin.

Moments later, Ednardo Moura’s header missed the target by inches despite him being well-positioned in front of the net, after a good move from Faizal Amir saw him feeding Anantha on the right, who passed it on to Moura.

Former Super Reds player Kim Jae Hong almost commemorated his first game for the Eagles with a goal after picking up an aimless cross from Syed Thaha near the sideline, only to see Lee Heng Huat somehow fumble the ball before the Tigers defence completed the clearance.

Just before the break, Masrezwan struck off a good through pass by Noor Ali, skipping past Lee and beat Jufri Taha to slide the ball into goal to double Geylang’s lead.

Despite the wet conditions, the game still managed to proceed smoothly as both teams attempted to make their moves forward.

First, Kim sent a free kick directly into Lee’s hands, and then Yazid parried away Anantha’s long shot.

A far pass from Anantha’s replacement Aloysius Yap on 62 minutes then found Moura, who ran down the left flank and made a cross into the middle, but nobody was in a position to receive the ball as Balestier wasted an opportunity to pull a goal back.

Geylang looked to cement their victory in the closing stages of the game with a third goal, as Latiak’s searching pass found Noor Ali at the far post. The Eagles captain sent in a low cross to Lounis, but the latter allowed the ball through underneath his legs.

Lee then pushed it out, only for Ashrin Shariff, who had come on for Masrezwan, to slide the ball out for a harmless goal kick.

Noor Ali next opted not to send his corner into the crowded 18-yard box but to Latiak who was outside, and the latter tried from distance but failed to threaten Balestier’s net.

Deep into injury time, a neat one-two between Noor Ali and Ashrin saw the former running in to blast a shot over the woodwork, and he claimed the last piece of action with an off-target free kick.

Ultimately, it was a case of Balestier failing to give any real response despite putting up a valiant performance.

Geylang coach Mike Wong was a relieved man as his team picked up their first win in three league games.

“We have two new players, Masrezwan – who is considered new as he just came back from injury – and Kim, who was a little bit off and not strong enough, and I expected more from him.

“No matter which players I rotate, I still have to maintain the shape of the team. Our next games against Super Reds and Home United will not be easy, but we have to go according to what we can do.

“Our target was three points, no matter if we play good or bad football, we need to get losses out of our way. We have a target of the number of points we want to get at the end of the season, not only three points in a game.

“When we were 1-0 up, we got a bit complacent. Luckily we got a second goal, and in the second half we hoped to get things tight.

“Balestier were like us when we came back from Brunei for the game against Tampines Rovers, maybe due to not being used to travelling,” Wong suggested.

Nasaruddin Jalil acknowledged that the travel issue was a possible explanation for the loss.

“It was a tough game especially after coming back from Brunei. Travelling made it difficult for players to recover,” he said.

“We had a suspension (to Julio Eduardo) and injuries – Rhysh (Roshan Rai) and Mushthafa (Kamal) have long term injuries and Hafez (Mawasi) got injured against Super Reds which was why he did not travel to Brunei.

“So a lot of reshuffling to the team has to be done, but the boys did well. The fixtures do not help but it is the same for every team.”

Nasaruddin refused to blame the bad weather, focusing on what can be improved in his squad instead as he looks to make some deals in the ongoing mid-season transfer window.

“Geylang also played in the same conditions as us,” he remarked.

“We were not getting into the box as much as I want. After conceding an early goal in the first half, it was tough to get back when we did not get into the box in the first ten minutes. It was even worse when we could not get an early goal in the second half.

“I have no complaints about the players, as we played well in the first half, but the shape of the team was lost when Anantha came out in the second half. Today’s game was not good not at the way we lost, but we were totally out of the game in the second half which was tough for us.

“Our team upfront is still not threatening, and this is an area which hopefully we can correct in the transfer window. We need to find a solution to strengthen our attack.

“We have players who came for trials, and we have to see who can blend in.”

Gombak United vs Woodlands Wellington [1-2]

2009-07-06T08:52:00.000+08:00

Ten-man Rams stun Gombak

Gary Koh
info@sleague.com

Gombak United failed to close the gap at the top of the league standings when they succumbed to 10-man Woodlands Wellington 1-2 at Jurong West on Saturday evening.

Agu Casmir gave the home side the lead in the 62^nd minute, but late goals from Egyptian forward Zakaria Yousif and substitute Jamil Ali ensured the Rams leave the ground with three points.

The loss left the second-placed Bulls five points adrift of leaders Singapore Armed Forces ahead of the two teams’ meeting on Tuesday at Choa Chu Kang.

It also gave fellow title contenders DPMM FC and Tampines Rovers the real possibility of overtaking them in subsequent games after the Warriors game.

The home side were without centreback Bah Mamadou, who was serving a one-match ban, but welcomed captain Sevki Sha’ban back into the team after his suspension in the previous match.

Recent signing Fazrul Nawaz was named on the bench as coach Darren Stewart went with the attacking quartet of Agu, Ruhaizad Ismail and Nigerians Kingsley Njoku and Ojimi Gabriel Obatola.

Woodlands goalkeeper Rezal Hassan was given the skipper’s armband on his return after recovering from flu, while regulars Azlan Alipah and Jamil were omitted from the starting eleven.

Gombak endured a frustrating night in attack from start to finish as they seemed to have left their shooting boots elsewhere and struggled to find a way to break past the Woodlands defence.

They barely threatened Rezal in the first half as hopeful attempts by midfielder Shafuan Sutohmoh and Njoku failed to find the target.

The frustrations on their inability to score began to boil over later as they resorted to physical challenges at the blue shirts.

One such challenge by Njoku on Woodlands midfielder Hasrin Jailani outside the box towards the end of the period resulted in the latter picking up an injury and an early substitution by Azlan.

The Rams replacement was immediately called into action as he cleared Goran Subara’s header off a Jaslee Hatta free kick close to the goalline to keep the score goalless at half-time.

Woodlands were clearly more determined and fired-up to get a result after the break as they took the game to Gombak early in the second half.

Bulls goalkeeper Fadhil Salim had to be alert minutes after the restart to keep out a dangerous cross and an accurate long-range shot in quick succession.

Rams rightback Anaz Hadee came close to giving the visitors the lead in the 55^th minute when he latched on a Jalal cross on the left to shoot. His attempt not only beat Fadhil, but also the goalframe as well.

With just half an hour remaining, Woodlands coach Nenad Bacina sent on Jamil in place of Ismadi Mukhtar as he sought greater penetration in attack.

But it was Gombak who took the lead when Shafuan fed a through pass to Casmir, who powered past the Rams centreback pairing of Precious Emuejeraye and Daniel Hammond before shooting past an onrushing Rezal into the net.

The visitors remained unfazed by the setback and continued to press forward in search of the equalizer against their opponents, who were apparently content to sit back with the advantage.

With less than 15 minutes to go, Yousif launched a snap shot outside the box that had Fadhil scrambling to keep the ball on the line.

The Egyptian striker did not have to wait long for another chance, as he found himself onside and was afforded time and space in the box to finish off a Jalal cross on the left and level the score.

Fadhil had to be alert to prevent his side from trailing as he snuffed out another long-range screamer from Anaz moments after the equalizer.

After spending more than half a year recovering from a serious injury suffered last season, Fazrul finally made his first appearance for Gombak when he replaced Ruhaizad on 81 minutes.

The home side were later given a numerical advantage, when Chilean midfielder Luis Eduardo Hicks was given his second yellow card of the game after fouling Shafuan outside the box.

From the resulting free kick, they thought they won the game when Obatola bundled the ball over the line after a rebound flick-on from Casmir in the box.

But the leading club scorer fouled Rezal on the line en route to placing the ball into goal, leading to the enraged goalkeeper chasing him for nearly half the length of the pitch for his troubles.

The no-goal was to prove costly for Gombak as Woodlands snatched the winner with two minutes to spare.

Hammond received a long punt from Azlan and beat the offside trap to cross on the left for an onrushing Jamil to score past Fadhil at close range.

The Rams withstood an increased onslaught from the home side and held on to three points that pushed them up to mid-table.

Bacina was pleased his faith in the team to perform paid off with the win.

“Although we were facing a good opponent in second-placed Gombak, I was optimistic and confident tonight,” said the Croat coach.

“It was a close game for both teams and we were a bit lucky tonight. Previously they equalized in the last minute; this time, it was our turn to do so.”

He was also happy at the determination his men came from behind to snatch victory from defeat at the death.

“The game is never over until the final whistle,” he continued.

“We never gave up, showed character and proved we could handle the top teams in the league.

“In defence, it is not just about the defenders alone. Once we lose the ball, we are all defenders. Despite the mistake that cost us the goal, we did well in defence and attack.

“We closed their forwards down and created some chances ourselves, which we got two. In the end, we deserved the three points.”

Match-winner Jamil was singled out for praise in his contribution towards victory.

“I have to rotate my players with many games coming up and putting Jamil on the bench is a tactical decision,” said Bacina.

“Jamil can bring something new with his creativity. In the League Cup, he also came on and changed things for us twice, and so far bringing him on has worked.”

His Gombak counterpart Stewart was unhappy at the final outcome of a game in which he believed his men could have done better.

“Well done to Woodlands, the result was very disappointing although I was satisfied with the performance,” said the Australian.

“We have another game coming up and we cannot afford to have our heads down after the defeat, but look forward to the next one.

“The only thing I am pleased for is Fazrul coming back into action and having had some football tonight after having a long lay-off.”

Home United vs Young Lions [3-2]

2009-07-06T08:51:00.000+08:00

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.

Brunei DPMM FC vs Balestier Khalsa

2009-07-01T20:28:00.000+08:00

DPMM aim to go third

Rano Iskandar
info@sleague.com

DPMM FC can regain third spot in the Great Eastern-YEO’S S.League should they beat bottom side Balestier Khalsa at the Hassanal Bolkiah Stadium on Wednesday evening.

Given their perfect record at home, that sounds clear-cut enough.

But the recently-crowned League Cup winners are unwilling to take any team lightly, even one currently at the lowest rung of the league table.

As Vjeran Simunic, DPMM’s coach had said once before, “We respect every team in the S.League and we treat them equally.”

Little else has been mentioned on this match, but expect Simunic and the team to be fired up as their first season in the S.League approaches the halfway mark.

The Wasps currently lie fourth in the league, and will join all the other teams on 16 games each after completing their match against Balestier.

DPMM will be missing two key players in Azwan Salleh (suspension) and Ivan Jerkovic (surgery), which means that Oh Ddog Yi and Hardi Bujang will likely take their spots in the first eleven.

The absence of Jerkovic may prove tricky to compensate for, but the team can take heart from their 3-0 victory over Geylang United last week, which was also achieved without the midfielder.

Indeed, it will take more than ordinary tactics for any team to steal points at the Hassanal Bolkiah Stadium.

Could Balestier - a team that has slain giants in the past - be DPMM’s bogey team or will it be business as usual for the confident hosts?

DPMM keen to continue winning streak.

2009-07-01T09:56:00.001+08:00

DPMM FC will be looking to extend their magnificent run of form when they face S-League basement dwellers Balestier Khalsa tonight at the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium.

After beating Geylang Utdlast Wednesday 3-0 at the same venue, DPMM FC are looking to keep on the heels of their opponents as they lie in third place in the S-League, just two points adrift of leaders Gombak FC and a point behing defending champions SAF FC. The team have been great on home soil as they have gain all three points so far at home."We respect our opponents and know that it will not be an easy game at most of the teams are looking to beat us and get good results since we are the new team in the league," said DPMM head coach Vjeran Simunic.

"We have to concentrate on getting points but every game will get tougher as we are missing some of our key players. Every game from here on is important as we need the points to have any chance of winning the league.We just have to keep the same attitude and try to get the best results," added Simunic.

Simunic is expecting more supporters to come and to support the team and they will be heading out to Singapore for two away matches after this game.

DPMM's next game will be on July 6 against Sengkang Punggol at the Hougang Stadium, Singapore.

Woodlands Wellington vs SAFFC [1-4]

2009-07-01T09:51:00.001+08:00

Duric and Wilkinson double up on Woodlands

Aaron Ong
info@sleague.com

Singapore internationals Aleksandar Duric and John Wilkinson scored two apiece to lead SAFFC to a convincing 4-1 victory over hosts Woodlands Wellington on Tuesday evening, the win lifting the Warriors back to the top of the S.League standings.

The result had to be accomplished without midfielder Mustaqim Manzur, who had suffered a head injury in the Warriors’ win over the Young Lions just three days ago. Syed Karim filled in for Mustaqim on the right flank, with SAFFC head coach Richard Bok not making any further adjustments.

His counterpart Nenad Bacina made changes at both ends of the field, picking Ahmadulhaq Che Omar in goal ahead of veteran Rezal Hassan, and going with Egyptian Zakaria Yousif in the lone striker’s role, Iranian Mojtaba Tehranizadeh dropping to the bench.

With the Rams having had eight days since their last match, it was not much of a surprise to see the hosts start the match looking the fresher of the two teams.

Just four minutes in, a slide rule pass from Ismadi Mukhtar found Jamil Ali clean through on goal. However, the 25-year-old winger placed his shot too close to Shahril Jantan, the SAFFC keeper gathering on the second attempt.

The threat of Jamil was not heeded, as the attacker found himself one-on-one with the keeper once more a mere two minutes later. This time Jamil’s shot bulged the net, but his celebrations were cut short by the linesman’s flag indicating offside.

The Rams were made to rue those missed opportunities, as SAFFC took the lead on the quarter-hour mark. Zulfadli Zainal Abidin’s pinpoint cross was met by a towering header from Duric, which crashed past Ahmadulhaq emphatically.

Spurred on by the goal, the Warriors started to turn the screw on the match. Wilkinson was unlucky to see his reactive backheel go straight into the Woodlands keeper’s arms, after Park Tae Won’s cross had deflected into his path.

The midfielder was not to be denied on 32 minutes. Therdsak Chaiman’s visionary chip over the top was executed to perfection, leaving Wilkinson with the easy task of lobbing the onrushing Ahmadulhaq.

Duric was to find himself in a similar position just a minute later, after Park had lifted the ball over the top. This time, however, the lanky striker failed to extend his team’s lead, putting the ball just over the crossbar.

The home team would be thrown a lifeline five minutes before the break.

Razaleigh Khalik was adjudged to have pushed over Yousif in the box, as the striker attempted to get onto Anaz Hadee’s cross. Daniel Hammond stepped up to slot past Shahril, halving the deficit and becoming Woodlands’ top scorer in the process.

Suddenly the Warriors were on the back foot. However, Yousif wasted a glorious chance on the stroke of halftime, by taking one touch too many when a simple pass would have put Jamil through on goal.

With such a rousing end to the half, most of the home crowd would have been confident of their side bringing it to the visitors in the second half, in search of the equaliser.

However, quick thinking from Therdsak on the hour mark was to douse any hopes of a comeback. His quickly taken freekick found Wilkinson open in the box, and the midfielder stroked the ball just inside the near post for his second of the match.

The attacking prowess shown in the first half by Woodlands was sadly missing, as the Rams found it difficult to carve out any chances in the attacking third. Long ball after long ball was launched forward, and Yousif was becoming increasingly frustrated with his inability to latch on to most of them.

He was to be replaced by Tehranizadeh ten minutes from time, though that substitution was to have little effect on the rest of the game as SAFFC struck once again.

If the second goal was similar to the third goal, then the fourth goal was a carbon copy of the first. Two minutes from time, Duric was once again left on his own in the box, and the 38-year-old nodded home another pinpoint cross to seal yet another victory for the Warriors.

“I must congratulate SAFFC, as they were the better team on the day,” conceded Woodlands coach Bacina.

“But it is certainly no shame losing to them, who are the current champions.

“We made mistakes in preparations for the game, and lost out both physically and tactically. I must take my share of responsbility for losing the game,” admitted the Croat.

Bok was understandably much more pleased with his side’s performance.

“I thought we played a really good game, and everybody followed their instructions. We attacked down the flanks, got in crosses, and we were also tight at the back,” he commented.

Bok also pointed out how shutting out Jamil Ali was crucial to winning the game.

“He is a key player, and we identified that before the game. We gave him a bit too much room in the first half, but in the second half we cut out that supply line to the forwards.

Lastly, Bok took time out to praise veteran midfielder Therdsak, who created both goals for Wilkinson. The Thai had only recently come back from injury.

“He is a player who knows how to control the tempo of the game, and he has great vision. It’s certainly great to have him back!” proclaimed Bok.

While the return of Therdsak was much welcome, the Warriors have injury doubts over Mustaqim and Daniel Bennett, the latter suffering a knee injury late in this game.

