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First home win sees Beijing break into top half
Bhaskaran Kunju
info@sleague.com
Beijing Guoan Talent’s surge into the top half of the table got back on track with a 1-0 win over Gombak United on Tuesday night.
The match, played on a rain-soaked Yishun Stadium pitch, was decided by a solitary strike by midfielder Wang Hao on 50 minutes.
It was the first time Beijing had won on their own turf this season, yet it went a long way towards dispelling the myth that they could only perform at Jalan Besar, having beaten Geylang United and Home United there.
Low-key this game might have been for them, with just 971 fans in attendance, but they put up a credible show to earn full points.
Beijing were without influential midfielder Liu Teng and defender Zhang Xiaolong through suspension, but were nonetheless better adapted to the pitch conditions as Gombak saw their recent run of good form crumble.
The visitors were handed a setback even before stepping out of the dressing room, when skipper Jaslee Hatta pulled out after going through his warm-ups. His absence allowed Hamqaamal Shah to take over as leftback as Bah Mamadou wore the captain’s armband for the night.
Gombak however showed no signs of disruptions in their plans, and controlled the game in the opening minutes. Korean Chang Jo Yoon broke through the static Bejing defence four minutes into the match but, having pushed the ball too far ahead, allowed keeper Su Boyang to collect before he could even take a shot.
They found themselves with a better opportunity five minutes later. A cross from a free kick on the edge of the box by Chang went nowhere initially, but the ball found its way back into the penalty box to the unmarked Goran Subara.
Subara’s close-range effort was dramatically blocked by the Beijing defenders, who had barely crowded him out as he took his time on the shot.
With Gombak dominating play there was little Beijing could do to find a way through in the early stages. But on 19 minutes they showed signs of their potential, as Bulls custodian Zaiful Nizam nearly gifted them a goal.
A long ball into the penalty box was misjudged and let slip by the goalkeeper, who had slid out in an attempt to collect on the ground.
The lurking Tan Tiancheng was quickest to react, but his rushed effort from a tight angle could only find the side netting as the relieved Gombak defence looked on.
Sensing the Bulls’ discomfort on the wet pitch, Beijing slowly found their confidence and began to launch quick attacks on the Gombak defence via their attacking trio of Wang, Tan and Zhang Xizhe.
It was Wang who found himself with the next opportunity just three minutes later, after a quick one-two with Zhang allowed him to slip through the middle. Once again, though, a rushed finish merely saw the ball flash wide of the goal.
Two minutes later it was Zhang’s turn to pass on another chance. A low cross from the right flank evaded the Gombak backline and found the unmarked midfielder, but with no pressure at all the 19-year-old scuffed his shot just outside of the six-yard box without even troubling the goalkeeper.
He almost made amends a few minutes later, when a long-range effort dipped dangerously towards goal but faded just over the bar.
The bigger sized Gombak players were finding it difficult to find their footing on the slippery ground, which seemed to suit the speedy Beijing players just fine.
But it was Gombak who finished the half strongly, Subasa almost capitalising on some sloppy defence inside the penalty box only to see his effort blocked yet again.
Chang then had the best of Gombak’s chances in the first half on 35 minutes. Fazrul Nawaz broke free on the left and reached the byline before pulling the ball back, but the former Super Reds striker’s weak shot was easily gathered by Su.
Beijing changed their tactics in the second half as they brought on Teng Bin in place of Meng Yang during the break, and it took just five minutes from the restart for the deadlock to be broken.
Some sloppy play by the visitors allowed Wang to steal the ball and set Zhang down the right. The latter’s low hard cross went right by the face of goal but reached Tan on the far side.
Tan worked himself into a good position, but his shot was blocked and deflected into the path of Wang, who brought under control the bouncing ball and poked in from close range.
It was as fine a team goal as one could get, and prompted hearty cheers from the crowd.
Gombak, clearly stunned by the opener, could not muster a decent challenge in return as Beijing tried to capitalise on their well-worked fast counters.
An impressive three-man move on 67 minutes inside the penalty box showed off the confidence of the side. First Zhang cut the ball back to Wang, who then coolly played the ball into the path of Tan, but the last man’s shot was unfortunately straight at the keeper.
Gombak coach Darren Stewart looked for more attacking options as he first brought on Ridhwan Jamaludin in place of the tiring Chang, and then Ruhaizad Ismail for Fazli Jaffar.
But the substitutions could do little to change the flow of the game in favour of the Bulls, as the comfort of a one-goal advantage allowed Beijing to soak up the pressure and launch counterattacks that the Gombak defence could not cope with.
Tan had the chance to put the game out of reach on 78 minutes, when he faced Zaiful one-on-one, but again his shot was aimed straight at Gombak’s man in goal.
Stewart then rolled his dice one final time when he sent on Hidhir Hasbiallah in place of the ineffective Zulkiffli Hassim with nine minutes left on the clock.
Yet even that did not work for Gombak, whose only chance of note throughout the second half was a long-range shot by Fazrul that went just over the bar shortly after the hour mark.
As the game came to a close, both teams looked lacklustre and worn out from the conditions. Neither side appeared capable of adding to the scoreline, especially Gombak, who seemed almost lifeless.
The final result left both teams level on points in the table with third-placed Etoile, but having played a game more than the Frenchmen.
Beijing coach Zheng Xiaotian was clearly happy with his team’s return to form after their surprise defeat to Balestier Khalsa the week before.
“I’m not too disappointed with the 1-0 scoreline, I’ll leave it to the players to reflect on the result,” he said.
“I’m generally satisfied since both teams were struggling with the weather conditions, which was also affecting the physical conditions of the players.”
His Gombak counterpart was also not too worried aboutt the result, gamely taking the defeat on his chin.
“I’m not disappointed,” remarked Stewart.
“We didn’t play well in the second half and over 90 minutes it was a little bit too up and down. It was either bad or good.
“It’s just something that happens through the season. Some key players didn’t perform and then the rest followed suit. It happens sometimes, the players have an off day.”
Stewart then revealed that Jaslee, who had been suffering from a slight bout of cold in the run up to the game, was unable to cope with the added humidity of the night and was withdrawn as a precautionary measure.
“We took a cautious approach. The player’s health is of course more important,” said the Australian.
“He had a touch of flu but he wanted to play, then after the warm-up he didn’t feel well. There’s no use comprising a player’s health, that was never a consideration at all.” |
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