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Stags back on top after Bulls see red
Bhaskaran Kunju
info@sleague.com
Tampines Rovers took major strides in staking a claim for the league title as they beat Gombak United 2-0 at Jalan Besar Stadium on Wednesday night.
The win pushes Tampines back to the summit of the table by a point, after having been replaced temporarily by Etoile FC the evening before.
They also became the first team to touch 50 points this year, keeping them on track in their bid to win the league for the first time in five years.
But the hard-fought three points for the Stags came, in part, courtesy of a red card to the Bulls’ Jeremy Chiang on the half-hour mark.
Chiang was given his marching orders after collecting his second yellow for hacking down Khairul Amri, as the striker raced behind the defence for a quick counter.
The defender had been cautioned for a very similar offence just five minutes earlier.
Seven minutes after the dismissal of Chiang, Imran Sahib claimed the opener for the game, after Tampines had laid siege on the Gombak goal.
A calm four-man passing routine on the edge of the penalty area ended with Imran receiving the ball down the inside right. His first-time shot was powerful enough to beat Zakariah Nerani, the ball squeezing in high at the near post to bulge the far side of the net.
Benoit Croissant’s second league goal of the season on 70 minutes sealed the win for the Stags, and it was Imran and Aleksandar Duric who crafted that goal.
A lobbed ball back into the penalty box from a cleared corner by the opening goalscorer found Duric, who cushioned a header down for Croissant lurking near the penalty spot.
The Frenchman hit a clever first-time right-footed volley into the ground to bounce the ball over the outstretched fingers of the Gombak custodian and into the back of the net.
Bulls coach Darren Stewart admitted his team were left with a mountain to scale after being reduced to ten men, and accepted the legitimacy of the offence by Chiang.
“I’m not disputing the decision, it’s probably a fair one,” he told sleague.com.
“It was always going to be tough for us. I’m pretty pleased with the first half before the red card.
“We were doing pretty good, then after that, of course, playing the champions, it’s a tough task to play them for 70, 60 minutes (with a man down).”
Stewart also allayed fears that the replacement of Zaiful Nizam in goal by Zakariah at the last minute would have unsettled his preparations for the team.
“He played quite a few games for us last year, he’s not new to the team. He’s played loads of games that’s kept him in good shape now, he’s not a young rookie.
“It’s not a concern. What’s more of a concern is Zaiful’s injury. But he’ll be alright for next season,” he added, referring to the Gombak keeper’s torn knee ligaments.
A clash between the team with the best scoring record and the team with the best defensive record in the league was always going to be a sterling test.
Tampines came into the game having amassed 44 goals and the slight advantage of a narrow victory on opening day from the same fixture, while the encounter in May had produced a televised 3-3 classic at the same venue as Wednesday evening.
But this time around the Stags were missing club top scorer Qiu Li, who was deputised up front by Khairul Amri, partnering the evergreen Duric.
Both teams had looked to be on equal terms right up till the point of the game-changing decision, though Tampines showed signs of their potency up front, drawing Zakariah out twice in the opening 25 minutes.
The reserve goalkeeper had to beat Duric to the ball after just two minutes from the start, when a clever flick over the defence by Amri sent the S.League all-time top scorer racing into the penalty box for the loose ball before Zakariah rushed out to clear.
The goalkeeper had to pull off a similar manoeuvre on 25 minutes, this time to thwart Amri’s charge into the box from a through ball by Seiji Kaneko all the way from the midfield line.
Five minutes before Imran broke the deadlock, Amri duelled with Zakariah again, drawing a splendid save from the Gombak stopper.
The pint-sized striker came from behind his marker to reach Aliff Shafaein’s cross from the left flank at the centre of the box.
His well-placed header looked to be heading for the inside roof of the net, before Zakariah reacted brilliantly to tip the ball over the crossbar from close range.
As impactful as his presence was, the former Young Lions forward who has been struggling for a consistent run in the first team could still not complete the full duration of the match and had to make way around the hour mark for Jamil Ali.
“Physically he’s not there yet, so to last 90 minutes is asking a bit too much from him,” explained Tampines Prime League coach Steven Tan, attending the post-match press conference in place of head coach Vorawan Chitavanich.
“Fitness-wise, no problem, but it’s match fitness that’s the concern because he hasn’t been playing for so long.
“But slowly we’ll put him in for longer and longer. Hopefully no further injuries and nothing happens to him. He got kicked many times today! So we are crossing our fingers nothing happens to him!”
Gombak were at a stretch to search for a much-needed equaliser in the second half before Crossant had put the game a little further from touching distance.
Park Kang Jin led the search for the attack from midfield and, on the hour mark, came reasonably close himself to getting on the scoresheet.
The Korean launched a quick counter and, with few options by his side, decided to take a crack from 25 yards out, testing Hassan Sunny for the very first time in the match.
Apart from that, the best chance the Bulls fell to substitute Pascal Eddoh ten minutes from the end of regulation time.
Ruhaizad Ismail, who had come on just past the hour mark for Fazrul Nawaz, set the ball up nicely for Eddoh inside the penalty box after capitalising on a slip by a Stags defender.
But the 18-year-old pulled his shot well wide of the far post, passing on a chance to add to his two-goal tally for the season so far.
Stewart meanwhile was still happy with his team’s output, and stated his belief that his men were up against the likely league champions for the season.
“Really, really pleasing performance,” he emphasised.
“Very pleased with the way we played in the first half-hour, and very pleased with the determination from then on. We could have caved in but we didn’t.
“There are some tired boys in the dressing room, that’s a concern for Saturday’s game (against Balestier Khalsa). It’s very tough (playing with 10 or 11 men).
“We’re playing a team that’s going to win the league, we’re not playing a mid-table team or a team that’s near us. I believe they’ll win the league,” proclaimed the Australian.
“I’m disappointed we can’t get a win or a draw, but not for playing in this game with ten for so long. At 1-0 I thought we had a chance.
“Without seeing the replay, that was two pretty ‘gemmy’ goals they got. The first one was world-class and the second one too, so yes, we were a bit unlucky. The reality in football is that you need all the luck to go your way, and we didn’t.”
Tan on the other hand was a little more critical of his team’s inability to fully capitalise on their opponent’s loss of a player.
“We started well, but following the sending-off we became sloppy,” said the former Singapore international.
“The coach wanted the boys to keep possession and draw them out, and we also lost a lot of balls with the final delivery.
“Even against 11 men we started well, with passing and everything. Them going down to ten men suited our gameplan of possession football, which I think in the first half we did but in the second half, because they were coming at us, we lost a lot of unnecessary balls.”
But despite Stewart’s confidence in the Stags’ clinching their third league title, Tan felt there was still work to be done and that the element of uncertainty was still there.
“If we win every game, we’ll win (the title). Each time we win it gives the players more confidence,” he acknowledged.
“Now, the pressure is back to Etoile. So after every game a different team is facing the pressure.
“It’s another cup game on Sunday against SAFFC. We got nine cup finals to go! Time to forget about this game and concentrate on Sunday’s fixture.”
As for Home United’s late entry into the tussle for the title, he reckoned they were in the mix as well, making it a three-horse race for top honours.
“We have to play each other. They have to play Etoile as well. So they might get points from us and points from them, so they might be there. They are not that far back, anything can happen.” |
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