No Match 97
Match Number: 098
Date 5 July 2001 Time 7:30:00 PM
Competition:
Home Team Woodlands Wellington FC Away Team Balestier Central FC
Stadium Woodlands Attendance 2280
Referee S. K Kennedy Reserve Referee Sagadavan Reddy
Assistant Referee 1 Mohd Ali Assistant Referee 2 Jeffery Goh
Match Commissioner Franklin Miranda
SLEAGUE.COM Man of the Match: Fabio Da Silva (Balestier Central FC )
Match Details
By Alvyn Lim
Balestier Central strolled to an easy 3-0 away win over Woodlands Wellington at the Woodlands stadium.
While Balestier showed their improving form, Woodlands once again disappointed their generous sponsors and fans, and newly appointed coach David O’Connor, for the umpteenth time this season.
Dubbed a ‘boring’ match by Woodlands manager Vengadasalam prior to the start, the match was not to be. The Rams had shot themselves in the foot by displaying some awful defending and poor finishing as they allowed a hungry Tigers side to make ‘Ram Chops’ out of them.
Two quick goals in the space of a minute demoralised the home side after a brilliant start to the game. They almost scored in the first minute after Brazilian Prime League striker Welmir Oliver (with 7 goals to his credit) was put through behind the Tigers’ defence, but he pulled his shot just across the goalmouth. Then in the 19th minute, Petar Dajak fired a shot that was cleared off the line by Darren Stewart.
The Rams broke apart in the 24th minute. Josip Kozic stole the ball in the middle of the field and sent a perfect ball to Thai striker Daorueang Krongpol on the right, who fired an unstoppable shot to the far corner of the net to break the deadlock. Just when Woodlands got the game restarted, they found themselves two goals down. Fabio da Silva made an illustrious run down the right flank, and put in a stiff grounder into the box. None of the Woodlands defenders cleared the ball, and allowed Kozic to make a late run to fire the ball home. It was 2-0 to the visitors.
The Rams tried to fight back, but Balestiers’ tight defence trio of Darren Stewart, Rizzal Hashim and Faizal Jumaat constantly shut out their forwards. Skipper Jeykanth Jeyapal was the man structuring a comeback, but his teammates were disappointing. They nearly pulled one back before the break, when Dajak’s free kick was tipped over by Hairil Amin in the Tigers’ goal.
The second half was a much slower affair as the visitors decided to sit on their comfortable two-goal lead. Woodlands did not look like scoring at all. Just after the restart, S Rajendran miss hit a clearance that almost bounced into his own net. Minutes later, Welmir played a quick one-two with Esad Sedjic, but his shot was well saved by Hairil.
The third goal came in the 50th minute when Yusri Waris played a pass to Fabio on the right, whose cross was met brilliantly by a loosely marked Faizal Sazali, who gladly tapped it in.
Woodlands made quick substitutions after that in the hope of salvaging something. Young Liberian Emmett Gassco was sent in for the ineffective Sedjic to try and reproduce the form that he showed against Home United last week. However, poor finishing disappointed the Woodlands’ faithful. The match even turned into a scrappy affair when frustrations got the better of the Rams as tackles flew all over.
At full time, the Rams management, and sponsors, must have felt very disappointed with their performance. Looks like the appointment of O’Connor and newfound finances has not helped the club much.
