Written By: Muhammad Yazid

Home United welcomed the Singapore Cubs at the Bishan Stadium on Monday evening and both teams walked away with a point each after an action-packed goalless encounter.

Despite sitting comfortably at the top of the Great Eastern Yeo’s Prime League table, the Protectors needed a win to extend their lead at the top, but the draw was also something Home would not reject.

The first-half was dominated mostly by the Cubs as they started and ended the half with glorious opportunities. Syed Amirul made a nuisance of himself down the left and he was granted with the first opportunity two minutes into the game when he attempted a left-footed shot from a tight angle, only for the ball to be parried away by Khairul Karim.

The hosts came back stronger in the second-half and created more chances, but were still unable to open the scoring, even after they were presented with a penalty in the 78th minute.

Amirul Iskandar handled the ball in the penalty area and the referee pointed straight to the spot, but Haziq Azman’s penalty was too weak and easy for Zharfan Rohaizad to palm away.

The away side could have also taken the lead earlier when Ahmad Khidhir’s pin-point cross from the right was met by Syazwan Zin, but the striker’s powerful header was well-dealt with by Zharfan.

As much as the game was seemingly ending in a stalemate, both teams could have still been separated, if not for substitute Nurhalis Azmi’s wasted effort a minute before the final whistle.

The striker skillfully turned away from three defenders whilst controlling the ball in the air, before unleashing a thunderous volley from 16 yards out which flew just wide.

The man in the middle soon blew his final whistle, and both coaches were left disappointed with the result but pleased with the performance.

Home’s head coach, Bernard Lan was happy with his boys’ attitude. “They gave their best and never gave up. Both teams tried their best but couldn’t convert the chances that came in their way.”

His opposite number, Slobodan Pavkovic believes that it is the performance which matters most. “I am more happy with the performance than the result because it is the most important thing, especially for a developmental side like this.”