June 15, 2004

Roundup of the week S-league

June 11, 2004 Hougang

Sinchi pulled themselves level on point with the Tigers after thrashing the Tigers 6-3 at Hougang.

Sinchi got off to an explosive start, scoring 3 times in the opening 25 minutes as the Tigers missed influential captain & centre-back Winston Yap who was suspended.

An innocuous-looking cross by Zhou Yi found Chen Xiao who was unguarded inside the 6 yard area, with that he had all the time in the world to calmly place the ball beyond the reach of Bashir Khan. 3 minutes later, Shi scored from a looping header after meeting a free kick on the right. After that the Tigers conceded a third goal after Zhou Yi – again the provider – chipped a wonder of a ball to Zhong Cheng, who timed his run to perfection before side-footing the ball across the line.

Sensing he had nothing to lose, Tigers coach Jang Jung sent in striker Farhan Farook to aid in any sort of a fight back the Tigers can muster & it worked as they pulled a goal back through Roniwardi Mamsa who struck a sterling curler from the left which eluded Chen Si en route to the far corner. After that the Tigers gave themselves a lifeline just before the end of the half, when Farhan created the second goal for Roniwardi as he smartly stayed onside & laid off the ball for Roni, running into the box to slam home.

The end of the half held much promise for the Tigers but they collapse again after the break.

Chen Xiao scored his second of the night off a Zhong Cheng cross 5 minutes after the re-start after the entire Tigers defence missed the cross. Then Shi crossed for Zhou Yi who connected with the delivery with a sharp diving header. All was sealed when Zhou Yi – with his third assist of the night – turned provider, crossing from the left for Shi to head in from outside the area.

Tigers substitute Farhan’s clinical strike from the edge of the box off a quick counter attack towards the end proved meaningless except for the 1 goal advantage in goal difference it give them over Sinchi, with both sides level on points.

June 13, 2004 Tampines

The Stags ended the Warriors winning run with a defeat at Tampines as the Stags remained undefeated at Tampines

It was the Warriors with the opening goal though after some good work on the right flank by Angelucci. After that, he pumped in a cross to the deep left which saw Conde waiting for it as the Guineas headed the ball back towards the center where Ashrin Shariff scored with a simple tap in.

The Stags went to the break 1 goal down but they came out strongly & pressured the Warriors.

The pressure was relentless & 6 mintues after the break, it paid dividends. After Noh Alam Shah won a corner from 1 his runs, Santi took it & Mirko rose the highest to head home the equalizer that the Stags so clearly deserved. The match swerved full flow into the Stag favour after referee N Santhan pointed to the spot for what looked like nothing as Warriors defender & captain Nenad Bacina went to block Santi. Nevertheless the responsibility of taking the spot kick fell to Sead Muratovic & the dead ball specialist dispatched a powerful shot past Adi Salleh & 2-1 to the Stags as they collect what looked like a lucky 3 points in the end.

June 13, 2004 Jurong East

Champion Home United stayed in the title hunt with a victory against the Swans in a match played at Jurong East.

The Swans were just no matched for the Champion 4 terrors Egmar Goncalves, Indra Sahdan, Sutee Suksomkit & Peres De Oliveira each scored 1 goal to send the Swans crashing to a defeat at their home Stadium.

The Swans reply through defender Kenji Arai & midfielder Issey Nakajima.

June 13, 2004 Jalan Besar

Constantly linked with striker Pitipong Kuldilog when the transfer window opens this week, the Jaguars could certainly do with the Thai hitman's goal-scoring prowess as the Young Lions continued their impressive record of scoring in every match of the season so far with a 4-2 home win over cellar-dwellers Tanjong Pagar, a result which puts them just 1 point behind league leaders Woodlands Wellington.

June 14, 2004 Woodlands

In a match that looked being a stalemate, along came the brilliance of 2 of the Rams best performers thus far in the season. With 2 minutes to go before the end, Ahmad Latiff, who looked menacing on the right wing throughout the night no doubt to prove his doubters wrong after being dropped from the national team, tormented the tiring Razaleigh Khalik before whipping in a dangerous cross for Park Kung Guy to volley it sweetly into the back of the net.

The Eagle response though was quick & after a defensive clearance from the Eagle’s backline found its way to Mark Williams, the defender passed it cleverly to Duric who sublimely chipped Effendy Sabtu, the new keeper who just replaced Yazid Yasin a few moments earlier.

Deep into injury time, both sides decided to go for the jugular but it was the Rams who managed to get the winning goal as Wilkinson spread the ball the to right hand side for Ahmad Latiff, who yet again controlled the ball well & then beat his marker to square off to Park. The Korean showed composure to score from a powerful grounder, much to the delight of the home fans.

It was a great result for the Rams in a match which both sides had feelings of highs and lows within a space of a few minutes. Unfortunately for the Eagles, it was the Rams that ended the match with a high with 3 points in the bag.