FULL TIME Official statistic as follows:
Woodlands Wellington FC First Eleven
Jersey No. Name Position
1 Faizal Ali GK
2 Petar Dajak DF
8 Jirasirichote Surachai (De-registered) DF
10 Jeykanth Jeyapal DF
11 Esad Sejdic MF
14 Faizal Sa'audi MF
16 Haslizan Hassan DF
17 Nawfal Shahib MF
20 Nasiruddin Sawardi DF
23 S Rajendran DF
32 Welmir Oliveria FW
Balestier Central FC First Eleven
Jersey No. Name Position
1 Hairil Amin GK
5 Fabio Da Silva MF
6 Faizal Jumaat DF
7 Kozic Josip MF
8 Darren Stewart DF
13 Iskandar Latiff DF
14 Yusri Waris MF
16 Johari Husin MF
18 Daorueang Krongpol FW
19 Rizzal Hashim DF
32 Faizal Sazali FW
Woodlands Wellington FC Substitutes
Jersey No. Name Position
3 Shawaluddin Zainal Abidin DF
4 Saminathan Dinakaran MF
6 Razali Ishak MF
19 Siva Narayana MF
22 Emmett Gassco FW
24 Masalan Mahat FW
Balestier Central FC Substitutes
Jersey No. Name Position
3 Fajar Sarib GK
4 Abdul Latiff Isa DF
10 P Sugunan MF
20 Shahrudin Samsudin DF
26 Daun Mathew MF
37 Farhan Farook FW
Balestier Central FC Goal scorers
Jersey No. Name Event Time (min)
18 Daorueang Krongpol 24
7 Kozic Josip 25
6 Faizal Jumaat 51
Woodlands Wellington FC Substitutions
Jersey No. Player(Out) >> Player(In) Event Time (min)
11 >> 22 Esad Sejdic >> Emmett Gassco 52
20 >> 24 Nasiruddin Sawardi >> Masalan Mahat 52
16 >> 6 Haslizan Hassan >> Razali Ishak 72
Balestier Central FC Substitutions
Jersey No. Player(Out) >> Player(In) Event Time (min)
14 >> 37 Yusri Waris >> Farhan Farook 83
19 >> 26 Rizzal Hashim >> Daun Mathew 83
Woodlands Wellington FC Cautions
Jersey No. Name Event Time (min)
16 Haslizan Hassan 42
8 Jirasirichote Surachai (De-registered) 57
23 S Rajendran 69
Balestier Central FC Cautions
Jersey No. Name Event Time (min)
16 Johari Husin 8
13 Iskandar Latiff 93
Match Number: 099
Date 6 July 2001 Time 7:30:00 PM
Competition:
Home Team Tampines Rovers FC Away Team Jurong FC
Stadium Tampines Attendance
Referee N Santhan Reserve Referee R. Vijay
Assistant Referee 1 M Ganesan Assistant Referee 2 Jarrod Lim
Match Commissioner K Kandasamy
SLEAGUE.COM Man of the Match: Marcelo Da Silva (Tampines Rovers FC)
Match Details
By Alvyn Lim
Tampines Rovers caused a huge upset by defeating the visiting Jurong Cobras 3-2 in a scrappy, rough match that was nonetheless pulsating.
Parading its new Brazilian signing Luciano de Oliveira, the Stags had to do well in order to please its fans, and most importantly its chairman and sponsors. And what better way to appease the Tampines faithful by scoring one of the biggest upsets this season.
Everything went ‘bang’ from the start of the whistle as both teams tried to outdo each other. The home side settled down much faster as they conjured up striking opportunities one after another. In the 7th minute, a Sead Muratovic cross was met by Marcelo da Silva, who headed just over. In the 17th minute, Marcelo latched onto a through ball from Dennis Suglo, rounded the keeper, only to blast the ball over a gaping net.
A goal soon came for the Stags in the 24th minute, courtesy of a Bashir Khan mistake. The Cobras’ custodian steered a clearance straight into Luciano’s feet, who promptly dribbled the ball into the box and was subsequently fouled for a penalty. Muratovic stepped up and made no mistake from the spot kick.
Jurong’s illustrious striking pair of Korean Park Tae Won and Toh Choon Ming was largely marked out of the game by Muratovic and Jerry Bartholomuesz, making scoring chances few for the visitors. As they went in search of the equalizer, the match turned into a scrappy midfield battle plagued with many little, niggling fouls. The home side held out till the break.
The second half was an explosive encounter as both sides turned up the tempo. 5 minutes into the restart, Tampines were down to 10 men as J Kalaiselvan was given his second caution of the night for time wasting. However, being one man down, Tampines managed to score again. Marcelo stole the ball in midfield, played a quick one-two with Luciano and slotted the ball home for a two-goal lead. Despite the one-man advantage, Jurong just could not venture up front. In fact, Jurong threw away its numerical advantage by being reduced to 10 men as well. E Manimohan, this time, was issued his second yellow card after a late tackle on Luciano.