They are rated as doubtful for SAFFC’s next clash against Albirex Niigata (Singapore) in three days, but this win would certainly have put the squad in the best frame of mind, as they continue their push for the league title.

Home United vs Albirex Niigata [3-1]

2009-07-01T09:48:00.000+08:00

Home breathe again with win over Albirex

Ong Jiing Yih
info@sleague.com

Home United injected new hope into their domestic campaign on Tuesday evening as they claimed a comprehensive 3-1 win over Albirex Niigata (Singapore) at Clementi Stadium.

Peres de Oliveira, Tengku Mushadad and Valery Hiek all scored to clinch the points for the hosts, with Kenji Adachiara claiming a consolation for Albirex a minute from time.

It was just the result Home needed, after a recent slump in form saw them crash out of the AFC Cup before bowing meekly to Gombak United over the weekend.

But all such fears were dispelled for the moment with an assured display over an Albirex side that ultimately looked short on ideas up front.

Still, it took some industrious defending for the Protectors to hold on to their result, as captain S. Subramani and national goalkeeper Lionel Lewis, who were both restored to the starting eleven, stood strong against the determined Japanese outfit.

Albirex would have good reason to feel they should have got more out of the match, considering the manner of their start.

Showing some strong control from the first whistle, they tested Lewis early on through Tetsuya Kishida and Kunihiro Honda, although neither managed to hit the back of the Home net.

But once Home settled down, they got down to business quickly going forward, and it should have come as no surprise that they claimed the first goal of the match on 11 minutes.

The versatile Isa Halim, deployed at rightback for this match as Rosman Sulaiman covered for Juma’at Jantan on the other flank, sent in a cross that was aimed at Oliveira.

Inexplicably, the usually unflappable Takatoshi Uchida neglected to mark the Brazilian, allowing the latter to power a diving header past the exposed Yoshito Matsushita.

The goal stung the White Swans into searching for a response, an endeavour they performed with much enthusiasm and industry.

Working the ball around to good effect and constantly getting into good positions, they forced Home to give away a succession of freekicks on the edge of the box.

One such instance in the 26th minute saw Taisuke Akiyoshi bend his freekick well towards the goal, only to be denied by a stretching Lewis.

The game gradually opened up as both sets of players appeared to get into the swing of things, and Oliveira could have had his second of the night on 41 minutes but for the crossbar’s intervention.

A storming run by Itimi Dickson and some unselfish play by Kengne Ludovick allowed the Home veteran to get a chance to shoot, but there was to be no joy on this occasion as the ball struck the horizontal.

The second goal eventually came for the Protectors on the stroke of half-time, albeit from an unexpected source.

Collecting a pass from Ludovick, Tengku sprinted past his marker and showed a good eye for goal as he blasted past a desperately diving Matsushita from 20 yards out.

Albirex came out with renewed optimism for the second period, and Uchida came close to pulling a goal back when his firm header on 59 minutes required some strong defending by Isa on the line.

The Japanese side almost went three goals down a minute later though, when Tengku struck the ball wonderfully, only to see the dipping ball skim the top of the bar with Matsushita floundering.

Despite the scares at the back, it was the White Swans’ poor finishing up front that let them down.

A quick exchange of passes between Akiyoshi and Honda culminated in a through pass to the latter, who looked all set for a toe-poke past Lewis, only for Lewis to block the shot with his legs.

That miss would ultimately come back to haunt them on 66 minutes, when another leaky moment at the back was to prove the decisive blow.

Shi launched a corner delivery into the box that found a free Shahril Ishak, whose nodded pass affored Hiek the simplest of headers as he connected in mid-air to bury the effort past Matsushita.

Even at 3-0 up, the hosts still had some defending to do as Albirex kept up the attacking pressure in hope of cashing in on a slip into complacency.

With 20 minutes to go, the Protectors had another close shave after Kishida’s hooked effort bounced just across the face of goal.

Determined to put together a strong finish to the game, Albirex sent on Akira Takase and Atsushi Shimono, and both came close to getting a goal with efforts that offered Lewis some serious tests.

Adachihara too had an attempt denied, but the Albirex captain netted for his side a minute before time when he latched on to a Kishida cross right on the line.

Despite seeing his team score a goal, Albirex head coach Naoki Naruo was visibly disappointed as he spoke to sleague.com.

“Tried as hard as they did for this game, the players couldn’t play our style of football in the first half.

“We showed little resistance once they scored but we could have made a difference had we got a goal first.”

That first goal was crucial to Protectors coach PN Sivaji, as he revealed in his post-match analysis.

“We controlled the game and there was full of energy and running; any lack of fitness were compensated by hard work,” he noted.

“We really needed the early goal – had we let the opposition come they’ll throw more at us. Once we settled down I saw an eagerness to attack.

“Lionel did well and made a lot of saves. Had it not been for him the score could have been otherwise.”

Sengkang Punggol vs Tampines Rovers [1-1]

2009-06-26T09:44:00.000+08:00

Alam Shah salvages point at Hougang

Cheryl Lim
info@sleague.com

Noh Alam Shah’s equalizer three minutes from time saw Tampines Rovers grab a point at Hougang Stadium as they drew 1-1 with Sengkang Punggol on Thursday evening.

The strike cancelled out Hiroyuki Yamamoto’s sixth-minute header, which for a good 81 minutes gave hopes of a full three points to a team which needed a booster after a disappointing League Cup campaign earlier in the month, especially after personnel changes in the club management.

Sengkang’s captain-cum-assistant coach Aide Iskandar was appointed caretaker coach just a day before the match, alongside with businessman Bill Ng, who took over Ben Lim as the club’s new chairman.

With Murphy Wiredu suspended, Aide opted to include Mamadou Diallo ahead of his elder brother Abdoulaye to complement Indra Sahdan Daud and Anthony Bahadur upfront, while for Tampines, having Noh Alam Shah on the bench meant Aliff Shafaein would support Qiu Li in attack.

Tampines sounded a warning from kickoff, with the fast-paced Ridhuan Muhammad charging down the right flank before Yamamoto cleared the danger.

The resulting corner fell to the feet of Stags skipper Fahrudin Mustafic, who curled the ball into the arms of Amos Boon.

Sengkang replied almost immediately with captain-of-the-night Indra shooting off target, while two minutes later he turned provider for Bahadur who beat the offside trap and sprinted, but Hassan Sunny was up to the job as he came out of his line to clear.

The Dolphins then took the early lead in sensational fashion after Yamamoto headed in Diallo’s corner, which took the match to a fast and furious state within seconds.

Tampines looked desperate to restore parity while the host aimed to increase their advantage, seeing Indra curling into Hassan’s arms from distance.

Aliff missed a great opportunity to equalize after he headed Sutee Suksomkit’s cross from left off-target on 16 minutes, while at the other end of the pitch early substitute Shane Neubronner managed to get past Seiji Kaneko and whip in a cross from the left, which Hassan again handled well.

Alam Shah was introduced onto the field on 32 minutes in place of midfielder Shukor Zailan to boost Tampines’ frontline, but the Dolphins were able to keep their feet firmly on the ground to keep the Stags at bay.

Bahadur then missed a close tap-in just before the break, while Qiu wrapped up the first half with his shot saved by Boon.

Sengkang continued to fire warnings of their intent after half-time, Diallo beating Benoit Croissant to make a pass to Bahadur who failed to make it meaningful. The ball then fell to Indra who miskicked and sent it into air.

Indra then saw his freekick tipped over the bar by Hassan in the 58^th minute, in yet another heart-stopping moment for the 1,602-strong crowd.

Tampines surged forward looking for the elusive equalizer, creating chances after chance, but were unable to break down the opposition defence despite the relentless assaults.

Qiu first saw his shot from the left miss the target, and then he was unlucky to hit the crossbar in the 78^th minute as the Sengkang defence hurriedly cleared the ball away.

The resulting corner did not turn out to be any better as it was kept away from the crowded penalty zone, but it strayed to the path of Sutee who crossed the ball back into the middle, meeting Mustafic outside the box.

The latter then let in a shocker which eluded everyone in the box into Boon, who struggled to keep the ball in his hands but managed to recover before Alam Shah could capitalize on the situation.

The moment for Tampines eventually came three minutes from time, when Alam Shah unleashed a powerful stunner inside the penalty area to bulge the back of the net and rescue a point for his side.

Having pulled a goal back late in the game, Tampines attempted to make full use of any available remaining time to their advantage. However, both Firdaus Kasman and Mustafic saw their efforts in injury time sail over the crossbar.

Tampines head coach Vorawan Chitavanich was a relieved man as his team avoided defeat.

“We did not do so well in the first half, but the second half was better as we controlled the game. We had many chances but did not manage to score, for example when Qiu Li hit the bar. But the players pushed the play and got the goal.”

All eyes were on Aide at his second game in charge at Sengkang, the first coming against DPMM FC in March when his predecessor Jorg Steinebrunner did not travel to Brunei with the team for reasons unknown.

“Credit to the boys, they performed very well today against an experienced team like Tampines. They were very organized and disciplined, which made it difficult for Tampines to come back.

“Today we showed we were the hungrier side. The result did not go our way despite our performance, but it showed that not only quality and performance are important but also hunger.”

Aide explained his decision to put Boon in goal instead of Joey Sim, despite the veteran starting just one game prior to the night.

“Amos showed that he wanted to play, so he was given the opportunity. I have confidence in both our keepers. Joey is still young, and Amos performed very well today.”

The former Singapore international also shared his thoughts on whether he would continue as a player after being given a more important role in coaching.

“I will have to keep myself from playing as it is easier to do coaching from outside of the team rather than being inside as a player as well, but I will not rule myself out from playing because we never know about injuries and suspensions when I might need to step in.

“It is important for us to get as many points as possible now. All players in the team are trying very hard to get some good results.”

Balestier Khalsa vs Super Reds

2009-06-25T20:21:00.001+08:00

Focused Koreans searching for momentum

Syahrom Sulaiman
info@sleague.com

Balestier Khalsa and the Super Reds will resume their league commitments after the mid-season League Cup tournament when both sides do battle at the Toa Payoh Stadium on Friday.

Hosts Balestier Khalsa will rely on the home support to overcome a plucky Super Reds’ side that was slowly gathering momentum to climb the S.League standings before the month-long tournament started.

It remains to be seen how the “interruption” of the League Cup could affect the Koreans’ performances in the league but head coach Jeon Kyeong Joon knows that his players will always display 100 percent commitment in any game that they play.

Jeon said, “Now that we are only left with the S.League matches, we will just focus on it and give our best.

“We worked hard for it (League Cup matches) but the results did not follow up. Nevertheless, we are showing more of our qualities and hope that we could bring better results in every game,” Jeon added.

The Koreans’ progress in the tournament was halted by Woodlands Wellington in the quarterfinals through a penalty shootout.

Nevertheless, their inability to finish off their multitude of chances in a game which eventually ended 0-0 must be worrying for coach Jeon.

They were also guilty of failing to convert gilt-edged chances in the 1-1 draw with Balestier Khalsa during the Preliminary rounds in early June. Therefore coach Jeon will be hoping that his talismanic striker Park Han Seok can deliver the goods this Friday.

He said, “There isn't any very difficult team or very easy team in the S-league. All the teams are all about there and since we know Balestier (Khalsa) as we have played against them many times, we will prepare well and play well.

“Their forward players especially the foreign players are the dangermen we need to look out for,” Jeon pointed out.

Jeon need not worry too much about the foreign players though. Tigers’ head coach Nasaruddin Jalil will have to make do without Chilean midfielder Julio Eduardo and Brazilian forward Ithamar Rangel.

The duo is suffering from flu and it is unlikely that they will be able to take part in the game on Friday.

The other Brazilian, Ednardo Moura, who is usually deployed on the flanks by Jalil, could be asked to lead the attack. Ram Shanker could be another attacking option up front.

Coach Jeon knows that the time is now or never for his side to launch an offensive to move up in the standings.

He said, “All the teams in the S.League know each other well by now and there is nothing to hide. We are just going to play hard against them (Balestier Khalsa) by preparing the right strategy.”

Charity match in aid of 4-year-old cancer treatment

2009-06-25T20:17:00.000+08:00

Tampines Rovers FC will be donating its proceeds from the gate collection of its Great Eastern – YEO’S S.League match this Sunday, 28 June 2009, against neighbouring side Geylang United to 4-year-old Charmaine Lim, who is currently battling a rare form of cancer.

In addition, former Singapore international Rafi Ali, who is currently a member of the Stags’ Coaching staff, will be assembling players from the 1990s Singapore Dream Team to showcase their football skills in a curtain-raiser against the Media & Celebrities selection side. There will also be a half time (musical/dance) performance.

The curtain-raiser will kick off at 5 pm.

Fans will get to see Singapore Greats from the Dream Team, like Fandi Ahmad, V Sundramoorthy, Malek Awab, Abbas Saad, Rafi, Ali, Nazri Nasir, Steven Tan, Syed Faruk and Lim Tong Hai.

FAS President, Zainudin Nordin and FAS Technical Director Slobodan Pavkovic will join the likes of Sheikh Haikel, Glenn Ong, Raj Kumar, Mark Richmond and other media and celebrity personalities to square off against the “Dream Team”.

The Admission Fee for the match is $10.00 and fans who purchased the tickets can witness both matches for a worthy cause.

All proceeds from the gate collection will go to Charmaine, a cancer patient whose mother Mrs Cynthia Lim is hoping to send her for a special treatment in the US which might double her chances of surviving.
.
S.League Match Pass Holders, Invitation Card Holders and Complimentary tickets for the S.League match will only be permitted entry for the S.League match at 7:00 pm.

Tampines Rovers FC wishes to express their sincere thanks and support to the Football Association of Singapore, Singapore Sports Council, Geylang United FC, the players from the Singapore Dream Team, the media and celebrity players and all those who have contributed in one way or another to making this charity effort possible.

Date: Sunday, 28 June 2009
Match: 5:00 pm Curtain Raiser Match
Singapore 1990s Dream Team vs Media & Celebrities

Match: 7:45 pm S.League
Tampines Rovers FC vs Geylang United FC
Venue: Tampines Stadium
Ticket Admission Fee: $10.00

In view of the Charity event, S.League Stadium Match Pass Holders, Invitation Card Holders and Complimentary tickets for the S.League match between Tampines Rovers and Geylang United will only be permitted entry for the S.League match at 7:00 pm.

Tickets are currently on sale at:

Tampines Rovers FC’s admin office
Tampines Stadium
25 Tampines Avenue 5
Singapore 529759 - During Office Hours

Tel: 6784 6670

Pre-Match Ticket Sales

Additional ticket booth will be set up to pre-sell match tickets on Friday, 26 June 2009 from 2pm to 6pm at Tampines Stadium Gate 4.

Match Day Ticket Sales

Tickets will be on sale from 4pm at the Tampines Stadium ticketing booth.

DPMM FC vs Geylang United [3-0]

2009-06-25T16:15:00.000+08:00

Eagles latest to fall in Brunei

Rano Iskandar
info@sleague.com

Geylang United found their names added to the list of teams to have been defeated in the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium in Brunei as DPMM FC ran out 3-0 winners on Wednesday evening.

It was the Bruneians’ sixth win in as many S.League matches on the ground, as they moved to within two points of league leaders Gombak United.

DPMM started the game the more brightly of the two teams with constant incisive attacks through the middle of the Eagles defence, but nothing materialised as Baihakki Khaizan and his teammates held firm.

One such move found wingback Sairol Sahari on the left, but his cross narrowly missed out on meeting the heads of both Abdel Hamid Berguiga and Oh Ddog Yi and the Eagles easily cleared their lines.

Hafiz Rahim came close for Geylang when he managed to find himself free on the right side, where his rasping shot clipped the top of the DPMM goal.

Halfway through the first half, DPMM got the goal that they were looking for when Azwan Salleh sent in a thunderbolt to the top corner from 30 yards out, leaving Eagles keeper Yazid Yasin clutching air.

The goal injected more urgency in Geylang’s play with both Miroslav Latiak and Rastislav Belicak bossing the midfield, but Geylang were not able to create any clearcut chances.

They did come close on the half-hour mark when a quick counter attack lead by Belicak found Noor Ali in the penalty area, but the Geylang captain’s shot was turned around the corner.

From the resulting corner, DPMM cleared the ball and found Berguiga on a one on one situation with G. Lenan, and he managed to get past him easily, but not the alert Yazid.

It was Geylang who started off the second half with more intent, and they caused pandemonium in the DPMM area with a well-worked free kick, but Rene Komar was able to clear eventually.

