Aide's absence spells doom for Home's shaky defence against Jaguars

By THOMAS KOH

HOME UNITED sweeper Aide Iskandar must surely be regretting his moment of folly in midweek.

Although the Protectors beat Woodlands Wellington 4-0 on Tuesday, the national defender got himself sent off needlessly in the 89th minute for his second bookable offence and could not play last night.

His services were badly missed last night as the shaky Home United defence was porous against Tanjong Pagar United.

In the end, the Protectors could count themselves lucky to leave Queenstown Stadium with only a 0-3 defeat.

Had Tanjong Pagar's strikers been a little sharper in front of goal, the scoreline might have been even more embarassing for the league-leading Protectors, who looked a pale shadow of the team that had scored 4-0 wins over Tampines Rovers and Woodlands.

It took only four minutes for the Jaguars, roared on by a vociferous 3,000-crowd, to get on the scoreboard.

No defenders were in sight when nippy Steven Tan received a through pass from Iranian midfielder Majid Motlagh. The Singapore international, who had an outstanding game, rounded Home goalkeeper Sergio Cleveland before tapping the ball into an empty net.

It was strictly one-way traffic as the fired-up Jaguars, who had been seeking their first home win, finally rewarded their loyal fans with a brilliant display of flowing football.

The 200-odd travelling Home supporters had nothing to cheer about as the midfield combination of Zsolt Bucs, Gusta Guzarishah and Azlan Alipah looked strangely subdued, leaving Stuart Young and Egmar Goncalves with little to do except chase long, hopeful balls pumped upfront.

Majid and Tan both missed excellent opportunities as the home team attacked in waves but both made amends in the 43rd minute.

The latter made a header which Cleveland deflected against the post but the Iranian guided in the rebound.

After the interval, it did not take the Jaguars long to pick up from where they left off. The Home defence failed to clear a loose ball and off the ensuing melee, Iranian striker Abdol Marfavi blasted home from close range.

Jaguars coach Robert Alberts was a delighted man as his team had played like genuine title contenders.

He said: "We beat Singapore Armed Forces FC twice last year but they won the championship. We've beaten them once this year but I've told the boys that it's no use beating SAF if we lose to Sembawang Rangers.

"Our biggest problem has been consistency. My players have to rise to the occasion every week if we are to achieve our aim of finishing at the top."

Said his counterpart Ibrahim Awang: "We missed Aide today. He has played in every game since the season started. His replacement Mohamed Abdullah tried his best but it was a different set-up behind and it showed.