Marko Kraljevic was sent on to help salvage something for Jurong, and what a difference his presence made. Shortly after he came on, Jurong received a penalty after Park was brought down in the penalty area after receiving his through pass. Future Singapore team hopeful Itimi Dickson slotted home from the spot. 5 minutes later, the home side’s 2-goal cushion was restored as Marcelo claimed his second of the night. Jamil Ali’s cross from the right flank was easily tapped in by an unmarked Marcelo, to the delight of the record crowd. Moments later, Luciano almost claimed one of his own when he wriggled past 2 defenders, only to see his shot hit the left upright.
5 minutes before the end, Jurong pulled one back, again, through Itimi. He easily volleyed home a long cross from the left to make the score 3-2. An equalizer almost came shortly after when Bojan Hodak’s header hit the crossbar. Tampines held out an extra 5 minutes of injury time to win their first match since the 5th of May, and to lift them out of the bottom of the table.
It was a delight for the Tampines and its new-looked team but sheer disappointment for Sundramoorthy and his league-contenders side. However, one can be sure that Luciano de Oliveira is going to be a name to watch the next coming weeks, and may just stay for a very long time to come.
FULL TIME
Tampines Rovers FC First Eleven
Jersey No. Name Position
2 Azlan Alipah MF
3 Jerry Bartholomeusz DF
6 Sead Muratovic DF
7 Aidil Sharin MF
9 Marcelo Da Silva FW
10 Luciano Gomes De Oliveira FW
12 Brian Ravi MF
14 J Kalaiselvan DF
16 Mohamad Bin Keman GK
25 Dennis Suglo FW
35 Jamil Ali MF
Jurong FC First Eleven
Jersey No. Name Position
1 Bashir Khan GK
5 Bojan Hodak DF
7 V Selvaraj MF
9 Toh Choon Ming FW
10 Velimir Crijen MF
12 A Siva Kumar MF
14 E. Manimohan DF
15 T Ramoo MF
16 Park Tae Won FW
19 Goh Tat Chuan MF
22 Itimi Dickson Edherefe FW
Tampines Rovers FC Substitutes
Jersey No. Name Position
8 Nahar Daud FW
18 Jaslee Hatta DF
27 Briane V. MF
29 Murad Md DF
34 Saiful Azril GK
40 Toh Guo'An GK
Jurong FC Substitutes
Jersey No. Name Position
3 Abdul Latiff Abdullah DF
8 Marko Kraljevic MF
11 E Vadevellu GK
13 Syed Idros Hassan DF
17 Zakaria Awang MF
18 V Sundram Moorthy FW
20 Imran Mohamed MF
Tampines Rovers FC Goal scorers
Jersey No. Name Event Time (min)
6 Sead Muratovic 26
9 Marcelo Da Silva 53
9 Marcelo Da Silva 73
Jurong FC Goal scorers
Jersey No. Name Event Time (min)
22 Itimi Dickson Edherefe 69
22 Itimi Dickson Edherefe 84
Tampines Rovers FC Substitutions
Jersey No. Player(Out) >> Player(In) Event Time (min)
25 >> 18 Dennis Suglo >> Jaslee Hatta 70
35 >> 8 Jamil Ali >> Nahar Daud 79
10 >> 33 Luciano Gomes De Oliveira >> Shahrul Riza 88
Jurong FC Substitutions
Jersey No. Player(Out) >> Player(In) Event Time (min)
10 >> 8 Velimir Crijen >> Marko Kraljevic 54
9 >> 17 Toh Choon Ming >> Zakaria Awang 63
19 >> 18 Goh Tat Chuan >> V Sundram Moorthy 71
Tampines Rovers FC Cautions
Jersey No. Name Event Time (min)
3 Jerry Bartholomeusz 22
14 J Kalaiselvan 29
13 Lee Man Hon 45
12 Brian Ravi 46
6 Sead Muratovic 68
Jurong FC Cautions
Jersey No. Name Event Time (min)
12 A Siva Kumar 45
14 E. Manimohan 6
8 Marko Kraljevic 90
Tampines Rovers FC Expulsions
Jersey No. Name Event Time (min)
14 J Kalaiselvan 50
Jurong FC Expulsions
Jersey No. Name Event Time (min)
14 E. Manimohan 60
Match Number: 100
Date 6 July 2001 Time 7:30:00 PM
Competition:
Home Team Clementi Khalsa FC Away Team Gombak United FC
Stadium Clementi Attendance 2146
Referee Subash Lazar Reserve Referee Abdul Malik
Assistant Referee 1 S Ragavachari Assistant Referee 2 Megat Azman
Match Commissioner Amarjeet Singh
SLEAGUE.COM Man of the Match: A Shasi Kumar (Clementi Khalsa FC)
Match Details
By Chang Kay Leong
Cowboys Clementi inflicted yet another 3-peat on Gombak, with Michiaki Kakimoto’s hattrick the shine on a dull, drab 90 minutes.