But that was as close as Geylang came as DPMM grew in confidence and slowly took hold of the game.

The ever-impressive Berguiga got the all-important second goal when he spotted Yazid off his line and chipped from all of 30 yards to noisy rapture from the crowd, numbering just below 6,000.

His strike partner Oh put the icing on a dominating DPMM performance, after he surged into the area and placed the ball into the corner four minutes from time.

Geylang coach Mike Wong was pragmatic about his team performance, saying that mistakes at this level cost his team a result.

“It was a good game and I thought we played well till the second goal went in. We lost focus after that and some individual errors cost us the game.

“DPMM on the other played well and they deserved to win. They showed that they had the desire to win and the final scoreline proved it.”

Vjeran Simunic on the other hand was his usual euphoric self after the game.

“It was a nice game. Geylang played well and we expected them to give us a run for our money.

“It is going to be like this from now on as every team will try to beat us. In the end we deserved victory for the way we played well.”

A brilliant view of Singapore Football

2009-06-24T12:41:00.002+08:00

On Friday, Brunei DPMM FC took back with them the League Cup trophy and in doing so become the first foreign side to take home a piece of domestic silverware since the foundation of the S.League in 1996.

And just like the winners, the 2009 League Cup competition itself has also broken into a whole new world for the S.League with the first ever ‘Live’ airing of its matches on cable television. The whirlwind 19-day tournament had 13 of its 20 matches shown ‘Live’ on StarHub’s Football Channel and the broadcast of the matches produced by World Sport Group have given Singaporeans a brilliant view to its local football and have impressed many.

"My friends and I actually seldom watch local football but the recent League Cup on the Football Channel caught our attention,” said Polytechnic student Koh Weihuang.

“We first saw the SAFFC-Albirex game on TV and it was actually quite good. So we made it a point to be home to catch some of the other matches. I must say the action in the knockout stages were definitely better and comparable to a lot of matches in the EPL,” Koh added.

The Football Channel has been the source for Singaporeans to get their regular dose of English and European Football, but the telecast of the League Cup on the channel has not only won the S.League some new fans, but also quite a few converts from the EPL who have packed the pubs to catch some of the recent action.

"I am used to watching EPL, but based on what I’ve seen the standard of football in Singapore is certainly something I feel is worth catching live at a stadium", said Carlos del Castillo, who was watching the Final at Bobby’s at Chijmes.
The League Cup production also included a half time segment hosted by P J Roberts which profiled the teams in the competition. One of the many who enjoyed the features was Mervyn Lai, who has worked in the sports TV production industry for over a decade.

“The fact that there was a half-time show was a big plus and the features were well done and gave viewers an insight to the players’ lives,” said Lai.

Even some players were overheard raving about the standard of the coverage of the League Cup tournament and local commentator Shehzad Haque, “The replay angles in during this tournament really showed everything and commentator was really good. He really knew what he was talking about and gave really good insights on the players,” said SAFFC wing-back Shaiful Esah.

The success of the television coverage has also spilled over to the stadiums with the League Cup Final almost packing in more than 5,300 fans at the Jalan Besar Stadium.

“I have been following the matches on television and I knew DPMM and SAF would give a good game, so I thought I come and be part of the atmosphere at the stadium,” said Navy regular Ronnie Lim, who sat with the SAFFC fans during the finals.

The League Cup production has been quite a success for the S.League and when asked if there were future plans for such collaborations, they would only reveal that they have been in talks and would only reveal more at a later date.

Sengkang Punggol vs Tampines Rovers

2009-06-24T12:41:00.001+08:00

Faruk: League is our priority

Mohd Sham
info@sleague.com

Tampines Rovers will attempt to launch a fresh assault on the S.League title after a twelve-day hiatus when they travel to Hougang Stadium to face Sengkang Punggol on Thursday evening.

According to Tampines’ first team manager Syed Faruk, the Stags, who lost out on the League Cup after succumbing to SAFFC on penalties in the quarterfinals, are now keeping a firm eye on league proceedings as they sit in fourth spot, just six points behind leaders Gombak United.

“The twelve days has been a welcome rest for us to have a breather and it was good,” acknowledged Faruk.

“Our main priority has always been the league anyway and we had to readjust a few players in different positions.

“For example, Akihiro Nakamura is carrying a knee injury and will be out for at least a month, while Noh Alam Shah’s knee is still bothering him.”

Faruk, whose charges triumphed 2-0 against the Dolphins in March’s crazy encounter that was marred by the expulsion of two Sengkang custodians, is anticipating a tough assignment from the home side.

He explained, “Sengkang are an experienced team despite their current position and there have a core of experienced players in their line up, and we will not be taking the game lightly.

“We always look at what we can do and not whether our opponent is capable or not, but we always prepare ourselves in the best way we can.”

After kickstarting their campaign with a series of frustrating stalemates, Faruk admitted that Tampines have upped their game considerably, but dropped a hint of his side’s chink in their armour.

“We always believe we can win the league and we have the players capable of doing it, but Khairul Amri has been injured as well as Alam Shah, so scoring goals has been a problem for us,” he added.

“We have been getting the attacking midfielders to play up front but we don’t want to burden them too much as that’s not their natural position.

“We want to win the league of course, make no two ways about it, and we’ll be doing everything we can to win it.”

The Dolphins, currently languishing in tenth spot, are aiming to erase the memory of their disappointing group stage elimination from the League Cup.

They will have much to do if they are to claim their first victory in any competition since 22 May, when they managed a 1-0 victory against Albirex Niigata (Singapore).

Jorg Steinebrunner will be without the suspended Murphy Wiredu, but otherwise he has a full Sengkang squad to choose from.

South China 4-0 Home United - One of our best yet beams Kim

2009-06-24T09:12:00.001+08:00

HONG KONG - Coach Kim Pan-gon hailed South China's performance as one of the best he has seen during his seven-month tenure after the Hong Kong side dismantled Home United 4-0 to reach the quarter-finals of the AFC Cup.

Two goals in two minutes in the first-half from Kwok Kin-pong and Li Haoqing provided the platform for the hosts to complete a comfortable victory at Hong Kong Stadium.

Caca made it three shortly after the break and Li then claimed his second of the game with an audacious penalty but in truth, only some superb last ditch defending from the Singaporeans prevented the defeat from being much heavier.

“It was one of our best performances,” enthused Kim.

“I have confidence in my players and I am proud of them, the performance was very good considering they hadn't played for three weeks. A lot of spectators came to watch and our players enjoyed the game.

“It is now our target to get into the final and we will do our best to achieve that.”

Along with Caca and midfielder Tales Schutz, Li was one of South China's most influential players and Kim admitted he was pleasantly surprised by his captain's display.

“Li's performance was great,” he added.

“In the league you don't get much time to play and I didn't expect such a good performance tonight, so I was very happy.”

Home United boss PN Sivaji admitted his side just could not live with the hosts and conceded they were comprehensively outclassed.

“It was a very good performance by South China, we couldn't cope with their aggression and their speed today,” he said.

“In most cases we were second best to the ball and we couldn't keep possession, especially in the final third. We needed to be much stronger, quicker and faster in the final third.”

However, Sivaji underlined Home did not help their own cause by conceding twice in such quick succession.

“The two first-half goals were our demise,” he added.

“We tried to come back in the second-half by making a couple of changes to the way we played but when you consider the third goal was a penalty early in the second-half, it was damage limitation after that.”

South China 4-0 Home United

2009-06-24T09:10:00.000+08:00

HONG KONG - Two goals in two first-half minutes set South China on their way to a comfortable 4-0 victory over Home United and a place in the quarter-finals of the AFC Cup.

Kwok Kin-pong and Li Haiqiang both struck early in the opening period before Caca extended the lead after the break and the South China captain claimed his second of the game from the spot to set the seal on a dominant performance in the last 16 clash at Hong Kong Stadium.

Tales Schutz was identified by Home boss PN Sivaji as South China's main threat before the game and the midfielder had a hand in the opening goal after 19 minutes when his exquisitely flighted ball from deep on the left flank was met by the onrushing Kwok at the far post and his header squeezed past keeper Lionel Lewis.

A boisterous home crowd were on their feet again two minutes later as South China doubled their lead. Caca's delightful ball over the top set Li free and the skipper slipped a low finish under the advancing Lewis.

The Hong Kong league champions continued to press and were inches away from a third goal soon after when Caca laid the ball back to Li and his whipped cross was met with a stooping header from Bai He that looped over Lewis but bounced off the top of the bar.

Left-back Poon Yiu-cheuk then saw a fierce left-foot shot from 20 yards smartly turned round the post by Lewis after 37 minutes as South China finished the half well on top.

The third goal came in the 52nd minute as Caca took advantage of an unfortunate slip by a Home defender to power into the box and beat an exposed Lewis with a low finish at his near post.

South China almost scored a fourth 10 minutes later when Schutz was played in but Lewis produced a good stop to deny the midfielder.

The ball broke to Caca and although his follow-up beat one defender, another on the line managed to clear to safety.

It proved a short-lived respite for the Singaporeans, however, as from the subsequent corner a push on the South China forward led to the referee pointing to the spot. Li stepped up and his insolent chip into the right corner sent the Home keeper the wrong way.

Home began to show more attacking threat and Valery Hiek flashed an effort narrowly wide from 25 yards before Caca almost added a fifth five minutes from time after a cutback found the forward in acres of space inside the box but he was brilliantly denied on the line twice by skipper S. Subramani.

Previous wins count for nothing says Sivaji

2009-06-23T08:21:00.001+08:00

HONG KONG - Home United coach PN Sivaji insisted his men will face a very different challenge in Tuesday’s last 16 clash with South China to the one they encountered when the two sides clashed in the 2008 AFC Cup.

The Singaporeans go into the game at Hong Kong Stadium as slight underdogs, a stark contrast to last season's group stages when they picked up two victories against the same opponents.

But South China have a new man at the helm in the form of Kim Pan-gon and he guided the Hong Kong outfit to top spot in Group F with an undefeated record.

“We managed to win both of our matches against them during the group stage last season but those results count for nothing now as they have a different set of foreign players,” Sivaji said.

“We’ve watched some of their games on video and what we can see is that they are direct side who play a compact game and work very hard as a unit. Some of those things were not evident when they played last season, at least not when they played against us.”

Defender Shahril Alias is suspended but skipper S. Subramani has recovered from a groin injury and is set to play.

However, Sivaji is conscious of the fact that his side has not had too much joy on their travels to date.

“We have not been good travellers this season as our only away win was against Valencia in the Maldives while we lost in Bangkok against PEA (Provincial Electricity Authority) and in Vietnam against Binh Duong, although both of them were quality sides of Champions League calibre,” he added.

“It will not be easy as this is a one-off game and they will have the home advantage. They have a perfect home record so far in this year’s AFC Cup and they will want to maintain that.”

South China coach Kim, on the other hand, believes Home remain dangerous opponents regardless of their away-day blues after they finished second in Group H, one point behind Binh Duong.

“Home United are a very good team, they have plenty of experience in AFC competitions over the last few years,” he said.

“I respect Home United, they don't concede many goals and they're strong on the counter attack. However, we found out their strengths and weaknesses in the group stages, so we will produce a good performance.”

Apart from the suspended Cha Siu Ki, Kim has a full squad to choose from and played down the forward's absence.

“It's not really a problem because we play as a team and we also have good cover, so we'll be fine.”

South China (Hong Kong) vs Home United

2009-06-23T08:18:00.001+08:00

Sivaji urges Home to “show true mettle”

Tam Cheong Yan
info@sleague.com

Home United coach PN Sivaji has called on his side to give a clear illustration of their quality on Tuesday evening, when they take on South China of Hong Kong in the AFC Cup Round of 16.

The one-off clash at Hong Kong Stadium will decide which of the two teams will move on to the quarterfinals, which will be held in September.

Being part of the last eight is an experience Home are familiar with, having gone at least that far in three of the previous five editions of the tournament.

Playing in the Round of 16 is something new to them, though, as this stage was created this year as part of a wider revamp in all continental club tournaments run by the AFC.

The changes certainly had their impact as far as Home were concerned, as they were put through a Group H that also included Thailand’s Provincial Electric Authority and reigning Vietnamese champions Becamex Binh Duong.

Finishing second in the group behind Binh Duong meant the Protectors were able to continue their Asian adventure this season, though, and Sivaji is planning to use the momentum from their earlier results to maintain their fine AFC Cup pedigree.

“I mentioned earlier in the season that this year’s competition is much stronger than before,” he told sleague.com in an interview from Hong Kong.

“The reason we have a Round of 16 now is because we have more teams, many coming from last year’s Asian Champions League. If we look at our performance in the group stage, understandably we struggled against the two teams who have been there before.

“We won one and lost one apiece against PEA and Binh Duong, so it is a tough competition. The fact that we have got into this round shows that we have the quality to go even beyond this level.

“Now, it is for the players who are picked on Tuesday to show their true mettle. It’s going to be very tough, but if we go in with everything we have in terms of confidence and quality, I’m sure we will achieve our target of reaching the quarterfinals.”

While South China will be familiar opponents for the Protectors after they had met in the AFC Cup group stage in 2008, there have been some changes since.

Previously bossed by former Portuguese star Jose Luis, they now have a Korean man in charge in the form of Kim Pan Gon, who is no stranger to Hong Kong football having played and coached for three different clubs in a four-year spell that had begun in 2000.

There are also changes to their playing personnel, with the arrival of Brazilian striker Carlos Eduardo ‘Cacá’ Ferrari the most notable development.

The 30-year-old came to Hong Kong in January after a lengthy spell playing in his homeland and Europe, counting Spanish clubs UD Salamanca, Albacete and Universidad Las Palmas among his former employers.

Cacá joins compatriots Tales Schutz and Sidraílson da Mata Ribeiro as the three foreigners registered by South China for the competition, meaning there is no place for their burly chief striker Detinho dos Santos.

Detinho had bagged 21 goals in all domestic competitions as the club won the Coolpoint Ventilation First Division title for the third time running, but was omitted in favour of Cacá and Schutz after an ineffective continental campaign last year.

Even without the 35-year-old, the Shaolin Temple – as they are sometimes known in Hong Kong – have enough firepower from their local ranks, having recruited several new faces from their domestic rivals.

Former Kitchee captain Chan Siu Ki is the club’s second top scorer this term with 19 goals in all local competitions, while Au Yeung Yiu Chung, signed last year upon the dissolution of his former club Workable FC, has also chipped in with nine to his name.

“It’s clear looking at the squad that after last year, they decided to get a few more local players into the team,” commented Sivaji on South China’s squad composition.

“In last year’s competition, they depended too much on the foreigners. It’s partially because in the Hong Kong league, they allow something like six or seven foreigners at one go, and that affects them considerably in the AFC Cup.

“This year, I hear there was a considered decision by the club to look at more local players and use them more in the local league. Taking this into account, and having watched some of their matches on DVDs, they look a little bit more potent than last year.

“They are much more organized in terms of getting their shape together, and in the games I saw, they play in many different formations. I really have no clue as to how they will approach the game against us, so we have to just concentrate on playing to our strengths.”

Home will be boosted by the likely return of Brazilian midfielder Peres de Oliveira, who had scored twice the last time the team had played in Hong Kong.

Oliveira had been rested for most of the Protectors’ League Cup campaign with a knee strain, but has been declared fit after the team’s first training session on Sunday evening.

The AFC Cup veteran’s return means Sivaji will have a full squad of 19 players to choose from, apart from versatile defender Shahril Alias, who is suspended.

Norikazu Murakami and Isa Halim, who were both signed after the close of the AFC Cup’s first registration deadline, are also not eligible for selection in this match, although both were part of the travelling party.

“We brought them, along with Shahril, because we will face Gombak (United) in the league on 27 June,” explained the Protectors coach.

“Leaving them alone in Singapore with no one to supervise them would not have been ideal, so we brought them along. The club has been really magnanimous to allow them to come too, so that they can be conditioned for the game against Gombak.

“Everyone trained today, in our first day here. Peres played against Woodlands with a strain on the knee, but he continued anyway, and he trained fully today.

“So I am pleased to report that we do not have any injury problems. Everyone should be available on Tuesday.”

Woodlands Wellington vs Albirex Niigata [0-1]

2009-06-23T08:15:00.001+08:00

Adachihara shows way against Rams

Ong Jiing Yih
info@sleague.com

Kenji Adachihara illustrated the meaning of “leading from the front” as he scored to give Albirex Niigata (Singapore) a 1-0 victory at Woodlands Wellington on Monday evening.

The White Swans skipper got the decisive goal 15 minutes into the match with an effort that had caught Woodlands goalkeeper Rezal Hassan off guard.

