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Hiek gives Young Lions injury-time role reversal
Paul Green
info@sleague.com
Valery Hiek came to the rescue for Home United as his injury-time goal clinched a 2-2 draw with the Young Lions at Clementi Stadium on Tuesday evening.
In a curious twist on the Young Lions’ season-opening performance, this time it was they who came within a minute or so of pulling off an early upset on enemy turf, only to be denied a 2-1 win when a defender for the home side scored.
Admittedly Home had a goal disallowed and missed a penalty along the way, but the fighting effort from the Young Lions had nearly brought them undone.
So concerned was Home’s new Korean coach Lee Lim Saeng that he replaced Chilean playmaker Nelson San Martin only 28 minutes into the game and then, with his side trailing 1-2, took off captain Peres de Oliveira on 66 minutes, not long after the Brazilian had missed a penalty and then got his legs entangled while chasing a ball down the byline.
“You saw the game,” said the coach.
“Were we unlucky? I think you know the answer.
“I do want to say sorry to the Home United fans for not winning the game. We worked very hard for the win, but there is still plenty of work to do before we have it right, with the new players and so on.”
The Protectors had begun the game with a goal inside 56 seconds, setting the Young Lions back on their heels and wondering what had hit them.
A poor clearance out of the Young Lions defence saw the ball fed to Choi Chul Woo out wide on the right.
The Korean striker crossed low and hard to the far post, where Shahril Ishak got in a lunge to steer the ball home a millisecond ahead of a desperate Young Lions defender.
Choi’s exploits inspired compatriot Seo Su Jong, but this Korean was playing on the other side in this game. Seo almost put the Young Lions level three minutes later, after dashing down the left and then slamming his shot into the side netting, with the Home defence looking rather ragged.
Jasper Chan was in good form throughout as he manned the Young Lions goal, making one of his best saves of the game in the sixth minute when Choi got into the six-yard box and fired in a powerful shot that the keeper did extremely well to tip over the bar.
Lively winger Seo was also played in by Fazli Ayob just before the half-hour mark as the game continued to provide a lot of excitement, but this time the youngster lifted his effort well over the bar.
A dazzling run by Kim Seong Kyu, the second Korean in the Young Lions lineup, led to the equaliser eight minutes before the interval.
The danger was initially cleared by the Home defence, but the ball went only as far as Fadhil Noh, who was wide out on the right.
His sharp cross into the goalmouth was pounced on by Fazli, whose finish was emphatic from close range.
Seo, however, continued to be a real menace to the Protectors defence, and he earned his side a penalty two minutes later when tripped by Shariff Abdul Samat as the Young Lions man sped into the box.
Serbian midfielder Luka Savic stepped up to take the penalty and treated the crowd to a highly imaginative, stuttering approach, perplexing the keeper, before clipping the ball into the roof of the net with some style to put the visitors 2-1 up.
Later in the game Oliveira tried something similar, only to make a real mess of it and thus lose the chance to even things up for his Protectors from the penalty mark.
Home had other moments that went against them as well, such as a header against the bar on 41 minutes by Shariff, as he tried to atone for his earlier mistake by going upfield and getting on the end of a Shi Jiayi corner.
Shi nearly restored parity himself seconds after the restart with a booming long-range shot that went narrowly wide, after benefitting from a surging run from half-time substitute Firdaus Idros, who stormed up from deep in his own half.
Oliveira had the chance to convert a penalty on 48 minutes, after Young Lions defender Abdil Qaiyyim Mutalib had inexplicably handled the ball.
But that chance was fluffed, to the shock of everyone in the stands and probably the Brazilian himself.
Home gave the Young Lions a torrid time in the last half hour, forcing a string of corners. One of them led to Shi slamming the ball into the net, only for referee Zaid Hussein to rule an infringement on the keeper in the melee as the ball arrived in the six-yard box.
A swift counterattack from the Young Lions on 89 should have yielded Sundram’s side a third goal, as Hafiz Abu Sujad raced away with Khairul Nizam in support. The first player got it all wrong, however, side-footing the ball too close to defender Hiek, who gratefully took charge of the ball before Nizam could get a foot to it.
Home took that as a signal to continue pressing for the equaliser, and after Shi’s effort had been ruled out Hiek rescued his team once more with a fierce, low drive from 25 yards out.
It was heartbreaking for the visitors who, having defended magnificently for long periods, relaxed for a mere moment and paid the price.
Young Lions coach V. Sundramoorthy knew the game had been his side’s for the taking.
“We should have finished them off, but the boys got it all wrong right at the end, unfortunately,” he said.
He was referring to the two good chances his strikers had to score in the last ten minutes, once as already described, and once on 81 minutes when Nizam put his shot over the bar when through on goal.
The second 2-2 draw in a row, however, showed the Young Lions have the ability to do well this season.
“We are playing well against the top teams again, which is good to see, but we should really be beating them,” he sighed.
Home might disagree with that assessment, but while they strengthened their position at the top of the table with a point, they certainly threaded a very thin line doing so. |
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