Moey Yok Ham’s boys have conceded three goals in each of their last four games, and Kakimoto’s triple was the catalyst for another terrible night out for the Bulls.
Clementi Stadium continued to be a graveyard for Gombak, as they failed to score or make significant attacking headway at a ground where they have not won since they entered the S.League.
Without the services of poleax striker Azhar Jamil, it was left to 19-year-old striker Firdaus Salleh and Guinean Diallo Abdullaye in a makeshift attack to lead the line for Gombak.
While both showed plenty of pluck and game, neither was as piercing or strong enough as the injured Azhar, and the Bulls’ strikeforce looked as impotent as it has been over the last few matches without Azhar.
With playmaker Ballamodou Conde working tirelessly but passing like a schoolboy, and home side Clementi seemingly unable or unwilling to show attacking force, the first half was deader than a dodo.
Passes were bobbling astray most of the time (due perhaps to the over-sanded Clementi pitch), and shots flew wild like emigrating geese. It took nearly 25 minutes for a noteworthy slice of goalmouth action, Kakimoto and Hafiz Esah having consecutive shots in the area blocked after a Khairi Mawi mistake.
Four minutes later, Bah Mamadou stretched to edge out a pass which would have had Japanese winger Hiroyuki Ishida in the clear for Clementi.
Then rather unexpectedly in the 38th minute, a goal did come. Ishida’s accurate cross from the left found Kakimoto unmarked on the right, and the former Avispa Fukuoka man volleyed home past Effendy Subtu.
A minute before halftime, Effendy spilled a curling free kick from Bulls old boy Fahmie Abdullah, but managed to gather it at the second attempt.
Soon after the break, Jorg Steinbrunner had a 30m effort go just past Grant Barlow’s post, a rare close encounter with goal for the Bulls.
53 minutes in, Kakimoto grabbed his second off an unfortunate Effendy’s keeper clanger. His goal kick was poor and went straight to Kakimoto, who fired it back at the keeper. Effendy blocked the shot, but was helpless for the rebound shot from the Japanese.
Seconds later, it was 3-0 and the match scrapped as a contest, not that it was much of a spectacle in the first place. Hasnim Haron's cross from the left crept past three Gombak defenders to be swept in at the far post by the ever-lurking Kakimoto.
Lanky defender Bah Mamadou was then pushed up for the Bulls’ desperately sluggish attempts to find a goal, but was only able to go land shots wide of Barlow’s goal.
Seven minutes from the end, Bah then Diallo had good chances snuffed out by the quick reflexes of Australian Barlow, who dived out snappily to deny either a shooting chance. That was perhaps the most the Bulls managed to trouble young Barlow the whole night.