With the win, Albirex were able to overtake their hosts and occupy eighth place in the S.League table, level on points with Geylang United but behind on goal difference.

Adachiara donned the armband for the Japanese outfit, as senior centreback Takatoshi Uchida had to sit out of this match due to suspension.

Uchida’s replacement for the match, Shota Matsuoka, did not have much trouble at the back against a Woodlands side that perhaps was still feeling the strains of their lengthy League Cup campaign, which had ended last week.

Despite being widely expected to perform, the return of five regular starters did not appear to give them the lift they had expected, as they had few highlights in the match.

Skipper Azlan Alipah’s overhit volley midway into the second half was one of the rare few moments worth remembering for the Rams.

Still, head coach Nenad Bacina was positive in his assessment of his side’s efforts, even as he praised his opponents for their enterprising display.

“To be honest, I had expected us not to perform having come through seven matches in 23 days,” remarked the Croatian.

“It could be due to not just physical but mental fatigue. We had tried to refresh the lads prior to this game but it was difficult.

“Nevertheless I’m impressed as we faced a very good attacking side in Albirex.”

Very good the White Swans were indeed, coming out of the blocks early as they won several corners with their high-pressure brand of football.

Rezal was forced into an acrobatic save with the match barely warmed up, after Akira Takase met Keisuke Ogawa’s cross with a header that took a significant bounce.

They got their goal eventually on the quarter-hour mark, as Adachihara collected the ball from a teammate, took one touch and then fired a thunderous drive from 30 yards out.

Even in his prime, Rezal might not have saved such a shot. He certainly could not this time around as Albirex went 1-0 up.

It could have been 2-0 just one minute later, had Takase done better in finishing off a sizzling run following a quality pass from Shunsuke Sunaga.

Albirex were clearly in control, though, pinning Woodlands back in their half without much resistance to speak of.

Playmaker Taisuke Akiyoshi missed a chance to claim only his second goal of a season, when he blazed a shot over the bar from just inside the penalty area.

It took some decent work from the Woodlands rearguard to keep the score close, Anaz Hadee hacking away an Adachihara cross before Rezal caught a Sunaga shot eight minutes before the interval.

The nervy moments continued into the second half, Akiyoshi and Sunaga both getting opportunities.

Ken Matsumoto then headed over an open goal to spurn another golden opportunity, although the midfielder did somewhat better by forcing Rezal into a near-post save later in the second period.

Throughout the match, there were few reasons to worry about a Woodlands fightback as they seemed incapable of causing some real danger in the Albirex backline.

Still, Naoki Naruo had his charges close out the match in a more conservative manner, a point he acknowledged in his post-match analysis.

“We played a passing game which saw us foray more directly towards goal,” said the Albirex coach of his team’s early-game plan.

“As we hoped for more goals, we were afraid of Woodlands coming back at us, hence we became a bit more cautious.”

Match Statistics for Match 85 - Woodlands Wellington FC vs Albirex Niigata FC (S)

2009-06-22T21:50:00.001+08:00

Match Statistics for Match 85 - Woodlands Wellington FC vs Albirex Niigata FC (S)

S.LEAGUE

22 Jun 09, 1945hrs, Woodlands Stadium

SCORING SUMMARY (Full-Time Score)
Woodlands Wellington FC	0 - 1		Albirex Niigata FC (S)
		Kenji Adachihara (16')

Woodlands Wellington FC
No.	Name	Pos
18	Rezal Hassan	GK
3	Azlan Alipah (C)	DF
4	Precious Emuejeraye	DF
5	Daniel Hammond	DF
6	Anaz Hadee	DF
19	Syaiful Iskandar	DF
2	Jalal	MF
7	Ismadi Mukhtar	MF
10	Luis Eduardo Hicks	MF
16	Jamil Ali	MF
14	Mojtaba Tehranizadeh	FW
Woodlands Wellington FC Substitutes
20	Ahmadulhaq Che Omar	GK
23	Sim Li Ming	DF
11	Hasrin Jailani	MF
12	Asraf Rashid	MF
13	Kamal Nasir	MF
9	Zakaria Yousif	FW

Albirex Niigata FC (S)
No.	Name	Pos
1	Yoshito Matsushita	GK
3	Shota Matsuoka	DF
26	Ryota Kobayashi	DF
6	Kunihiro Honda	MF
10	Ken Matsumoto	MF
11	Shunsuke Sunaga	MF
7	Keisuke Ogawa	FW
9	Akira Takase	FW
14	Kenji Adachihara (C)	FW
18	Taisuke Akiyoshi	FW
20	Ryohei Maeda	FW
Albirex Niigata FC (S) Substitutes
2	Ryuta Hayashi	DF
24	Takeshi Miki	DF
4	Park Myung Eun	MF
13	Atsushi Shimono	MF
15	Shohei Doi	MF
19	Hiroto Takahashi	FW
21	Tetsuya Kishida	FW

Woodlands Wellington FC Substitutions
Asraf Rashid for Jalal (70')
Zakaria Yousif for Azlan Alipah (77')
Kamal Nasir for Luis Eduardo Hicks (90')

Albirex Niigata FC (S) Substitutions
Tetsuya Kishida for Akira Takase (81')
Atsushi Shimono for Ken Matsumoto (91')

Woodlands Wellington FC Yellow Cards
Name	Min
Ismadi Mukhtar	23
Woodlands Wellington FC Red Cards
None
Woodlands Wellington FC Coach
Nenad Bacina

Albirex Niigata FC (S) Yellow Cards
Name	Min
None
Albirex Niigata FC (S) Red Cards
None
Albirex Niigata FC (S) Coach
Naoki Naruo

Match Officials
Referee	T Aravinthan
Asst Referee 1	Tang Yew Mun
Asst Referee 2	Andrew Kee
Fourth Official	K Kalimuthu
Match Commissioner	Edward Silas

Match Attendance

1,417

Woodlands Wellington vs Albirex Niigata

2009-06-22T19:58:00.000+08:00

Woodlands veterans to return against Albirex

Gary Koh
info@sleague.com

The league resumes action at Woodlands after the mid-season League Cup tournament when Woodlands Wellington host Albirex Niigata (Singapore) on Monday.

The home side will be coming into the game in high spirits after they prevailed against the odds to finish fourth in the recently-concluded competition.

The Rams would be looking to bring the boost and momentum from the cup competition into the league as they attempt to get their league form into gear.

With seven regulars benefiting from the breather they had in Friday’s third-place playoff, Woodlands coach Nenad Bacina would have more than half his starting lineup fresh against the recharged Japanese outfit.

The extra energy would be needed as they seek to avenge their 0-3 loss to the same opponents back at Jurong East early this season.

Former Singapore international Rezal Hassan will resume his duties in between the posts after he was rested on the bench on Friday.

English defender Daniel Hammond returns to partner a rejuvenated Precious Emuejeraye in central defence while Anaz Hadee and Syaiful Iskandar resume their positions as wingbacks.

Skipper Azlan Alipah will be pushed forward into his usual central midfield role alongside Chilean Luis Eduardo Hicks, with Jalal and Ismadi Mukhtar supporting them at each flank.

The only possible dilemma for Bacina to solve is whether to go for Egyptian forward Zakaria Yousif or Iranian striker Mojtaba Tehranizadeh to partner key player Jamil Ali upfront.

Neither foreign forward has been fully able to support the club top-scorer in attack so far, leaving the latter to single-handedly shoulder much of the burden of finding the goals against well-marshalled defences.

It could only get tougher for Woodlands as Albirex come into this match fully charged after their early elimination in the League Cup group stage.

The two-week break allowed White Swans coach Naoki Nauro to focus on getting his boys back into gear physically and tactically as a crowded league schedule beckons.

With only one suspension to worry about after Takatoshi Uchida collected his fourth yellow card of the season before the mid-season break, the Japanese are set to field what will be close to their strongest lineup as they look for a repeat of their victory on away ground.

The trio of Tetsuya Kishida, Akira Takase and Kenji Adachihara will be spearheading the attack as they look to rebuild their confidence in front of goal after a barren outing in the mid-season tournament.

Ryota Kobayashi will dictate the rearguard from his position in central defence while Ryohei Maeda anchors the midfield in front of the back four.

The team’s pace and passing game would be a challenge to Woodlands as they seek to ascend the league table in the midst of the mid-table chaos.

Woodlands Wellington vs Super Reds [1-0]

2009-05-30T13:41:00.000+08:00

Hammond spot on as Bears left fuming

Ong Jiing Yih
info@sleague.com

Super Reds coach Jeon Kyeong Joon bemoaned a game-deciding penalty as his side went down 0-1 to Woodlands Wellington on Friday.

Daniel Hammond’s 54th-minute spot kick proved the difference as Woodlands triumphed at Jalan Besar.

“We are not sad or disappointed about the loss, rather (we are disappointed with) the match referee who didn’t see things properly nor knew when to make right decisions. It wasn’t a penalty,” said Jeon.

“With the rhythm of the game being cut off, the players were left discouraged. They are not yet calm at the moment, but we’ll try to control (their emotions) before the League Cup comes along.”

The penalty aside, Woodlands still had to work to preserve the victory at the other end, and the central defensive pairing of Hammond and Precious Emuejeraye repelled everything the Koreans could throw at them.

The first warning sign sounded after four minutes. Choi Dong Soo and his skipper Yu Hyun Koo played a one-two during a short corner, with the latter putting his snap-shot over Rezal Hassan’s crossbar.

Park Kang Jin then stole in unnoticed, almost exploiting the misunderstanding between Rezal and right-back Anaz Hadee.

As the Bears knocked the ball about with supreme confidence they forced as many as four corners already in the opening ten minutes.

One such came about after Kim Shin Yui seemed certain to latch onto Park Han Seok’s precise through ball, but Emuejeraye was in no mood to let slip.

Chances came in thick and fast, as Kim Tae Young popped out moments later to fire wide from 25 yards.

The Rams’ ambitions rarely extended beyond their half, but Kim Yoon Sik’s handball on the edge of the box gave Woodlands captain Azlan Alipah the chance to break the deadlock.

But Kang did not even move in his goal after Azlan’s freekick sailed inches off target.

Still it was the Super Reds who were patiently stitching play both through the middle and down the flanks, and Yu once again tested Rezal from range.

Woodlands were not keen to simply play second fiddle, however, and Mojtaba Tehranizadeh just failed to make clean contact off a 32nd-minute cross by Ismadi Mukhtar.

That was as good as it got for the hosts in an eventful first half, after veteran goalkeeper Rezal made his first important save to keep the scores level at the break.

A clumsy foul by Hammond on Park Kang Jin brought about the set piece which Yu looked set to bend in towards goal.

To his credit Rezal was equal to the task, reading the flight of the ball immaculately and touching it onto the post before it flew clear.

The second half saw the first change by the Koreans as Shin Dae Kyung came into the fray for Yun Bo Young, with them looking to build on their promising first-half showing.

But the departure of their half-fit talisman probably ceded the initiative to Woodlands, who attacked harder and gradually grew in stature.

On 50 minutes, good work by Tehranizadeh and Jamil Ali set up Azlan for the perfect opportunity to prise open Kang’s goal. But any hopes were diminished due to a lack of conviction on the shot.

The next minute then witnessed a piece of positive play by the energetic Ismadi, taking on Kim Shin Yui at the near post before flashing an effort that bounced just wide of goal.

As time passed, the defining moment of the match finally arrived in the 54th minute.

Tehranizadeh tumbled in the box, sandwiched between both Kim Yoon Sik and Park Chul Hyung after what seemed an innocuous coming together of bodies.

But to the Super Reds’ amazement, the linesman flagged and referee Zaid Hussein pointed to the spot.

Following a second attempt from the spot, Hammond sent Kang the wrong way to put Woodlands in the lead.

Having been under the cosh for much of the game until that point, Woodlands held the aces from then on and had the Reds on the rack.

But the away side refused to lie down, and after Lee Du Ri blasted his attempt skywards, Park Kang Jin spared Woodlands from embarrassment after failing to take proper aim, having chested down a Kim Tae Young cross.

The same player then drew a magnificent one-handed save from Rezal having found obscene amounts of space in the Woodlands box on 62 minutes.

Stout defending then saw the colossal Emuejeraye save the day with another crucial block.

Jalal was next to prove his worth to his team, standing between Choi and a headed goal as he cleared the ball off the line after 70 minutes.

Woodlands hung on grimly after another effort on goal saw Rezal cling onto Kim Yoon Sik’s diving header.

Unfortunately for the Bears, their cause was well and truly lost after a fatal lapse in the defence left them with ten men in the 83rd minute.

Shin failed to keep track of substitute midfielder Kamal Nasir, who seemed certain to run his way on goal, and as he stretched out a despairing arm to bring down the latter, the referee had no choice but to send him off for a professional foul.

The subsequent freekick saw Jalal pick his spot, but he sent the ball sailing harmlessly over the crossbar instead.

Try as Woodlands might to see out the four minutes of stoppages, they had to endure one last moment of discomfort after Choi swung his right foot and curled over from just inside the box.

Nenad Bacina was delighted with the win, against a Super Reds side which he pegged as the best in the S.League.

“First of all I’d like to congratulate the players including the bench. It is time for us to be lucky after recent games. The lads worked very hard and therefore deserved the win.

“The Koreans controlled for much of the game, and they tackled and passed perfectly. We couldn’t chase so we dropped back and waited for the counterattack," said the Croatian.

“A good thing to note was that we did not concede a goal, which is most important.”

Albirex Niigata 3 Gombak United 3

2009-05-29T18:15:00.000+08:00

Taken from ROAR

by Sleezevil

At the Jurong East Stadium, Albirex Niigata possess the ability to produce some of the most exhilarating, fast-paced, buccaneering brand of football in the S-League.

For 45 minutes yesterday though, that was sorely missing as the Japanese youngsters were bullied around the turf, particularly in their defensive third, by a freakishly physically-imposing Gombak United attack.

Just ten minutes elapsed when Gabriel Obatola hounded Ryota Kobayashi as the defender chased the ball facing his goal. With usual brusqueness, the league’s leading scorer somehow managed to get himself tangled with the Albirex number 26 inside the penalty box, and won a hotly-disputed penalty, which he dusted himself to dispatch with ease.

Five minutes later, Gombak doubled the lead.

Another of the Bulls’ ‘African Contingent’ Kingsley Njoku had sought treatment on the sidelines. Whatever injury he sustained, it didn’t seem to hamper him the moment ref P Pandian allowed him back in.

He displayed electric pace to sprint towards goal after seizing a loose pass, before firing a fearsome shot which was blocked by Kobayashi. The ball looped high in the air and Kobayashi looked to have had it shielded well for his goalkeeper to collect.

Njoku had other ideas though, springing himself over the defender to head it past Matsushita. It was an in-your-face, see-you-later, I-just-pwned-your-ass moment for the Nigerian, but credit has to be given to Kobayashi for upping his performance as the game wore on.

On 23 minutes, Akira Takase spun Sevki Sha’ban and fired a low shot past Fadhil Salim at his near post, and three minutes later, the Japanese side was unlucky not to be level after a diving header by Tetsuya Kishida bounced off the post and back into play.

As it was, ten minutes before the break, Obatola pounced on some hesitant defending by Ryuta Hayashi, and forced the right-back into colliding with his goalkeeper Matsushita. Singapore striker Agu Casmir swept up rebound.

3-1 up at half-time, top-of-the-league, there was no way Gombak was going to throw this game, I thought.

As I sat on the upper tiers of the home side’s stands at half-time, the only thing going through my mind was how this match could be billed as the ‘Jurong Derby’ despite one team hailing from Bukit Gombak and the other from Japan.

The coaching staff at Albirex, famed across Singapore for their meticulous and professional nature, must have poured a whole lot of caffeine into the team’s half-time sake, because the Japanese, thankfully, came out all guns blazing in the second half to make a contest of the tie.

Five minutes later, in an apparent message of “whatever-you-can-do-I-can-do-better” to Njoku, Ken Matsumoto leapt amazingly high to nod home a header. Unfortunately, in the process of his epic leap, he seemed to tweak his left hamstring, and his celebration constituted hobbling to the touchline for treatment.

From then on Albirex peppered Fadhil’s goal with shots – even big centre-half Takatoshi Uchida got in on the act – and the former Young Lions and Woodlands keeper did well to repel those that came his way.

In the 65th minute, he parried Takase’s effort away from goal and the ball was seemingly headed out for a corner. No-one told Kenji Adachihara though, as the Albirex top-scorer kept it in play and fired the equaliser from a tight angle into the roof of the net.

