Written by: Muhammad Yazid

Home United’s most recent 3-1 loss to Hougang United has seen them added an extra hurdle in their bid for the league’s title as they slipped to fourth place.

Coach Lee Lim Saeng was more disappointed than usual but he refused to blame his team for the inexplicable loss.

“As a coach, I take the blame of the defeat and it always has to be my fault,” Lee said. “We had a decent amount of chances in the first half but unfortunately we just could not finish.

“Our first half was very good but in the second half, our attacks did not create any chances although we tried our best to play our football.”

Ultimately, Lee praised the Cheetahs for being their cutting edge up front, and said that was the main difference tonight.

“Our opponents were very sharp in their finishing and that was what which made it a very crucial match,” he said.

Hougang coach Amin Nasir was elated with the win, as it continued the Cheetahs’ run of giant-slaying after doing the same to Tampines Rovers and Warriors FC previously.

“We have been responding very well to the critics who have been underestimating our ability. It is all about how we approach every game at a time and it is down to our discipline, character and teamwork,” the tactician shared.

“We work very hard not only in games but also in our training sessions.

“As we are mid-way through the second round, the reason for our good form is because we learn from the first round and believe in our strengths.”

Amin could not have been happier with the performance and the result, as he labelled his side’s second half performance as ‘superb’.

“It was a scary first half performance. Home were superior,”  Amin admitted.

“We were very lucky in the first half to keep it at 1-1 because we were second best and allowed them plenty of room.”

“But in the second half when we rectified our situation, our tactics played off perfectly and we created a lot more chances, approaching the game differently.

“I am really proud of the second half performance because we somehow managed to compete with a team of quality in terms of defense.

“It is sweet that we managed to get a good result because we deserve this and there is a lot of improvements; we just need to stay consistent.”