Clementi Khalsa FC First Eleven
Jersey No. Name Position
2 Imran Zainal MF
3 Quek Hock Tiong DF
6 Hafiz Esah FW
10 Michiaki Kakimoto FW
11 Fahmie Abdullah MF
14 Hasnim Haron MF
16 Hiroyuki Ishida MF
17 A Shasi Kumar MF
20 Abdul Wafi Othman MF
24 Grant Barlow GK
31 Emmanuel Unaka DF
Gombak United FC First Eleven
Jersey No. Name Position
2 Bah Mamadou DF
3 Khairi Mawi DF
5 Choketawee Promrut DF
8 Roy Yeo DF
10 Ballamodou Conde MF
15 Roslan Jasmin DF
17 Jorg Steinbrunner DF
18 Effendy Subtu GK
19 Saswadimata Dasuki MF
22 Diallo Abdullaye MF
30 Firdaus Salleh FW
Clementi Khalsa FC Substitutes
Jersey No. Name Position
4 Sabri Sukri DF
13 Sha'izad Jaffar MF
15 Sophian Ahmad Repha'ee DF
18 P Titani MF
22 Phang Chin Guan GK
34 Terence Yee Wai Leong MF
Gombak United FC Substitutes
Jersey No. Name Position
1 Stephen Ng GK
4 Davin Cook DF
6 Zulkarnaen Sukur DF
7 Eric Kwek DF
16 Iswandy Amil MF
24 Rohaizad Rabu DF
35 Nas Nasta'in FW
Clementi Khalsa FC Goal scorers
Jersey No. Name Event Time (min)
10 Michiaki Kakimoto 38
10 Michiaki Kakimoto 53
10 Michiaki Kakimoto 54
Clementi Khalsa FC Substitutions
Jersey No. Player(Out) >> Player(In) Event Time (min)
6 >> 13 Hafiz Esah >> Sha'izad Jaffar 82
14 >> 15 Hasnim Haron >> Sophian Ahmad Repha'ee 89
10 >> 4 Michiaki Kakimoto >> Sabri Sukri 90
Gombak United FC Substitutions
Jersey No. Player(Out) >> Player(In) Event Time (min)
17 >> 7 Jorg Steinbrunner >> Eric Kwek 50
30 >> 6 Firdaus Salleh >> Zulkarnaen Sukur 77
Gombak United FC Cautions
Jersey No. Name Event Time (min)
8 Roy Yeo 44
3 Khairi Mawi 90
Match Number: 101
Date 7 July 2001 Time 7:30:00 PM
Competition:
Home Team Tanjong Pagar United FC Away Team Sembawang Rangers FC
Stadium Queenstown Attendance 2370
Referee Francis Lee Reserve Referee Sagadevan Reddy
Assistant Referee 1 Lutfi Emir Assistant Referee 2 Nordin Sawodi
Match Commissioner A. Raamasamy
SLEAGUE.COM Man of the Match: Sutee Suksomkit (Tanjong Pagar United FC)
Match Details
By Darren Lim
07 July 2001
Despite the limelight being stolen by the gigantic Geylang-SAF clash at the Bedok Stadium, the Saturday night encounter between Tanjong Pagar and Sembawang Rangers at the Queenstown Stadium showed no signs of having a lower entertainment value.
Under the watchful eyes of several key Japanese officials from JVC, Tanjong Pagar Jaguars put up an encouraging performance that was sufficient to have their main sponsor entertained throughout the 90 odd minutes of play. That was not without the help from an adventurous style of play put up by their visitors.
The two teams featured a total of 6 Thai players, together with a significant number of former, current and future Singapore national players. In the end of this fast-paced battle, Tanjong Pagar claimed all 3 points with a 5-1 triumph and a hat trick for their Thai hotshot, Sutee Suksomkit.
Both teams had their chances in the opening half. There was no clear dominated party until the first goal was scored against the Stallion. The player who was responsible for such damage was Jaguars’ in-form midfield general, Rudy Khairon. The 28 years old Singapore international fired a thunderous shot in the 34th minute that had Sembawang’s Yazid Yasin beaten all the way.
Like what they always whenever they go behind, Sembawang Rangers switched to attacking mood in search for an equalizer. Before that could happen, the trio of Sutee, Phanuwat Yinphan and Steven Tan decided to cause more damage against a thinned Sembawang defence line. Tan outpaced Nur Yusman before centering a cross for a Phanuwat’s dummy that set Sutee completely free. The 21 years old Thai striker showed no mercy in increasing his team’s lead in the 50th minute.