The White Swans kept up the pressure and deserved to win the game, but the elusive fourth goal would not come. The closest they came was when an 85th-minute freekick by Taisuke Akiyoshi that evaded a swathe of flying bodies to strike the upright.

Gombak coach Darren Stewart will be irritated to let a two-goal advantage slip, but will not be too perturbed by a point at a difficult venue. He will, however, be a bit worried at some of the scenes which took place as the clock ticked down.

Ten minutes from time, Ruhaizad Ismail lost the ball in his own half near the right flank. Feeling he was unfairly robbed of the ball, the talented but unrelentingly petulant winger threw a disgusted look at Pandian and turned away.

His team-mates managed to repel the ensuing attack out for a corner, but skipper Sevki was incensed at Ruhaizad’s attitude. The two headed towards each other in a menacing fashion and had to be separated by team-mates.

Maybe it was a ‘captain courageous’ moment by Sevki who was desperate not to concede a fourth, but it must represent something of a worry for Stewart, since his team’s charge up the table has been built on the solid foundation of unity and working hard for the team.

As an aside, I felt vindicated as the $6 spent on the ticket produced a goal per dollar. If that's not a good return rate, then I don't know what is.

Iran and Kuwait kick off AYG tournament on 20 June

2009-05-29T18:13:00.003+08:00

Asian Youth Games Singapore 2009 Football Draw

Group A	Group B	Group C	Group D
IR Iran	Republic of Korea	Malaysia	Hong Kong
Philippines	P.R China	DPR Korea	Saudi Arabia
Chinese Taipei	Myanmar	Thailand	Lao PDR
Kuwait	Pakistan

Saturday, 20 June 2009

3pm
IR IRAN vs KUWAIT Meridian JC
REPUBLIC OF KOREA vs PAKISTAN Temasek Poly

5pm
PHILIPPINES vs CHINESE TAIPEI Meridian JC
P.R. CHINA vs MYANMAR Temasek Poly
NORTH KOREA vs THAILAND Victoria JC
SAUDI ARABIA vs LAO PDR Jurong JC

Monday, 22 June 2009

3pm
KUWAIT vs PHILIPPINES Meridian JC
MYANMAR vs REPUBLIC OF KOREA Temasek Poly

5pm
CHINESE TAIPEI vs I.R.IRAN Meridian JC
PAKISTAN vs P.R. CHINA Temasek Poly
MALAYSIA vs DPR KOREA Victoria JC
HONG KONG vs SAUDI ARABIA Jurong JC

Wednesday, 24 June 2009

3pm
I.R. IRAN vs PHILIPPINES Meridian JC
REPUBLIC OF KOREA vs P.R.CHINA Temasek Poly

5pm
CHINESE TAIPEI vs KUWAIT Meridian JC
MYANMAR vs PAKISTAN Temasek Poly
THAILAND vs MALAYSIA Victoria JC
LAO PDR vs HONG KONG Jurong JC

Winners of Group A, B, C, D qualify to final rds
Runner- Up Group A, B qualify to final rds
Runner-up Group C and D - Play off

Friday, 26 June 2009

Play-Off

5pm
Runner-up Group C vs Runner-up Group D Temasek Poly

Final Group Stage

Group A	Group B
A1) Winner A	B1) Winner B
A2) Winner C	B2) Winner D
A3) Runner-up B	B3) Runner-up A
A4) Singapore	B4) Play-off Winner

Saturday, 27 June 2009

5pm
A2 vs A3 Jalan Besar

7.30pm
SINGAPORE vs A1 Jalan Besar

Sunday, 28 June 2009

5pm
B1 vs B4 Jalan Besar

7.30pm
B2 v B3 Jalan Besar

Monday, 29 June 2009

4pm Jalan Besar
SINGAPORE vs A2

4pm
A3 vs A1 Temasek Poly

Tuesday, 30 June 2009

5pm
B4 vs B2 Jalan Besar

7.30pm
B3 vs B1 Jalan Besar

Wednesday, 1 July 2009

5pm
A1 vs A2 Jalan Besar

7.30pm
A3 vs SINGAPORE Jalan Besar

Thursday, 2 July 2009

5pm
B1 vs B2 Jalan Besar

7.30pm
B3 vs B4 Jalan Besar

Semi-Finals

Saturday, 4 July 2009

Semi-Finals 1, 5pm
Winner Gr A vs Runner Up Gr B Jalan Besar

Semi-Finals 2, 7.30pm
Winner Gr B vs Runner Up Gr A Jalan Besar

Monday, 6 July 2009

Third Place Play-Off
5pm
Loser SF1 vs Loser SF2 Jalan Besar

Final
7.30pm
Winner SF1 vs Winner SF2 Jalan Besar

Albirex Niigata vs Gombak United [3-3]

2009-05-29T18:11:00.000+08:00

Honours even at high-tempo Jurong derby

Tam Cheong Yan
info@sleague.com

Albirex Niigata FC (Singapore) and Gombak United served up a thrilling derby clash at Jurong East Stadium on Thursday evening, both sides settling for a point in a 3-3 draw.

The result might not have done much in terms of advancing either team’s aspirations, but it was otherwise an excellent night from both as they put their best faces forward to wow the crowds and provided a good showcase of the Great Eastern-YEO’S S.League.

Gombak had the better of the first half, Ojimi Gabriel Obatola and Kingsley Njoku scoring early on before Agu Casmir put them in what seemed a commanding position going into the half-time interval.

But the Japanese outfit, who had pulled a goal back in the first half through Akira Takase, rallied strongly in the second period and earned their share of the spoils through further goals from Ken Matsumoto and Kenji Adachihara.

Adachihara was one of three Albirex players returning from suspension, with creative midfielder Taisuke Akiyoshi and first-choice custodian Yoshito Matsushita also taking their places in the starting eleven.

They faced a Gombak side missing the rested Emmanuel Emuejeraye, as Thai midfielder Theerawekin Seehawong was rotated in to meet the four-foreigner quota.

The Bulls No.10 was a tigerish presence early on, getting into tackles and doing his best to keep up with the high-energy opening both teams were engaging in.

Not for nothing were the visitors known for their explosive brand of pressing football, and they used that to their advantage to race to a two-goal lead inside 20 minutes.

A move involving Obatola and Casmir culminated in Njoku powering into the left side of the penalty area, before he fell into a heap under a challenge from Ryota Kobayashi.

Referee P. Pandian did not hesitate to point to the spot, and Obatola coolly converted the penalty with 12 minutes shown on the clock even though Matsushita had guessed right.

Six minutes later, Albirex were punished for some careless play as Njoku sprang in to dispossess a defender before storming more than 30 yards down the right flank.

His initial centre for Casmir was blocked by Kobayashi, but the ball spun high for the Nigerian to nod home emphatically from an impossible angle.

The ease with which the Avaya-J&J League Cup winners were slicing through the White Swans defence sent the Gombak fans into rapture, as they dreamed of a repeat of the 4-0 demolition job the players had performed on Monday.

But Albirex were no Young Lions, and they had their first response on 23 minutes when Takase pulled a goal back to make it 2-1.

It was straight and simple stuff from the 20-year-old, having stroked the ball low between Fadhil Salim and the near post after a one-two with a teammate had taken him wide to the right rather than dead centre.

It could have been 2-2 on 27 had Adachihara’s diving header gone in off the post rather than back into play having beaten Fadhil already, but Albirex showed that, mentally and technically, they were a fine match for the side they were hosting.

Tetsuya Kishida headed Keisuke Ogawa’s cross a touch off target shortly afterwards as they continued pressing at the Gombak defence, before Njoku played a cool through pass that Kobayashi completely misread, only for Casmir to fire his shot just wide of the post.

That miss marked the start of a new wave of attacks from the Bulls, as they used their physical strength well to force Albirex into mistakes they could exploit.

One such moment came on 34 minutes as Njoku got involved again, having picked up a ball that had gone from right to left before drawing two defenders with him on the periphery of the penalty area.

Ryuta Hayashi was helpless as he struggled to close down the Gombak striker, who got into a tangle with three Albirex players, and Casmir profited as he rushed in to claim the loose ball and stroke it into the net with Matsushita out of sight.

Obatola could have had the game dead and buried on 39 minutes had he focused more on his shot off an excellent Casmir cutback, but the prevailing thought at the time was that the Bulls were almost home and dry against an Albirex side showing signs of deflation.

‘Almost’ was not good enough to kill the Japanese side’s spirits though, and they came up with the perfect response just four minutes after the break.

Shunsuke Sunaga, who had replaced Hayashi following the latter’s part in the Casmir goal, whipped in a lob that had seemed routine enough, but Matsumoto rose highest among a cluster of five players to divert the ball beyond a surprised Fadhil.

The goal had no warning signs of any kind coming before it, yet that was exactly the kind of goal Gombak had difficulty guarding against, and it was particularly fine reward for Matsumoto, who was industriously running all over the Jurong East field.

Albirex showed new life in the way they moved about now, and that was a delight to see as they kept up their pace, quick thinking and full-bodied commitment to push Gombak.

The fans – all 1,587 of them – were in fine voice too as they cheered their heroes on, letting their hearts pump hard to the beat of the game.

And the beat went faster and faster as both sides threatened to score the sixth goal of the game. When it did on 64 minutes, it was the home side that got it for the leveller.

Takase’s initial shot was saved by Fadhil, and the ball appeared all set to roll out. But it was so slow that it stayed on the line towards the right instead of going out for a corner.

A quick-witted Adachihara immediately came in from the right flank to claim the ball, before blasting high into the roof of the net despite Fadhil recovering to cover the angle.

Fadhil stood strong to prevent Gombak from going behind just minutes afterwards when Akiyoshi was put through, and both teams worked hard in search for a win.

That it did not happen might have been an imperfection in the eyes of the partisans, but for any neutral, it was an absolute treat both sides had served up.

So generous, so continuous and so back-and-forth was the flow of the game that, perhaps, it deserved a better stage than a league context where the winning-is-everything mentality becomes an excuse for playing drably.

There was certainly nothing drab about the Jurong derby on this occasion, and the fans were appreciative of that as they applauded the two teams upon hearing the final whistle.

Fadhil: Game was good for the fans

Gombak United goalkeeper Fadhil Salim believed that fans who had turned up for their clash with Albirex Niigata FC (Singapore) got their money’s worth of entertainment after both sides served up a 3-3 draw at Jurong East Stadium.

The match was an open affair for much of the time as both sides threw everything they had at each other, leading to what the 26-year-old regarded as a positive advertisement of the Great Eastern-YEO’S S.League.

“It was end-to-end stuff, and both teams played so well, either team could have won the game,” said Fadhil after the match.

“It was good football, definitely. It was a good showcase of the good things in this league: both teams giving their best, going all out, and it’s a good result for football.

“Yes, each of us let in three goals, but sometimes there will be some goals that any goalkeeper cannot prevent. That happens in football.

“Maybe some of the goals that happened tonight can be prevented, and we should go back and take a look so that we can prepare for the upcoming game. But take nothing away from this game; it was good football for the fans to watch.”

Bulls coach Darren Stewart saluted Albirex for their part in the pulsating encounter, graciously acknowledging the quality they had shown while congratulating his own charges for their work as well.

“Albirex were simply too good in the second half,” said the Australian without hesitation.

“You couldn’t say that we let them back into the game, they really worked for it. But that’s good stuff from them; I’m not disappointed about not winning, because both teams worked hard for this game.”

White Swans coach Naoki Naruo was more inclined to see the proverbial glass as half-empty, however, as he reflected on his team’s performance.

Revealing that the team had been working towards repeating their RHB Singapore Cup win over their near neighbours, he acknowledged there was work to be done to make the backline more impenetrable.

“We were playing to win, but we made it difficult for ourselves,” he said wryly.

“In the first half, we made too many mistakes and lost three goals, and we’re really disappointed with that. We were preparing for this game with a target not to let in any goals, so to lose three means we need to think about our preparations again.

“We showed in the second half that we can play, when we pushed forward and tried to find goals, so that is one good thing. But we need to think about our defending if we want to win games.”

Geylang United vs Sengkang Punggol [2-0]

2009-05-29T18:10:00.000+08:00

Eagles celebrate Latiak’s first strike

Ong Jiing Yih
info@sleague.com

Miroslav Latiak scored his first goal of the season to inspire Geylang United to a 2-0 win over Sengkang Punggol at Bedok Stadium on Thursday evening.

The Slovakian scored the opener for the Eagles with a clinical finish on 66 minutes, before skipper Noor Ali ensured all three points went to the hosts with the killer second goal seven minutes from time.

It was their first win in the league since 16 April, when they had beaten Woodlands Wellington 2-0 to cap off a three-match winning run that had lifted the Eagles up the mid-table pack where they now stand.

But coach Mike Wong did not hesitate to admit afterwards that the win – their first in five league matches – concealed a below-par performance from his side.

“We did not play well to be honest,” he told sleague.com.

“As much as our central midfield failed to chase down enough second balls, both teams tried their best but none could really come up with the final product.

“I am pleased we got two goals in the end. But we were too cautious in the first half.

“Having lost three games before this, the boys became mentally worried, worried that it might turn out to be the same story had they conceded another goal. Only after they had kept things tight in the first half did we attack down the flanks more often in the second.”

Geylang definitely had an uneasy start against a Sengkang side that featured Mamadou Diallo in attack, while Azhar Baksin was handed only his second start for the Dolphins.

The veteran winger created the first serious chance of the match after just four minutes, playing a testing cross that Hiroyuki Yamamoto managed to get his head to but could not steer towards the Geylang goal.

But the promising start flattered to deceive as both sides proceeded to cancel each other out, to the frustration of the 1,682 fans who had turned up for this encounter.

Sengkang were the more willing side in the first half, and they nearly had the lead on 22 minutes when Azhar crashed a shot into the side-netting, having done the hard part of recovering an overhit cross by Murphy Wiredu.

The Eagles responded through their captain, who sent a goalbound free kick that drew the best out of Dolphins goalkeeper Joey Sim as he flew across to pull off a great save.

Jorg Steinebrunner, concerned that Geylang were getting back into the game, urged his players to press forward.

Jerry Bartholomeusz took the hint as he swept up the right flank, but his initial cross was pushed out by former Woodlands teammate Yazid Yasin, and the goalkeeper showed quick recovery skills to deny the unmarked Wiredu on the follow-up.

The Dolphins carried their momentum into the second half, leftback Zahid Ahmad finding Indra Sahdan Daud with a cross to the far post that the national skipper could only head straight into Yazid’s grasp.

Geylang were consistently on the back foot as their midfield struggled, Rastislav Belicak often looking alone as he had his hands full against Abdoulaye Diallo and former Eagles stalwart Noh Rahman.

Had Steinebrunner’s men made better use of that, they could have had a firm grip on proceedings. As it was, though, it was the home side who surprised everyone by pulling ahead on 66 minutes.

Latiak was the main man in the move, buying a yard off Aide Iskandar before beating Hiroyuki Yamamoto and finding the right spot to drill his low shot into the Sengkang net.

It was only the first goal this year from the Slovakian, who had managed seven last season for the Eagles, but it could not have come at a better time as they celebrated his strike.

The goal could have counted for nothing, though, as Geylang remained vulnerable in defence.

Baihakki Khaizan almost gave the victory away seven minutes from the end when he let national colleague Indra in on goal, but the former Home United star, armed with time and space to focus his shot, ended up hooking it wide.

Sensing the danger his team was in, Noor Ali stepped in to score the clincher within 60 seconds when they were awarded a free kick for a Yamamoto foul on substitute Ang Zhi Wei.

Syed Thaha, returning to the starting eleven from suspension, whipped in the free kick, and it was promptly met by the wide man, who had recently turned 34.

Yet the action was not quite finished without some kind of altercation, and unsurprisingly it was Bartholomeusz who got himself in the thick of the contretemps.

Oddly enough, though, his involvement drew a response from the normally-placid Yazid, who somehow took exception to what was going on and stormed all the way off his line to confront his former teammate at Woodlands.

Only the fine work of referee Abas Daud ensured things were broken up in orderly fashion, yet by then Steinebrunner was already chewing over an outcome he felt his team did not deserve.

“We were the better team,” opined the German as he cut a frustrated look.

“Even as the game seemed a little more even in the second half, Geylang did not create until after they had scored the first one. As the away team, we looked the more active and appeared more likely to score.

“Eventually it was about the slack marking in our penalty area. No one would have complained if the game finished 0-0, but in football, if you don’t score, you don’t win.”

