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Unlucky Dolphins lose to a fortunate goal
Ong Jiing Yih
info@sleague.com
A desperately unlucky Sengkang Punggol went down 1-0 away to Dalian Shide Siwu, in a match where their woes in front of goal continued.
The Chinese side scored the only goal through the fortunate Lu Peng in the 81st minute, after a loose ball which cannoned off referee Nazeer Hussein eventually found its way into the danger area.
Despite welcoming back the likes of Ali Imran Lomri and Ratna Suffian, plus the presence of Hiroyuki Yamamoto in an advanced midfield position, Sengkang tactician Saswadimata Dasuki had to endure the pain of toiling all night, without any real reward.
Dalian meanwhile were hoping to bounce back after their 2-1 reverse to Tampines Rovers in their previous outing, with head coach Pei Yongjiu not being able to attend.
Quan Heng earnt the first corner of the match for his team inside two minutes, after a searing run down the right.
However, as Sengkang showed enterprise in attack with Firdaus Salleh up front this time, they nearly set themselves on the backfoot, after some miscommunication between goalkeeper Hafez Mawasi, Mahmod Hashim and Luis Eduardo Hicks.
The presence of Li Zhichao in the box was enough to unnerve the Dolphins backline, as they were put under some considerable pressure with a series of mis-timed clearances on six minutes.
Thankfully, Sengkang led by Yamamoto were largely intact, as Mahmod posed an earnest figure down the right, with him eager and willing to make intelligent runs.
All Dalian could do was to launch attack via the old-fashioned long balls, while Sengkang repelled everything the Chinese threw at them.
Perhaps the best chance for Sengkang came and went at an instant, as Yamamoto, possibly the best player on the night, smashed his header onto the crossbar, after a precise delivery by Suriyandi Naib off a freekick in the 27th minute.
Dalian showed some intent to go forward, as Lu played in Zhao Honglue, whose shot found only the space in between the legs of Hafez.
With a blink of an eye, Sengkang regrouped and went forward, with Suriyandi steering a long range effort over the bar on 37 minutes.
The driving rain which greeted both teams since kickoff had subsided by the start of the second half, whereby Sengkang attempted to get on the scoresheet through a freekick by Zdravko Simic.
In the 56th minute, a good move could have paid dividends for the away side, as Suriyandi and Mahmod worked well to release an unmarked Razali Johari.
Sadly for the pint-sized playmaker, a sumptuous cross from the right was wasted as he stopped the ball, took the shot and put it high and over the bar.
Despite Dalian being the home, it was Sengkang who showed more hunger going forward and as they proved it in attack, Yamamoto was the next player to conjure up a goalscoring opportunity, an agonising miss after he glanced his header wide in the 58th minute.
With commitment being the order of the day, it was perhaps no surprise to see Ratna getting into the thick of action, as he came off worse after clutching his shoulder following a challenge.
Having sensed the game was there for the taking, Dalian‘s stand-in coach Han proceeded to bring on Wang Liang and Sun Wenlong in a bid to revive his side‘s flagging attack, which were to ultimately pay off.
Nevertheless, Sengkang felt this was the match for their taking, as they charged forward at every opportunity.
Within the space of two minutes, Sengkang saw two of their best chance being cast away in front of their own eyes.
In the 73rd minute, Yamamoto again put his effort wide after good work by Razali down the left. Next, the latter‘s left his cross on a plate for the marauding Firdaus, who had made a late dash into the box, only for the ball to elude him completely.
Dalian, having been continually caught offside for much of the second half, amazingly came up with the sucker punch nine minutes from time to break Sengkang hearts.
The ball had rebounded back in the home side‘s favour, as substitute Wang stung Hafez’s palms with a driving shot from the edge of the area. The loose ball rather unkindly found its way back into the box, and skipper Lu stood unmarked to prod home the ball past the stranded Hafez.
As Sengkang sought an equaliser in injury time, goalkeeper Wang Guoming‘s safe hands caught the ball firmly in injury time, to deny the Dolphins any chance of grabbing a share of the spoils.
Post match, coach Han felt luck was on his side, as he assessed his team‘s performance.
"We produced a good performance, the game was almost perfect," said Han.
"While my boys are still adjusting to the S.League, they are still learning.
"It was a good game where both teams had plenty of chances (to score)."
Meanwhile, an exasperated Sengkang tactician Saswadimata believed his charges did not deserve to suffer the way they did.
While lamenting of the cruel result, he said: "It was hard luck, as we didn‘t deserve to lose.”
"We gave our all, the lads played exceptionally well. The only difference was that we didn‘t manage to put the ball into the net."
"Though Dalian created little, I feel we did not capitalise on our chances, but that‘s (part and parcel) of football.”
The Sengkang tactician may be hard pressed to find a solution for the upcoming visit of the Super Reds, but the optimistic Saswadimata is firm in his belief of his team, as things can only get better.
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