Sembawang’s attacking plot did not pay any dividends until the 76th minute when Jaguars’ skipper, Lim Tong Hai, guided the ball into his own net. That increased the confidence level of the visitors but it was Sutee who had the final say.
In the space of 4 minutes, Sutee rewarded himself with another 2 bright goals. His 2nd of the night came in the 80th min when he capitalized on the failure of a Sembawang’s offside trap. Throttling at full speed into his opponents’ half, Sutee unleashed an unstoppable shot against a helpless Yazid. Moments later, a hat trick was registered when he delicately chipped the ball over an advancing Yazid.
Deep into injury time, while referee Francis Lee and the Sembawang players felt that it was time for the final whistle to be blown, Steven Tan had other thoughts. The former Singapore international broke the napping Sembawang defensive backline to race towards a completely exposed Yazid Yasin. Unmarked, Tan had all the time and space to pick his favorite spot, much to the delights of his loyal supporters on the stands.
FULLTIME
UNOFFICIAL MATCH STATISTICS BELOW
Tanjong Pagar United FC First Eleven
Jersey No. Name Position
1 Dragan Talajic GK
2 Phanuwat Yinphan FW
5 Rudy Khairon MF
7 Djamel Achouri MF
8 Daniel Bennett DF
9 Lim Tong Hai DF
13 Ratna Suffian DF
14 Steven Tan FW
15 Zainal Zainuddin MF
18 Johaness Idris DF
39 Sutee Suksomkit FW
Sembawang Rangers FC First Eleven
Jersey No. Name Position
1 Yazid Yasin GK
2 Nur Yusman DF
3 Niweat Siriwong DF
5 Satria Mad DF
8 Khairani Sanuci DF
9 Bamrung Boonprom FW
10 Tawan Sripan MF
11 Thawatchai Ongtrakul MF
13 Ismail Fitrey FW
16 Imran Sahib MF
17 Ibrahim Noh MF
Tanjong Pagar United FC Substitutes
Jersey No. Name Position
4 Haris Sumri FW
6 Rudy Ali FW
12 Azlan Tahir MF
16 Ridzuan Fatah GK
19 Ahmad Ashik DF
20 Hyrizan Jufri MF
Sembawang Rangers FC Substitutes
Jersey No. Name Position
6 Taufiq Samadi DF
14 M Ramesh MF
18 Noh Alam Shah FW
20 Norazami Ali Hassan GK
23 Faizal Senin MF
33 Hyrol Nezam Hussain DF
39 Azul Juahryzam FW
Tanjong Pagar United FC Goal scorers
Jersey No. Name Event Time (min)
5 Rudy Khairon 33
39 Sutee Suksomkit 49
39 Sutee Suksomkit 79
39 Sutee Suksomkit 83
14 Steven Tan 92
Tanjong Pagar United FC Own Goal
Jersey No. Name Event Time (min)
9 Lim Tong Hai 75
Tanjong Pagar United FC Substitutions
Jersey No. Player(Out) >> Player(In) Event Time (min)
2 >> 4 Phanuwat Yinphan >> Haris Sumri 74
15 >> 20 Zainal Zainuddin >> Hyrizan Jufri 74
18 >> 6 Johaness Idris >> Rudy Ali 91
Sembawang Rangers FC Substitutions
Jersey No. Player(Out) >> Player(In) Event Time (min)
8 >> 18 Khairani Sanuci >> Noh Alam Shah 41
17 >> 14 Ibrahim Noh >> M Ramesh 59
Tanjong Pagar United FC Cautions
Jersey No. Name Event Time (min)
39 Sutee Suksomkit 35
Sembawang Rangers FC Cautions
Jersey No. Name Event Time (min)
5 Satria Mad 55
Match Number: 102
Date 7 July 2001 Time 7:30:00 PM
Competition:
Home Team Geylang United FC Away Team Singapore Armed Forces FC
Stadium Bedok Attendance 2539
Referee Timothy Dennison Reserve Referee N Santhan
Assistant Referee 1 Naseer Hussain Assistant Referee 2 George Lee
Match Commissioner Abros Meah
SLEAGUE.COM Man of the Match: Kiatisuk Senamuang (Singapore Armed Forces FC)
Match Details
By Anthony Tay
Self-declared "underdogs" SAFFC did uniformed rival Home United a huge favour by beating Geylang United 3-1 at the Bedok Stadium, thereby relegating Geylang to second place, behind the new league leader Home United.