Tampines Rovers vs Balestier Khalsa [1-0]

2009-05-29T18:07:00.000+08:00

Gutsy Balestier lose to Alam Shah goal

Basil Yeo
info@sleague.com

Noh Alam Shah’s 27^th-minute header was the solitary goal in a midweek S.League encounter that saw Tampines Rovers edge out a gutsy Balestier Khalsa side to take all three points.

Despite missing several regulars like Han Yiguang, Poh Yi Feng and Seth Galloway, the Tigers managed to take the game to their hosts and keep things close for the remainder of the game.

Seiji Kaneko was left on the bench for the home side due to a rib injury, which paved the way for a surprise start for Aliff Shafaein, despite Alam Shah and Shariff Abdul Samat returning from bans.

The Stags attacked freely straight from the first whistle, as Sutee Suksomkit’s early corner was punched out by Hafez Mawasi.

The job was not over for Hafez though, as Akihiro Nakamura sent the ball on a long punt back into the box for Fahrudin Mustafic, who took his time to control the ball but volleyed his effort straight into the former Rovers custodian.

Alam Shah attempted a take a leaf out of Shukor Zailan’s book from last week but failed as his shot from 40 metres out was no trouble for Hafez.

Qiu Li then managed to force a corner after surging into the box to direct the ball off the byline and out off Jufri Taha’s body.

However, the Stags were tested at the other end as Ram Shanker broke into the box and attempted a shot on goal, only for Hassan Sunny to place it out for a corner.

Bryan Soane also had two chances from set pieces, but both his headers were off the mark.

The Tigers handled an attack by their hosts well to force a corner, but they failed to guard the resulting delivery and allowed Alam Shah a free header into the goal from a superb inswinging effort from Sutee on the right.

That was on 27 minutes, and it sent the home fans into delightful cheers as they dreamed of more.

Balestier though had other ideas, as they kept on pushing at their opponents, believing attack to be the best form of defence.

Ram was a stunning revelation once again as he came through the defence unmarked and managed a well-taken shot on goal, but was denied once again by Hassan’s feet.

Aliff had his first attempt on goal late in the half as Mushthafa Kamal executed a disastrous clearance attempt from Sutee’s free kick, popping the ball into the path of the 27-year-old to allow him a free shot on goal that he should have put on target.

The hosts were unlucky not to increase their lead at the beginning of the second half, when Qiu’s cross on the right missed his target Alam Shah, only to fall into the path of Aliff on the far side.

The diminutive forward slammed his shot onto the underside of the upright, but was left in agony as the ball bounced out of the goal rather than into it to deny him.

There was a sparse run of chances for the Stags in the second half, when Tigers substitutes Anantha Rajan and Rhysh Roshan Rai were instrumental in their efforts to pressure the hosts, but Sutee managed to skin the outside of the near post with a 63^rd-minute free kick.

Ridhuan Muhammad should have increased the lead when presented with an easy chance in front of goal, after Aliff delivered a ball from the left, but he skewed his shot wide with an acrobatic aerial kick from close range.

Late substitute Ithamar Rangel tracked back to defend as the Stags launched a late onslaught for that elusive second goal, but their attempts yielded no results, and they had to be satisfied with the single-goal win at full time.

Balestier head coach Nasaruddin Jalil applauded his team’s efforts for the day, and was satisfied with their performance despite the loss.

“We showed what we can do, we are quite consistent, if we had a bit more luck maybe we could have gotten something from the game,” he said.

“If you look at the type of players they have, my boys did very well to close them down. We did not get outclassed or outplayed.

“We are quite satisfied even if we lost. Nobody wants to lose, but we have to be realistic given what they have. They have national players, but I only have National (brand) battery,” joked Nasaruddin.

“Performance-wise, I must give the credit to my players, but result-wise, we are not improving. The boys worked very hard against a good team. Put it this way, we lost to a better team. I am quite pleased even if the results don’t show.”

“They did not have star players but their players are all good boys, they have fighting spirit,” said Tampines’ head coach Vorawan Chitavanich of his opponents.

“We had a lot of chances but we only managed to score one. If we could have killed the game in the first half then it would have been easier for us.

“Today we didn’t play the same way as we did against Woodlands Wellington, where we were very smooth in the midfield,” he continued, describing his concerns over his team’s performance.

“This time the players could not do it because they put one man on each of our midfield players. They marked our players well and tried to use their fitness to beat us.”

Super Reds vs DPMM FC [0-0]

2009-05-27T08:46:00.000+08:00

Dominance unrewarded as Super Reds held

Gary Koh
info@sleague.com

An in-form Super Reds side saw their three-match winning streak come to a halt as they were surprisingly held to a goalless draw by DPMM FC in their league encounter at Yishun on Tuesday evening.

The result capped a frustrating night for the Koreans as they were dominant throughout and did everything right except finding the back of the net.

Their inability to score meant they stayed fifth in the league standings while the visitors escaped with a barely-deserved point to remain third behind joint pacesetters SAFFC and Gombak United.

The hosts came into the match seeking their fourth straight win as they looked to build on their winning momentum after a slow start to the season.

They were without forward Park Kang Jin, who was serving his one-match ban after receiving two yellows in their 3-1 victory over Gombak last week.

Meanwhile DPMM coach Vjeran Simunic made one minor tweak to his regular starting lineup as he sought to end a two-match losing run in Singapore.

Former Super Reds star Oh Ddog Yi, making his first visit to Yishun since his transfer to his present employers in February, returned to form a three-man forward line with Algerian Abdel Hamid Berguiga and Shahrazen Said while midfielder Azwan Salleh was dropped to the bench.

If it was to provide a repeat of their 2-1 win in Brunei back in March, the switch had limited effect for them as the Super Reds dominated the game from the first whistle.

They came close to breaking the deadlock after just seven minutes, when Kim Tae Young freed Choi Dong Soo on the right, only for DPMM goalkeeper Wardun Yussof to rush out and clear before further damage could be done.

Back Dae Hyuen was then denied by Bruneian centreback Yusof Salleh on 20 minutes after he was fed through the visiting defence by Yun Bo Young.

He could have put his name on the scoresheet four minutes later when he dived towards skipper Yu Hyun Koo’s indirect free kick. His header was too high to trouble the visitors though.

DPMM were often left chasing shadows as the Super Reds controlled possession and toyed with them all over the pitch.

In the few forays they had on the other half, their crosses and passes into the final third rarely troubled the Koreans.

The game had been billed as a match-up between last year’s top foreign side and the team seeking to replicate their results, but as the game unfolded, it became increasingly clear that it was a no-contest where that was concerned.

As the Wasps struggled to cope with the hosts’ technical and tactical superiority, they resorted to the hard play they were reputed for, bringing down a red shirt at every opportunity in their bid to stop the juggernaut.

Their efforts had referee Abdul Malik Bashir dish out five yellow cards to them in the first 45 minutes as the tension mounted rapidly between both sides.

It was his decisive action to haul Yun away that prevented an all-out brawl in added time, when the Super Reds forward appeared to be close to coming to blows with Simunic after a harsh exchange of words that followed a foul near the DPMM bench.

The half-time interval cooled tempers as fewer fouls and bookings were issued by the match official in the second half.

As was the case in the first half, the Bears dominated the next 45 minutes, often camping in the DPMM half in search for the elusive goal.

With each passing minute, the situation became more desperate for DPMM as they went into overdrive in defence with their last-ditch tackles, shirt-tugs and blocks to prevent the ball from entering the net.

There was also very little productivity in attack to make Super Reds sweat. Oh endured a quiet outing in his return before he was substituted towards the end of the match.

Yet for all their possession and creativity, the hosts just could not find the final touch to complete the good work they were showing from defence to attack.

No Korean was present to punish Wardun just after the hour mark when the Brunei national custodian dropped a Park Chul Hyung left cross, allowing him to dive to catch the ball the second time before anyone could react in the box.

Even when they had the chance to shoot past the tiring Bruneians, they scuffed them to the agony of the Yishun faithful.

Yu epitomized the frustrating moments in attack when he blasted over a Kim Shin Yui pass in the box in the 68^th minute.

Substitute Song Wang Suk then saw his volley off Wardun’s poor punch blaze over and wide with less than three minutes to go.

Further efforts from Park and Choi in injury time also went begging as they had to be content with a point.

Super Reds coach Jeon Kyeong Joon felt his team’s main problem lay beyond their profligacy in goal.

“It is not really about the shooting (that was the problem), but how they moved from the middle to the final third that was not always good,” he said.

Apart from the weakness, he was pleased with what he saw in his men.

“Tonight they really did well. They pushed hard and did what they had prepared for,” he added.

“They showed they wanted to win, but perhaps they overdid it and pushed themselves too much.”

Meanwhile, DPMM coach Simunic put on a strong front as he defended his team’s negative performance to hold for a draw.

“I am very satisfied we got a point, it is like a win for us. My players have big marks from me because they worked hard to get the result like I wanted,” he said.

“We respect Super Reds, they have much better quality than every other opponent in the league and some of the players, number 8 (Yu), number 10 (Kim Yoon Sik) and number 22 (Park Han Seok), all can play in Europe. They should try.”

He then blasted the match officials for what he alleged as a plot to deny his side credit for their efforts.

“The referee is 70 percent against us tonight. He gave us more yellow cards, more fouls, and was very bad,” he continued.

“Last five games we are very unlucky against the referee. Maybe they have a bad day, but who knows what they were doing.

“Maybe someday somebody can stop DPMM because we are up there, but here I don’t know who else can take points from us.”

Tampines Rovers vs Balestier Khalsa

2009-05-26T10:12:00.000+08:00

Tampines guard against complacency ahead of Tigers clash

Mohd Sham
info@sleague.com

Tampines Rovers will be wary of the pitfalls of complacency when they take on Balestier Khalsa on Wednesday evening.

The Stags perhaps underestimated Balestier, bottom of the table, when the two sides met nearly three months ago and dropped two vital points in a 1-1 draw after Ithamar Rangel equalised Seiji Kaneko’s opener.

Vorawan Chitavanich’s men are chasing the leading pack in the S.League and will be even more aware of Balestier’s threat after they held Home United 1-1 on the weekend.

“We cannot be overconfident when we face them and I think on the back of their minds, the players were thinking they (should have) won when we played them earlier on in the season,” said Tampines team manager Syed Faruk.

“But we can’t take them for granted and we know that Balestier will always give a thousand percent effort in every match.

“No disrespect to them, we know we have better quality players on paper but games are not won on paper but rather on the football pitch.”

“But nevertheless, we should be taking three points and that’s what we are aiming to do against them,” he added.

The former national midfielder has echoed the importance of garnering a win in order to keep up their pursuit of the leaders.

“It’s very important for us to get up a win and the draws earlier on in the season cost us points but now we are picking up,” said Faruk.

“We want to climb up the table and keep the pressure on our rivals so we must go out and play to win.”

After a less than solid start to the campaign which saw the 2004 and 2005 league champions muster three stalemates in their opening three matches, Faruk acknowledged the Stags are slowly but surely finding their rhythm which has culminated in their consolidation of their current fourth spot.

“I think all teams will take time to find their feet and over time, they will get generally better,” he said.

“For example, the Super Reds did not start the season so well as they had a whole new set of players but now they are showing their capabilities and I think the same has applied to us.”

Balestier tactician Nasaruddin Jalil maintained that his charges will take heart from their gutsy 1-1 draw with the Stags earlier in the season.

“We have tried to improve in certain areas and the second round of the season is always a good gauge for us in terms of improvement,” he said.

“For example, we lost to Home United 3-0 earlier in the season but then we drew 1-1 with them in our last match. We also drew 1-1 against Tampines so it’s definitely an encouraging sign for us.

“The performances and results are gradually improving for us and I’m quite happy with the progress made so far,” added Nasaruddin.

The Tigers chief admitted that Tampines will provide a stiff test of his side’s youthful credentials.

“Every team has improved but Tampines have good players such as (defender) Benoit Croissant, and they are getting goals so that’s something we have to worry about,” he added.

“They are the benchmark in terms of how much we want to improve and we want to show how well we can do against them.

“They have quality players and experienced internationals, but my players need to follow instructions and play to the level we can and try to restrict Tampines from playing their game.”

Super Reds vs DPMM FC

2009-05-26T10:08:00.000+08:00

Jeon looking for DPMM scalp

Gary Koh
info@sleague.com

The fixture could not have come at a better time for in-form Super Reds as they host DPMM FC at Yishun in their league encounter on Tuesday evening.

It presents the ideal opportunity for last season’s runners-up to avenge their 2-1 loss against the same opponents in Bandar Seri Begawan.

After a slow start to the season, the Koreans have won their last three league games in a row to move up to their present fifth-spot placing.

The same could not be said for DPMM, who are now facing a reality check after a brilliant start to their debut league campaign.

Recent defeats to Home United and Woodlands Wellington in Singapore have cast doubts on the Bruneians’ ability to sustain their third position.

Save for the Home match where four regulars were suspended, their Croatian coach Vjeran Simunic has fielded virtually the same lineup in every game.

Even the battle to partner local striker Shahrazen Said has been won by Algerian forward Abdel Hamid Berguiga, ahead of former Super Reds ace Oh Ddog Yi.

Their tactical predictability does not surprise Super Reds coach Jeon Kyeong Joon, who has observed this trend in the league.

“Teams here generally often field the same best eleven players all the time as they do not have the squad depth,” he noted.

The former K-League stalwart is looking forward to his team extending their good run as they make up ground with the pacesetters.

“In football, sometimes you win, sometimes you lose,” he said.

“But tomorrow’s game is important for both sides, especially for us as we try to get the three points and avenge the loss in Brunei.

“It is very important for us to put full concentration into the game, plan and work hard to try to get a win.”

Among the DPMM players who are looking to correct their recent woeful performances includes Oh, who will be making his return to Yishun since the move to his present employers in pre-season.

While Jeon believes his former charge could impress against his former club as he did in Brunei, he sympathizes with the latter’s current predicament as an out-of-favour player in Simunic’s plans.

“Oh has good skill and technique, but sometimes he plays much more with his heart than his brain,” he said.

“I have previously coached him and I know what kind of person and player he is. Now it is his present coach’s turn to decide how best he can use him.”

Meanwhile he will not have Park Kang Jin available, after the forward was sent off in his side’s 3-1 over Gombak United in their last game.

With the Woodlands game three days after the fixture and four other Super Reds one yellow each away from an automatic one-match suspension, the last thing the coach needs is more enforced absences in his thin squad, and he will be asking them to keep their tempers in check to avoid unnecessary trouble.

Young Lions vs Gombak United [0-4]

2009-05-26T10:06:00.001+08:00

Four-midable Gombak rout Young Lions

Fabius Chen
info@sleague.com

Gombak United drew level on points with defending champions SAFFC at the top of the Great Eastern-YEO’S S.League with a resounding 4-0 victory over the Young Lions at Jalan Besar Stadium.

Two first-half penalties by league top-scorer Ojimi Gabriel Obatola came either side of an Agu Casmir strike to send the Bulls into the break with a comfortable 3-0 lead that the home side never looked like recovering from, despite a spirited second-half showing.

The Young Lions, who have now lost four of their last five league matches, started out on the back foot but were dealing with the visitors’ attacks comfortably enough until the 24th minute.

As a Gombak throw came in from the left, home side skipper Obadin Aikhena was penalised for a seemingly-innocuous push on Casmir as the two jostled for position in the Young Lions penalty box.

Referee Zaid Hussein immediately pointed to the spot, in what Young Lions head coach Terry Pathmanathan felt was the defining moment of the match.

“It didn’t deserve such a severe punishment,” he said after the final whistle.

“That first penalty changed the game – the team just went down from there.”

Obatola stepped up and coolly slotted the ball home, sending Young Lions goalkeeper Izwan Mahbud the wrong way.

Things would go from bad to worse for the home side just two minutes later, as Obatola turned provider with an outrageous backheel that found Casmir in space in the box.

The Singapore international found the back of the net with a confident finish past a diving Izwan to put his side firmly in the driver’s seat.

There was no respite for the home side as a further three minutes on, Kingsley Njoku capitalised on a defensive mix-up between Afiq Yunos and Shahir Hamzah to win possession in the box and force the latter to bring him down.

Once again, the referee awarded the penalty without hesitation, despite both defenders protesting that Njoku had dived.

Obatola’s second spot-kick of the night was an exact carbon copy of his first, with the Nigerian forward placing the ball to the goalkeeper’s right and Izwan diving to his left.

It was desperate times for the Young Lions and coach Pathmanathan was forced to bring midfielder Hariss Harun on for Fairoz Hasan with just half an hour of the match played.

Gombak were on a roll, however, and very nearly added a fourth just before the break. Njoku was sent clear through but his shot from an angle sailed over Izwan’s goal.

