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Tomko hat-trick clinches comeback win for Geylang
Elwyn Lee
info@sleague.com
Striker Peter Tomko returned for Geylang United in grand style on Thursday evening as he accounted for all three Eagles goals in a come-from-behind 3-2 win at Bedok Stadium over visitors Sengkang Punggol.
The Slovak had been out of action last week, when he had missed his team’s hard-fought match with Woodlands Wellington due to a bout of high fever.
Tomko did not appear to be too badly affected on this occasion though, as he sauntered to notch his hat-trick during the second-half, in the process doubling his overall S.League goals tally to six, placing him just one shy of the current mark of seven goals, held by Tampines Rovers forward Qiu Li.
“I had no game since Thai AFC game. Wednesday this week I was okay after training, today very good feeling, very good running,” said the Eagles front-man in halting English.
He was referring to the fact that he had taken ill shortly after his team’s AFC Cup clash with Thai Port at Jalan Besar, after which he had to miss out against Woodlands.
Geylang’s options up front looked barren when they played the Rams, even if the Eagles did pull-off a 1-0 win, but against Sengkang their strike chorus was back in tune again.
But they were made to work against Aide Iskandar’s side, who were hoping to revive their flagging season at the expense of the former Singapore international’s previous employers.
It was the Dolphins who gained the upper hand in the first period, as they started full of running and never let up until the half came to an end. The action was coming end-to-end for a good half-hour with the opposing sides blitzing each other’s goal as shots flew over or otherwise came off the side netting.
In-between, both goalkeepers provided safe pairs of hands between the posts to keep the contest tight.
Geylang’s Itimi Dickson showed shades of his menacing best as he repeatedly combined with the returning Tomko. A mazy dribble into the Sengkang box on 29 minutes, arguably Dickson’s trademark, resulted in a good cross made in search of the lanky Slovak.
Oddly enough, though, it was the significantly shorter Jaspar Seet who cleared the ball with a decisive header as he jumped high to clear.
Sengkang, known for their quick counters, immediately pushed forward from their own half, the pacy Murphy Wiredu dashing down the right and threading a low pass to Sobrie Mazelan.
The forward promptly drilled his 18-yard grounder into the left corner of the Eagles goal, putting his side ahead to the shock of the home fans.
Geylang’s chance to draw level within the half almost materialised two minutes into added time, when striker Hafiz Rahim was through on the right with a posse of Eagles already waiting for him to find them inside the six-yard area.
But it would appear the 26-year-old’s view was obscured as he sent his cross diagonally backward into the empty space next to the penalty arc, with none of his teammates anywhere in the vicinity to latch on and strike.
Staring at a one-goal deficit coming back from the break, the Eagles had their work cut out for them, but they took just eight minutes to pull level.
Tomko did excellently to shimmy his marker at the edge of the box, before left-footing a powerful grounder that made the score 1-1, the shot finding the right corner of the Sengkang goal.
But the hosts’ joy disappeared within two minutes, as some soft marking allowed Sengkang’s Murphy Wiredu to receive a good pass without difficulty and fashion a swift connection that sent the ball flying past the rooted Siddiq Durimi in goal.
Geylang turned to Tomko once more for salvation, and he duly delivered on 58 minutes. Getting his head to the end of a free-kick sent by Walid Lounis, the No.10 directed his back-header downward into Fadhil Salim’s corner to make it 2-2.
The game was looking good for many more goals either way, since the tie still had some 30-odd minutes left to play out.
But the Dolphins were already back-tracking at this point as the Eagles started to gain the upper hand with an ever-increasing intensity in their attacks. This contrasted starkly to the dwindling forays offered by the visiting Dolphins into their hosts’ half.
On 62 minutes, the pressure on the Sengkang goal reached its zenith, with Fadhil called upon as the last line of defence as he scrambled the leather away from off the goal line to deny Shah Hirul’s headed effort.
Four minutes later Tomko was gunning for his third goal of the night, but standing barely two yards away from goal, the 25-year-old sent his shot into the frame off Fadhil, the ball rising high and over the crossbar.
The Eagles were on the ascendancy as the Dolphins started to wilt with some 20 minutes left to play. Midfielders Yasir Hanapi and Hirul tested Fadhil from distance on separate occasions, the Sengkang custodian on full alert as he palmed the ball away both times.
Tomko then capped off his fiery second-half performance 12 minutes from time, when he read Siddiq’s long punt perfectly and moved into position to meet it at the final third of the field.
At the end of the ball’s singular high bounce, the striker used his head again to good effect, sending it over the opposing goalkeeper as it landed neatly into the middle of the empty goal to settle the score at 3-2.
There could have been even more goals from the RHB Singapore Cup holders, a dazzling drive on 81 minutes by Hirul from fully 25 yards out clipping the top left corner of the bar as the ball skimmed out of play.
But there was no doubting who the main architect of Geylang’s victory was, and Aide acknowledged his side’s failure to contain the threat Tomko had posed as they blew their lead twice.
“The goals they scored were down to defensive slip-ups,” said the 35-year-old.
“The need for good defending was highlighted in the dressing room at the break, but we failed to identify the danger when play resumed. We lost possession of the ball too often in the second period.
“We will need to pick up on these mistakes in our next game against the Young Lions,” concluded Aide tersely.
For Mike Wong’s Geylang, the win, and the battling manner in which it was achieved, comes at a good time as the Eagles prepare to head overseas to take on Hong Kong’s Tai Po FC in an AFC Cup encounter next Tuesday.
Another fierce performance there would be very welcome for the Eagles, who need to win to maintain their slim hopes of qualifying for the next stage. |
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