The eagerly anticipated clash between the two giants started at frantic pace. Both badly needed a win to keep up with the in-form Home United and even though early goals would be a boost to the teams, cautious football still occupied the minds of both camps. As a result, chances were few and far between. However, it soon appeared that Geylang United was having the upper hand in the first half. For, Geylang was simply the more coordinated sides. Balls were confidently stroke across the field, passes reached their intended targets and the players effectively maintained the team shape and kept their discipline. The best player on the pitch, for the first half at least, must have been Brian Bothwell. The classy Australian possessed tremendous work-rate, brilliant ball control and excellent technique, and together with Nebojsa Vukosavljevic and Aleksander Duric, they formed the golden triangle that had been instrumental in Geylang’s games this season.
In contrast, SAFFC was not its usual best. Rezal Hassan was suspected at the back, communication between the 3 central defenders seem lacking and the midfield could not create goal-scoring chances against the tight Geylang defence, well marshalled by Zulkarnaen Zainal. Even the usually dangerous duo of Kiatisuk Senamuang and Mirko Grabovac were nullified to mere spectators by the effective man-markings of Robin Chitrakar and Winston Yap. As a result of the excellent defending, Goalkeeper Lionel Lewis virtually had nothing to do in the first half. And it soon looked like Geylang was on its way to a remarkable double over the SAFFC when Geylang opened the scoring in the 23rd min. Zulkarnaen Zainal’s swinging corner from the left was cleared from the penalty box, but it only reached as far as the lurking Mohd Noh Rahman at the edge if the box. The wing-back dribbled past a defender on the right before releasing a low cross near the byeline that eluded the SAFFC defence but not Brian Bothwell, who scored with a simple volley.
The goal did not appear to wake up the sluggish Warriors. They continued to concede possession to the faster Eagles and allowed them to dictate the pace of the game. Sensing the inferior state of his team, coach Fandi Ahmad decided to replace the ineffective Yunos Abdul Samad with national winger Hafizat Jauharmi in the 37th min, and what a difference Hafizat made to the game. He continuously tormented Geylang’s Sharifuddin Mahmood with his pace and his ball control. But, Hafizat could do little yet to conjure goal-scoring chances for Grabovac and Kiatisuk. In fact, it was Geylang’s Aleksander Duric that threatened to double his team’s lead just before half-time, but his surprised long shot from 25m out sailed wide of Rezal’s left post.
The second half saw SAFFC emerging from the tunnel with more purposes. Coach Fandi Ahmad must have told his charges, especially Thai superstar Kiatisuk Senamuang to play deeper, for, the move has paid handsome dividends on the pitch. As early as the 46th min, SAFFC threatened to equalize when Mohd Noh Rahman missed a simple clearance and SAFFC left wingback Zahid Ahmad was there to pounce on the loose ball. The hardworking NS trainee, who used to play for Geylang, cut in towards goal before unleashing a powerful shot that was well palmed out by Lionel Lewis. It however took a controversial goal for SAFFC to equalize. Nazri Nasir’s throughball to the right in the 63rd min was met by an apparently off-side Grabovac, who dribbled and drew out Lionel Lewis before crossing lowly for Kiatisuk to come from behind and tap in the equalizer.
If you know that football can be controversial, then you will realize that it can be cruel too. Shortly within a minute, SAFFC took a surprised 2-1 lead, amid some chaos in the Geylang defence. This time round, Kiatisuk’s throughball to the right again found an unmarked Hafizat Jauharmi, who zoomed into the penalty box before squeezing in his grounder between Lewis and his near post. This totally shattered the confidence of the home team, which has worked tireless all night to deny SAFFC.