Whatever Pathmanathan said to his players at half-time seemed to work, as they came out for the second-half a transformed team.

Just eight minutes after the restart, K. Sivaseshan made an enterprising run into the Gombak box, but his placed shot past Bulls goalkeeper Fadhil Salim rolled agonisingly past the post.

Four minutes later, Sivaseshan rounded Fadhil and tapped the ball into an empty net, only to turn around and see the offside flag raised.

The Young Lions went into the match as the league’s lowest scorers and it showed, as they failed to make the most of their chances in the second-half.

A weak scuffed shot by Gabriel Quak Jun Yi left assistant coach V. Sundramoorthy an exasperated man up in the stands as the home side continued to dominate proceedings but find goals hard to come by.

Even luck seemed to have deserted them. Sivaseshan’s shot on the turn left Fadhil stranded but came back off the foot of the post with 12 minutes to play.

It was left to Njoku to show the home side how it’s done, embarking on a solo run and finishing emphatically past Izwan to put the icing on the cake for the visitors in the final minute.

Bulls head coach Darren Stewart was understandably delighted with the result and waxed rhapsodic about his side’s showing.

He commented: “It was a good all-round performance and I’m pleased with the boys.

“We’ve been working on our work ethic since the start of the season but it’s something that gets overlooked in favour of attacking flair, which is always mentioned.”

Stewart was reflecting on a particular incident that happened in the 80th minute, when defender Jeremy Chiang chased a clearance by his captain Sevki Sha’ban to prevent it going out for a throw-in.

“The boys were desperate not to let the opposition pull a goal back,” he pointed out.

He did, however, praise the Young Lions’ fighting spirit as they tried to recover in the second-half.

“They really came into the game in the second-half and looked very dangerous.

“We were lucky not to concede a goal,” he admitted.

The Gombak coach also reserved special mention for Young Lions midfielder Hariss, who is back after a year on the sidelines with an injury.

“He is an influential, quality player,” he stressed.

Opposite number Pathmanathan agreed with Stewart’s assessment of his returning starlet.

The ex-international said: “Hariss did well after coming on. I had planned to use him for only 30-40 minutes but our midfield was struggling.”

Pathmanathan was also pleased with the way his team responded in the second period, despite their inability to pull a goal back.

“We played much better in the second-half: we minimised our errors in defence and put pressure on our opponents,” he stated.

“We have problems upfront, especially with Yang Mu out for the next five to six weeks but it is important for the players to go on working and preparing for the SEA Games.”

Meanwhile, 18-year-old Hariss had no doubts about the work that has to be done before his side can improve.

“It was a better performance in the second half but we can be better in the attacking third,” he said.

“There’s definitely room for improvement.”

The national team midfielder is still working his way back to full fitness after his lengthy lay-off and will look at this game as another step on his road to recovery.

He pointed out: “I still have a psychological barrier to overcome and match fitness to rediscover.”

His side will need him to achieve both goals sooner rather than later, if the words of their coach are anything to go by.

When asked if Monday had been a tough day, Pathmanathan responded solemnly: “Every game is a tough day.”

Fazrul signs up for Gombak revolution

2009-05-25T14:21:00.001+08:00

Tam Cheong Yan
info@sleague.com

Gombak United’s powerful attacking line has been given a further boost, after it was confirmed that they have signed striker Fazrul Nawaz.

The Singapore international, who is close to fully recovering from an anterior cruciate ligament tear, will be tied to the League Cup holders for the remainder of the year.

Fazrul had sustained the injury while playing for Geylang United in October last year, and had to miss out on Singapore’s AFF Suzuki Cup campaign last year as a result.

There was more bad news for the 24-year-old when contract negotiations with Geylang broke down in the off-season, but the frustration of being released by the club where he had started his professional career has now been replaced by relief at signing for Gombak.

Fazrul’s decision to sign comes more than two months after he had first trained with the Jurong West-based side, as part of a comprehensive rehabilitation programme done in collaboration with the national team’s fitness experts.

And as a gesture of the club’s commitment to helping him, his contract has been backdated to the day he had started doing his fitness work at Jurong West – an act that has earned the player’s respect.

“I’m really glad that I now have a club to help me start my season,” he told sleague.com.

“I thank the club, especially (chairman) John Yap and my coach Darren (Stewart), for helping me so much. This club has a record for coming in to help players when they are suffering, and I think that is good for the players.

“Due respect to Geylang, I felt it was sad that I could not get the same kind of help from them after everything I have given to the club. But I understand these things happen in football, and I’m glad other people were there for me.

“Gombak, together with Sengkang Punggol, were the first to offer to help me out, and I chose to come here because Darren is here. He was more than a coach to me when I was at Geylang, and I decided that I want to repay him for what he has done for me before.”

Fazrul also revealed that he had been wooed by other S.League clubs, which he did not identify, once it had become clear that his recovery had been going well.

By then, though, he was already impressed with Gombak’s surprise charge into the top three, and that had persuaded him to take up the challenge despite what was already a formidable array of attacking options at the club.

Apart from fellow Singapore striker Agu Casmir, the Bulls also enjoy the services of current league top-scorer Ojimi Gabriel Obatola, Kingsley Njoku and Emmanuel Emuejeraye as orthodox forwards.

Throw in Ruhaizad Ismail and Fazli Jaffar on the flanks, and the firepower Gombak have would frighten many people looking to make a comeback from injury.

But Fazrul, who has been a fixture in the Singapore squad since earning his first cap in 2005, was undaunted as he cast his sights on returning to action for club and country.

“When I started to recover, I had offers from some other clubs, including some big clubs,” he said.

“Of course, who wouldn’t think about playing for a big club? But then again, I have a debt of gratitude to Gombak I want to replay, and speaking to the players here, I can see that they feel good about doing well so far.

“I want to be part of this, and I am coming here not just to make up the numbers. I will fight for my place in this team; once I start to play, I will do whatever I can to help the team win the league.

“It will be a big challenge competing with so many good strikers, but first I want to focus on getting back to full fitness and getting my confidence back. It’s one step at a time for me, but I believe I can bounce back and fight for my place in the national team.”

The SEA Games bronze medallist’s decision to join Gombak has been greeted with enthusiasm by the players, including Nigerian striker Njoku.

The 22-year-old, who has scored three goals in eight appearances so far, was all smiles as he spoke of his new colleague, as he expressed confidence that all the strikers will see their fair share of action even with Fazrul’s introduction into the squad.

“All the players welcome Fazrul to the family,” said Njoku.

“I have played against him for the past two years now, and I think he is a very good player. He is strong, and he is fast, and he will be a big plus to the team now that he is with us.

“I used to confuse him for an African player, because he is as strong as we are. In fact, since we are so alike, the competition for playing places will be even bigger now.

“Everybody will have to buck up, but that is life. We cannot expect to play every game, and sometimes one of us will have to take a rest so that others who are fitter can play.”

Bulls coach Stewart too is looking forward to renewing his ties with the versatile Fazrul, who can play either at centre forward or out on the flanks.

Revealing that a date has yet to be set for the player to take his mandatory fitness test, known as the Beep Test, the Australian stressed that there are no plans on the club’s part to rush Fazrul into taking his test.

Stewart was nonetheless confident that things will eventually work out for both player and club.

“Fazrul’s trained with the club for a while, and for the future of the club, we thought he’s a tremendous asset,” he noted.

“He didn’t look in great shape at the start; honestly, he couldn’t walk when he first came to training! But he’s a real good lad, and he’s a lot stronger than when I first saw him back at Geylang.

“The club’s put a lot of faith in him and looked after him, and we don’t want to rush him back into action. He’s not bound by transfer regulations, so whenever he’s ready, he can register, but if the physio says he needs another month, we will wait for that extra month.

“It’ll be hard work keeping all the strikers happy when he’s ready to play, but that’s part of the job. He’s a natural goalscorer, and you can’t have enough of them!”

Young Lions vs Gombak United

2009-05-25T14:20:00.001+08:00

Young Lions aim to snap losing streak

Fabius Chen
info@sleague.com

Second-from-bottom Young Lions face an uphill task if they are to avoid a fourth successive defeat in all competitions when second-placed Gombak United visit Jalan Besar Stadium on Monday.

Terry Pathmanathan’s young side produced dismal performances in losses to Cambodia’s Phnom Penh Crown in the RHB Singapore Cup and Super Reds, 0-5, in their last Great Eastern-YEO’S S.League home game.

Their latest defeat came at the hands of Brunei DPMM in Bandar Seri Begawan, although the 1-0 scoreline flattered the visitors and was thanks to an inspired display by goalkeeper Izwan Mahbud.

The 18-year-old stopper will need to produce a similar display on Monday if the Young Lions are to get a result against a Gombak side which is looking to bounce back after going down to Super Reds in only their second loss of the season.

Bulls head coach Darren Stewart was keen to take the result in his stride, insisting that he was delighted with the way his side has performed thus far in the league.

“Look at any league in the world and you won’t find a team that does not get beaten; what matters, is how you recover after a loss,” he pointed out.

“You have no God-given right to think that you’ll never get beaten.”

The Australian added: “For now, we’ve exceeded all expectations.

“There’s still a long way to go in the season but at the moment, we’re doing very, very well.”

With a full-strength squad at his disposal, Stewart will be looking to Ojimi Gabriel Obatola, Agu Casmir and Kingsley Njoku to provide the goals at Jalan Besar, with the three accounting for 20 of Gombak’s 23 goals so far this season.

It is a good thing for the home side, then, that their influential captain Obadin Aikhena will be back in the squad to face his former club after missing the DPMM game through suspension.

The big defender from Nigeria has by far been the Young Lions’ stand-out performer of 2009 and is their top-scorer with four goals, a statistic that more than anything underlines their struggles up front.

Also back in the reckoning for the Young Lions is national team midfielder Hariss Harun, who has spent the past year on the sidelines with an ankle injury.

He played the first half of the national Under-23 side’s 0-3 friendly loss to their Malaysian counterparts on Thursday and his captain was eagerly awaiting his return to league action.

“It’ll be a big boost for the team,” Obadin said.

“But after being out for so long, he’ll need some time to find his feet.”

The sides’ first meeting of the season was settled by a late Njoku goal, a defeat that the Young Lions skipper was determined to avenge.

He commented: “The last time we played against Gombak, we lost due to our inexperience.

“They are a good side but they won’t find it easy against us.

The experience factor was one that the Gombak boss touched on as well, as he emphatised with his opposition’s position.

Stewart said: “They’re a very young team, so you can’t expect them to perform well in every game.”

In spite of this, Obadin was optimistic that Monday would see an improved Young Lions performance.

“We’re going to have a good game,” he said confidently.

Geylang United 0 SAFFC 3

2009-05-25T14:18:00.000+08:00

Warriors sink Geylang to pull clear

Syahrom Sulaiman
info@sleague.com

SAFFC avenged their RHB Singapore Cup preliminary round exit at the hands of Geylang United when they defeated the Eagles 3-0 at Bedok Stadium in Sunday’s Great Eastern–YEO’S S.League game.

An early goal by Mustaqim Manzur and a brace from Aleksandar Duric was enough to see the Warriors steer three points clear of their second-placed rivals Gombak United in the standings.

For the Eagles though, they suffered their third league defeat on the trot.

Victory over the Warriors in the RHB Singapore Cup game on Labour Day seemed like a distant memory, but Eagles head coach Mike Wong wants to quickly correct the recent mistakes made by his side so that they can go on to their winning ways soon.

He said, “Their first goal came very early in the game and two more goals came from corners. To me, I felt that we could have done much better as a team to defend those situations.

“The players must understand that once the referee blows his whistle everyone must be alert to anticipate any type of situation. The same thing happened when we conceded the goals in our previous game against Albirex (Niigata FC(Singapore)).

“Once we conceded early against strong teams such as SAFFC it was going to be difficult after that. We had to change the game plan and nearing the end of the first half we managed to control the game but the second and third goals changed the complexion of the game,” Wong pointed out.

SAFFC were the quickest off the blocks to settle down.

Their incessant pressure paid off as early as the third minute when Mustaqim, receiving a long throw-in from right-back Hafiz Osman, took advantage of haphazard defending by the Eagles.

Thanks to Duric and Park Tae Won’s constant hassling, Mustaqim was not picked up by any defender and he coolly placed the ball past custodian Yazid Yasin within the six-yard area.

Missing the services of the suspended Baihakki Khaizan, the Eagles did not look steady at all at the back as the Warriors were constantly at their heels.

Winger Ahmad Latiff Khamarudin had a lot of joy on the right flank as he managed to go past Faizal Senin on numerous occasions to provide dangerous crosses to the middle.

However, the AFC Champions League exertions took its toll on the Warriors and the Eagles slowly took advantage of their opponents’ fatigue factor.

Rastislav Belicak and Noor Ali were at the heart of all the best moves the Eagles produced in the game.

One such move presented British striker Lloyd Butler the best chance to equalize for the Eagles.

In the 31st minute, Belicak passed the ball Noor Ali and the captain produced a peach of a cross to Butler in the middle.

Having escaped the attentions of defenders Kenji Arai and Razaleigh Khalik, Butler contrived to steer his header just over the crossbar from inside the six-yard area.

Such profligate finishing would only be punished by a top side like the Warriors and true enough, they doubled their advantage ten minutes after the interval.

The impressive Zulfadli Zainal Abidin, taking over left-back duties from Shaiful Esah who was rested for the game, produced a swerving corner kick which Yazid could not punch clear properly.

Duric imposed his 1.92-metre frame on the custodian and he was rewarded with the simplest of tap-ins after a lackadaisical effort by the Eagles’ defence to clear their lines properly.

The striker then put the icing on the cake twelve minutes from time when he overpowered defender Haruki Seto to reach substitute Syad Karim’s cross first and head the ball into goal.

Warriors head coach Richard Bok knew how important it was for his team to win the game against the Eagles.

He said, “It was definitely a hard-fought victory, especially when the match came after we travelled to Korea for the ACL (AFC Champions League) game.

“We settled down quickly but after a while Geylang United managed to have more possession of the ball. But we got the goals that we wanted and achieved our main objective – which was to come here and do a professional job so that we can get ahead from the rest of the teams in the league,” Bok commented.

Singapore youngsters succumb to Malaysians

2009-05-22T14:39:00.000+08:00

Ong Jiing Yih
info@fas.org.sg

In the international friendly match played at the Jalan Besar Stadium on Thursday evening, the Singapore Under-23 team succumbed to their counterparts from from the north, the Malaysian Under-23 team, 0-3.

Goals from Norshahrul Idlan in the 20th minute, Mohd Zaquan Adha from the penalty spot on 24 minutes and the clincher from substitute Farderin Kadir after 67 minutes sealed the match for of the visitors.

Despite the introduction of Fadhil Noh, Fairoz Hasan and Goh Swee Swee at half time, Singapore was only able to create a few chances which subsequently weren’t able to take advantage off.

Much work is needed in terms of looking for strikers and getting existing ones to convert their chances, a point not lost on Terry Pathmanathan, head coach of the Young Lions.

“We have a big problem in terms of attacking and even getting strikers to the Young Lions team, as it's an uphill task to look for one with instinctive play,” mentioned the one-time Singapore skipper.

“If the frontmen don't do better than they are at the moment it's going to be a big problem. As such we have to put in effort as coaches, to brush up the strikers.”

Despite having gathered for only days before their one and only training session on Wednesday, the young Malaysians led by coach K. Rajagobal, had little difficulty adjusting to conditions.

However, it was the hosts who made the brighter start. The first 120 seconds were all Singapore - Hariss Harun's incisive play found Geylang United starlet Yasir Hanapi, whose cross was cleared from danger by Mohd Amirulhadi.

It had been Hariss' first piece of action in nearly a year after injuring his knee and perhaps inspired by his presence the boys went on to force two corners in as many minutes.

Safuwan Baharudin from the National Football Academy Under-18 team, nearly gave the Singaporeans the lead only to see his header cleare off the line by Shahurain Abu Samah.

Once the Malaysian allayed the early pressure it was their turn to knock the ball about with confidence, against the Singapore side led by captain Isa Halim.

It was a sign of things to come, after both Mohd Fandi and left back Mohd Asraruddin missed their attempts on goal, a scuffed header and a cross-shot respectively.

The Malaysians eventually took the lead on 20 minutes through Norshahrul who started the move that eventually saw him finish it off.

An incisive run from the right flank, and a one-two with strike partner Zaquan saw him surge into the Singaporeans penalty area where he sidestepped goalkeeper Izwan Mahbud before netting a classy finish.

