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Protectors show progress with win over Eagles
Paul Green
info@sleague.com
If the words of Home United coach Lee Lim Saeng following his side’s 3-0 win over Geylang United at Clementi Stadium are anything to go by, his side could be moving where he wants them to at last.
A patchy start to the new season had threatened to torpedo their Great Eastern-YEO’S S.League title chase even before it could get properly started, but as Thursday evening’s match showed, Home might be catching on to a good thing.
It was not as straightforward a 3-0 win as one might think, however, with the Eagles having a goal disallowed and the Home defence stretched considerably for much of the first half.
Significantly, the winning side’s goals had come at opportune moments, such as Shi Jiayi’s seventh-minute strike and a second against the run of play by the enterprising Choi Chul Woo on 33 minutes.
Shi began the move that led to him opening the scoring, feeding Shahril Ishak on the left of the area and racing in to meet the nicely-delivered cutback from the byline that needed only a steady finish to pay dividends.
It was not quite the kind of goal Geylang had served to their hosts on a platter, but coach Mike Wong was visibly unhappy to see his side fall behind so easily.
“Our defending was awful in the first half,” wailed Wong after it was all over.
“We handed them two goals and we then had to chase the game, which against a side like Home United is never going to be easy.”
Geylang stuck to their task manfully though, only running out of steam towards the end having emptied their bench, bringing on Jonathan Xu, Yasir Hanapi and Hafiz Rahim for Adrian Dhanaraj, Itimi Dickson and Syed Fadhil respectively.
There was certainly an element of good fortune in the Home victory, it has to be said.
Geylang thought they had netted from a well-flighted free kick from deep on the right by skipper Miroslav Latiak, with the entire defence watching the ball sail over Lionel Lewis as another Geylang player ran through wanting to make sure.
But the assistant had his flag up for offside, and the ‘goal’ on 25 minutes was not given.
Peter Tomko headed over from six yards six minutes later, and Dickson had already found some space on the right to cut in and rock the crossbar from a tight angle after just 12 minutes as Geylang showed their hunger and determination.
Having missed those chances it was only natural they were punished.
A lofted pass from Shi on 33 minutes found Choi dashing through a static defence to easily clip the ball past Siddiq Durimi for a 2-0 lead, ensuring the goalkeeper would not have a happy return to Clementi.
Choi may well have had a second in the dying stages of the first half when he stole possession close to goal, only to drive his shot from close range over the bar.
Geylang’s Romanian workhorse Vasile Ghindaru laid on a good pass for Tomko on 65, but Lewis read the move well and came off his line early to snuff out the danger.
As the Eagles tried to work their way back into the game, inevitably Home grabbed a third with eight minutes left.
Choi out on the left and just beyond the penalty area won back a ball that a teammate had lost earlier inside the box, before feeding it through a succession of passes from Isa Halim and Sherif El-Masri to the far post.
Several attempts were made to get on the end of the cross, before finally Shahril connected with a powerful volley at an acute angle, beating the keeper at the near post.
In retrospect, it was a game in which the attacking players from both teams shone and defences looked decidedly shaky at times.
For Protectors coach Lee, the fact that Geylang tired first proved that his emphasis on fitness was paying off.
“When I first came here the players were not fit,” he said.
“I want to show the S.League what we can do, and the players need to be fit to show their best. They’re not quite there yet, but they are improving with each game.
“Our defenders are still making a lot of mistakes, which we will keep working on,” he continued.
At least there were some small signs of progress in that aspect as well, as Lewis managed to keep his first clean sheet in all competitions this year after failing the previous seven times.
Up front, Choi was outstanding too, supported well as he was by Shahril and Firdaus Idros until the latter ran himself into the ground and had to be replaced by El-Masri.
Singapore international midfielder Shi was closer to his best again after some less distinguished performances in recent times.
As important as the individual performances was the impact this result had on the league table. Home were lifted into second spot, at least overnight, while Geylang continue to languish near the foot of the ladder ahead of their important AFC Cup engagement with Thai Port next Tuesday night.
New faces came to the fore for the Protectors late on as well; apart from bringing on El-Masri for the tiring Firdaus, Lee gave Juma’at Jantan a late run in place of Choi and Firdaus Kasman came on for Naufal Omar Ashiblie.
Geylang would probably have liked to replace Latiak, who looked jaded towards the end, but all of their replacements had already been made by then.
Home could afford to do without some of their usual regulars like Shahril Alias, Nelson San Martin and Tengku Mushadad in achieving this victory.
It hardly mattered for them as Choi and Shahril Ishak are beginning to make a habit of scoring goals, which is a pleasing sign for the Protectors. Now to get that defence tightened as well. |
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