And Suddenly, SAFFC played like a revitalized team. The defence worked hard to keep Geylang’s attack at bay and the midfield was gaining all the possessions from Geylang, and reversed the tide of the game. Hafizat again beat Sharifuddin Mahmood on the right in the 68th min, but his top-cornered shot missed Lewis’s goal marginally.
By the time Jang Jung realized that Sharifuddin Mahmood was unable to keep up with the tricky and speedy Hafizat, the damage has already been done. Still, Jang Jung has to minimise the damage by bringing on young Hamirul Hanif for Sharifuddin Mahmood in the 75th min and tactically switched Mohd Noh Rahman to Sharifuddin’s position to counter Hafizat.
The switch might have worked, but the home team was in such panicked state, that it was only natural that SAFFC was allowed to score its 3rd goal of the night in the 82nd min. Grabovac retrieved a loose ball in his own half and dribbled the entire length of the Geylang’s half before taking a powerful shot at goal. Lionel Lewis did well to parry away the shot but he certainly has no answer to Kiatisuk’s clinical follow-up, which ended up in the net for his second goal of the match.
The remaing minutes saw Geylang launching waves after waves of attack at Rezal Hassan’s goal, but SAFFC defended stoutly and bravely to deny the Eagles any space. When the whistle went for fulltime, Geylang has all but conceded its second defeat of the season.
Geylang United might have lost its lead at the league table to Home United, but more crucially, this could be a sense of Déjà vu for the Geylang fans, after their team similarly peaked early for the 1998 and 2000 season, lost the lead midway through the seasons and missed the league titles eventually.
Geylang United FC First Eleven
Jersey No. Name Position
5 Noh Rahman DF
6 Winston Yap DF
8 Nebojsa Vukosavljevic FW
9 Aleksandar Duric FW
10 Brian Bothwell MF
12 Zulkarnaen Zainal MF
13 Sharifuddin Mahmood DF
14 Basri Halis MF
15 William Bone MF
18 Robin Chitrakar DF
20 Lewis Lionel GK
Singapore Armed Forces FC First Eleven
Jersey No. Name Position
1 Rezal Hassan GK
2 Razif Mahamud DF
5 Veselko Paponja DF
7 Nazri Nasir MF
9 Mirko Grabovac FW
12 Zahid Ahmad MF
13 Kiatisuk Senamuang FW
15 Nenad Bacina DF
19 Dalis Supait FW
20 Yunos Abdul Samad MF
21 Goran Galov MF
Geylang United FC Substitutes
Jersey No. Name Position
4 Razaleigh Khalik DF
7 Hamirul Hanif MF
16 Fadly Noor MF
17 Syed Mohammad Fadhil MF
21 Herman Yahaya DF
23 Mazlan Ann MF
29 Roswadi Kamis GK
Singapore Armed Forces FC Substitutes
Jersey No. Name Position
3 Syed Alwi Ali DF
4 Hairi Su'ap DF
11 Hafizat Jauharmi MF
14 Azhar Salleh MF
16 Fadzuhasny Juraimi FW
18 Shahri Rahim GK
22 Razali Johari MF
Geylang United FC Goal scorers
Jersey No. Name Event Time (min)
10 Brian Bothwell 24
Singapore Armed Forces FC Goal scorers
Jersey No. Name Event Time (min)
13 Kiatisuk Senamuang 63
11 Hafizat Jauharmi 64
13 Kiatisuk Senamuang 82
Geylang United FC Substitutions
Jersey No. Player(Out) >> Player(In) Event Time (min)
13 >> 7 Sharifuddin Mahmood >> Hamirul Hanif 75
Singapore Armed Forces FC Substitutions
Jersey No. Player(Out) >> Player(In) Event Time (min)
20 >> 11 Yunos Abdul Samad >> Hafizat Jauharmi 38
21 >> 14 Goran Galov >> Azhar Salleh 61
2 >> 4 Razif Mahamud >> Hairi Su'ap 84
Singapore Armed Forces FC Cautions
Jersey No. Name Event Time (min)
7 Nazri Nasir 22
12 Zahid Ahmad 79
5 Veselko Paponja 86