Things then took a turn for the worse after Norshahrul headed a through ball to Zaquan in the 24th minute.

The unfortunate Izwan in his desperation to safeguard his goal brought down the opposing forward and left referee Sukhbir Singh with little option but to point to the spot.

Up stepped Zaquan who dusted himself, fixed his eyes on the ball and sent Izwan the wrong way from the spot.

Balls were often won and lost in midfield and that almost presented the visitors with another chance to strike on goal, but for Norshahrul to drive well wide of the target.

With two-nil down and still a lot to play for Pathmanathan went on to make three attacking changes in a bid to pep up his side's attack.

That nearly provided instant dividends, and after Safuwan headed straight into the grasp of Nohd Nasril Nordin's grasp, Fadhil could have done better when faced with the goalkeeper in a perfect one-on-one situation.

The Young Lions forward fluffed the opportunity in the 52nd minute after an accurate cross by club teammate Hamqaamal Shah.

Despite showing better movement in the second half, Singapore was unable to make any breakthrough.

The third goal eventually arrived in the 67th minute after failure to stem the incoming blue tide, courtesy of another lost ball in midfield.

Afiq Yunos was turned way too easily at the edge of the box by Razali, who then found space to shoot goalwards. Izwan in his moment to save succeeded in diverting the ball into the path of Farderin, who knocked in the rebound into goal off his shin.

Though the away side still had one last chance to add onto their score, Khyril Muhymeen's hissed shot perhaps spared substitute goalkeeper Jasper Chan another moment of ingonimy seven minutes from the end.

Post match, a delighted Malaysian Under-23 coach Rajagobal spoke about his preparations and targets coming into this encounter.

“I didn't field my first eleven. The players are tired, having played in durations of 90 minutes in Super League and Premier League matches before gathering here.

“My objective was to see the players who had just formed the team. As a selection process, this match is a good test to look into character, playing responsibilities and the players' approach towards the game.”

The experienced tactician then shared his thoughts on the victory as well as his hopes for the South East Asian Games.

“We began the match a bit sloppy in terms of passing, but adapted to the situation after some time.

“We created chances especially in the second half, and even if we're surprise at the scoreline we could have got more goals.

“Overall I'm happy we've won the match with the right attitude. Now we shall take one game at a time, until the SEA Games draw comes out.”

Meanwhile, Singapore Under-23 and Young Lions tactician Pathmanathan looked back to the match, at the same time pleased to take positives out of the game.

“The boys did alright defensively but once they failed to put on pressure it's bound to be thrown back at them.

“I'll accept the fact where it's the first time the boys played together; the game is basically to see what they can do. It hadn't been easy to put out a team and expect a lot without training, but the performances of Safuwan and Nazrul (Ahmad Nazari) were good.

“Overall I feel we didn't do too badly, and the players could do with more coaching and guidance.”

Woodlands vs DPMM FC Report [2-1]

2009-05-22T08:45:00.001+08:00

Rams claim first home win

Ko Po Hui
info@sleague.com

Goals from Mojtaba Tehranizadeh and Jamil Ali helped Woodlands Wellington to their first win at home this term, as they held off DPMM FC to record a 2-1 victory.

Abu Bakar Makari pulled one back just a minute after the Rams duo had sent the home side into a 2-0 lead, to set up a close finale on a wet and heavy Woodlands pitch.

But the Rams hung on to leave coach Nenad Bacina savouring the three points. “I’m too excited to say anything now!” he smiled.

“I have been telling my players that every game is like a war, and they are facing a problem mentally in that we have been playing well in some games but dropping points at the same time.

“I congratulate my players for tonight’s win over DPMM as they are one of the top teams, and by beating them it proved we can actually play,” Bacina added.

On a sodden surface, it was no surprise to see both teams starting cautiously.

After a mundane opening, the game witnessed its first piece of end-to-end action in the 10th minute.

Woodlands man Jalal curled a freekick onto the head of towering team-mate Daniel Hammond, but the Englishman’s header was tame.

That allowed DPMM to launch a counter-attack, which led to Algerian Abdel Hamid Berguiga’s effort from outside the box being fumbled by Woodlands keeper Rezal Hassan, only for Ismadi Mukhtar to clear off the line.

The Bruneians grew into the dominant side of the match with much of the possession, but failed to convert a series of chances they created.

No such problem for Woodlands, who went into the lead in the 33rd minute despite having been on the back foot for most of the half.

Tehranizadeh’s diving header from close range sent the Woodlands supporters into celebration, as the Iranian himself sprinted off to mark his third goal of the season.

The Rams could have doubled their lead in the 39th minute when Jamil floated a cross from the left, but Tehranizadeh missed the target by a few inches.

The man nicknamed ‘Moshee’ was again denied in the 54th minute when he was sent through into the Bruneians’ penalty area by Jamil’s intelligent ball, but his effort was poor.

Four minutes later Berguiga was again in the thick of action when he outsmarted the burly Precious Emuejeraye, but Hammond was in quickly to clear.

The hosts doubled their lead in the 64th minute through Jamil, as the livewire midfielder fired in on the second attempt after his first shot was blocked by DPMM skipper Sallehuddin Damit.

Barely a minute later, the visitors reduced the deficit when Abu Bakar cruised past the static Emuejeraye, and beat Rezal for 2-1.

Woodlands began to protect the lead by putting numbers at the back, and the Bruneians could find no way through en route to just their second defeat of the season.

But even in defeat, DPMM coach Vjeran Simunic did not pass up an opportunity to glorify his side.

“Look at Woodlands! They celebrated as if they beat Chelsea!” laughed Simunic.

“If Woodlands played like this every time, they would have been second in the league. But they don’t, they wait till we come.

“It was a tough pitch to play on, and I complained we were not given a penalty, not once but thrice during the game. If we got the penalties, the win will be ours.

“But we should be satisfied with our performance as we are still within our target (of a top three place),” added the Croatian.

Match Statistics for Match 71 - Woodlands Wellington FC vs Brunei DPMM FC

2009-05-21T21:58:00.001+08:00

Match Statistics for Match 71 - Woodlands Wellington FC vs Brunei DPMM FC

S.LEAGUE

21 May 09, 1945hrs, Woodlands Stadium

SCORING SUMMARY (Full-Time Score)
Woodlands Wellington FC	2 - 1		Brunei DPMM FC
Mojtaba Tehranizadeh (33')		Abu Bakar Mahari (65')
Jamil Ali (64')

Woodlands Wellington FC
No.	Name	Pos
18	Rezal Hassan	GK
3	Azlan Alipah (C)	DF
4	Precious Emuejeraye	DF
5	Daniel Hammond	DF
6	Anaz Hadee	DF
19	Syaiful Iskandar	DF
2	Jalal	MF
7	Ismadi Mukhtar	MF
10	Luis Eduardo Hicks	MF
16	Jamil Ali	MF
14	Mojtaba Tehranizadeh	FW
Woodlands Wellington FC Substitutes
20	Ahmadulhaq Che Omar	GK
8	Mohammad Shahri Bin Musa	MF
11	Hasrin Bin Jailani	MF
12	Asraf Rashid	MF
13	Kamal Nasir	MF
34	Syamsul Bahri Ali	FW

Brunei DPMM FC
No.	Name	Pos
25	Wardun Yussof	GK
2	Yusof Salleh	DF
5	Rene Komar	DF
6	Pg Sallehuddin Damit (C)	DF
3	Sairol Sahari	MF
7	Azwan Saleh	MF
11	Haji Subhi Abdilah	MF
12	Ivan Jerkovic	MF
13	Rosmin Kamis	MF
10	Abdelhamid Berguiga	FW
22	Shahrazen Said	FW
Brunei DPMM FC Substitutes
18	Pg Haji Hamzah Abdul Rahman	GK
4	Safari Wahit	DF
9	Hardi Bujang	MF
15	Suhaime Yussof	MF
17	Abu Bakar Mahari	MF
20	Helmi Zambin	MF

Woodlands Wellington FC Substitutions
Hasrin Bin Jailani for Azlan Alipah (68')
Asraf Rashid for Jalal (72')
Syamsul Bahri Ali for Jamil Ali (89')

Brunei DPMM FC Substitutions
Abu Bakar Mahari for Azwan Saleh (38')
Helmi Zambin for Haji Subhi Abdilah (57')
Hardi Bujang for Rosmin Kamis (69')

Woodlands Wellington FC Yellow Cards
Name	Min
Mojtaba Tehranizadeh	45
Jalal	69
Hasrin Bin Jailani	81
Syamsul Bahri Ali	90
Woodlands Wellington FC Red Cards
None
Woodlands Wellington FC Coach
Nenad Bacina

Brunei DPMM FC Yellow Cards
Name	Min
Sairol Sahari	9
Abdelhamid Berguiga	43
Rene Komar	69

Brunei DPMM FC Red Cards
None
Brunei DPMM FC Coach
Vjeran Simunic

Match Officials
Referee	Abas Daud
Asst Referee 1	Tang Yew Mun
Asst Referee 2	Muhammad Syahir Bin Ahamadi
Fourth Official	Zaid Bin Hussein
Match Commissioner	S Mahalingam

Match Attendance

1,330

Match Statistics for Match 1 - National U-23 (men) vs Malaysia U-23

2009-05-21T21:57:00.000+08:00

Match Statistics for Match 1 - National U-23 (men) vs Malaysia U-23

INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY

21 May 09, 1930hrs, Jalan Besar Stadium

SCORING SUMMARY (Full-Time Score)
National U-23 (men)	0 - 3		Malaysia U-23
		Norshahrul Idlan (20')
		Mohd Zaquan Adha (Pen 24')
		Farderin Kadir (67')

National U-23 (men)
No.	Name	Pos
1	Izwan Mahbud	GK
7	Hariss S/o Harun
8	Safuwan Baharudin	DF
10	Irwan Shah	DF
15	Afiq Yunos	DF
4	Isa Halim (C)	MF
5	Hamqaamal Shah	MF
12	Shahdan Sulaiman	MF
13	Yasir Hanapi	MF
20	Nazrul Ahmad Nazari	MF
22	Khalili D'cruz	FW
National U-23 (men) Substitutes
2	Azfar Zainal Abidin
18	Jasper Chan	GK
9	Shaiful Esah	DF
11	Fadhil Noh	FW
14	Fairoz Hasan	FW
16	Haniff Sadique	FW
19	Goh Swee Swee	FW

Malaysia U-23
No.	Name	Pos
1	Mohd Farizal
4	Mohd Asraruddin
7	Mohd Aidil Zafuan
8	Mohd Zaquan Adha
12	Amar Rohidan
13	Shahurain Abu Samah
21	Mohd Amirulhadi
23	Norshahrul Idlan
25	Mohd Fandi
27	Mohd Muslim
30	Mohd Bunyamin
Malaysia U-23 Substitutes
2	Mohd Sabree
3	Mazlizam Mohamad
5	G. Mahathevan
6	Mohd Nasriq
10	K. Gurusamy
11	Baddrol Bakthiar
14	Khyril Muhymeen
15	Razali Umar
16	S. Kunanlan
19	Farderin Kadir
20	Kamarul Afiq
22	Mohd Nasril Nordin
26	Mohd Azmi

National U-23 (men) Substitutions
Fadhil Noh for Hariss S/o Harun (46')
Fairoz Hasan for Yasir Hanapi (46')
Goh Swee Swee for Khalili D'cruz (46')
Shaiful Esah for Nazrul Ahmad Nazari (56')
Jasper Chan for Izwan Mahbud (62')
Haniff Sadique for Hamqaamal Shah (68')
Azfar Zainal Abidin for Shahdan Sulaiman (77')

Malaysia U-23 Substitutions
S. Kunanlan for Mohd Fandi (28')
Mohd Nasril Nordin for Mohd Farizal (46')
G. Mahathevan for Amar Rohidan (46')
Mohd Nasriq for Mohd Zaquan Adha (46')
Razali Umar for Norshahrul Idlan (46')
Farderin Kadir for Mohd Muslim (46')
Mohd Azmi for Mohd Asraruddin (60')
K. Gurusamy for Mohd Bunyamin (60')
Mohd Sabree for Mohd Amirulhadi (61')
Khyril Muhymeen for Shahurain Abu Samah (62')
Mazlizam Mohamad for Mohd Aidil Zafuan (70')
Baddrol Bakthiar for S. Kunanlan (70')
Kamarul Afiq for G. Mahathevan (74')

National U-23 (men) Yellow Cards
Name	Min
Izwan Mahbud	23
Afiq Yunos	37
National U-23 (men) Red Cards
None
National U-23 (men) Coach
T Pathmanathan

Malaysia U-23 Yellow Cards
Name	Min
Mohd Amirulhadi	48

Malaysia U-23 Red Cards
None
Malaysia U-23 Coach
K. Rajagobal

Match Officials
Referee	Sukhbir Singh
Asst Referee 1	Edwin Tan
Asst Referee 2	Eugene Chan
Fourth Official	Leow Thiam Hoe

Match Attendance

1,418

Sengkang Punggol vs Albirex Niigata preview

2009-05-21T19:38:00.000+08:00

Underperforming Dolphins face tough Japanese test

Gerald Lee
info@sleague.com

Star-studded underperformers Sengkang Punggol will be looking to put forward their best side on national television this Friday evening, when they take on Albirex Niigata (Singapore) at Jalan Besar Stadium.

While the Dolphins attempt to iron out their leaky defence after a 0-3 drubbing at the hands of S.League co-leaders Gombak United, Albirex head into the game buoyed by a 2-0 victory over Geylang United FC last Friday – suggesting that the vulnerable Dolphins backline will face yet another tough test.

Goals from Taisuke Akiyoshi and Kenji Adachihara in the fourth and 83^rd minutes respectively indicate that the younger, faster Japanese will be working their socks off the entire 90 minutes, and the Dolphins will be counting on the experience of ex-national skipper Aide Iskandar, Jerry Bartholomeusz and Noh Rahman to keep them at bay.

Yet for all the big names in what on paper seems a formidable Sengkang teamsheet, statistics so far scream of their under-performance: conceding 26 goals this season has made theirs the worst defensive record in the country.

While critics have been guilty of over-hyping this irony, the Dolphins have, to their credit, proven capable of turning in impressive performances and delivering the goods.

Victories over Woodlands Wellington and the Young Lions have lifted the Dolphins off the bottom of the league table – a worrying situation that was devastatingly familiar just last month.

Moreover, if previous results count for anything, the Dolphins might just have an advantage: with national striker Indra Sahdan Daud scoring the only goal of the game in the corresponding fixture at Jurong East earlier in the season to beat Albirex 1-0.

In terms of individual performances, both Indra and Adachihara – top scorers for their respective sides – are tied at six league goals this season, five shy of the top spot currently occupied by Gombak United’s impressive Ojimi Gabriel Obatola.

However, Dolphins coach Jorg Steinbrunner might be worried by the fact that all 12 of their goals so far have come from merely three players. Apart from Indra, only Canadian duo Anthony Bahadur and Murphy Wiredu have hit the target with three each.

Compared to Albirex’s record of 14 goals from seven different individuals, it does seem as if Sengkang is suffering from an over-reliance on their “Three Musketeers”, a delicate situation that might spell problems in the long term.

And even though Adachihara and Akiyoshi will be suspended against Sengkang, together with first-choice custodian Yoshito Matsushita, that still leaves five people who have scored before for Steinebrunner and his men to deal with.

One final and stark difference between the two sides is age. Of the 20 players registered on the Dolphins’ teamsheet, eight are aged 30 and above with three more hitting the big three-zero next year.

This equates to more than half the Sengkang squad entering or approaching the twilight of their careers; compared to Albirex, whose oldest registered player, centreback Takatoshi Uchida, turned 27 at the beginning of this year.

While SAFFC and national goal machine Aleksandar Duric, who turns 39 three months from now, is testimony to the claim that age is not a limiting factor, Sengkang will be hoping that their wealth of experienced players let their football do the talking on Friday.

Will Sengkang get their act together and better their defensive record? Will coach Steinbrunner be able to inspire his other players to find the net, taking the burden off hit man Indra?

Or will Albirex’s youth and energy deal the Dolphins yet another blow?

Wait no more. Find out this Friday at Jalan Besar Stadium.

North Queensland Fury vs Tampines Rovers

2009-05-21T19:35:00.000+08:00

Ex-Liverpool legend, Robbie Fowler and the A-League's North Queensland Fury will be in town to battle S-League's Tampines Rovers. To add to the exitement, ex-international Fandi Ahmad and Abbas Saad will play against celebrities Glenn Ong and Rod Monteiro in a charity match as a pre-opener to the main event.

More Information, please go here