Matchweek 20 of the Singapore Premier League (SPL) delivered late drama, emphatic victories, and major implications at both ends of the table. While Albirex Niigata (S) ended Lion City Sailors’ hopes of an unbeaten season, Balestier Khalsa sealed a top-half finish in style, and Young Lions produced one of the most spirited comebacks of the campaign.
Jaguars’ collapse confirms bottom-place finish
Balestier Khalsa 6-0 Tanjong Pagar United | Bishan Stadium | 9 May
(Tin Matic 12’, 54′, 79′, Bogdan Mandic 51’, Jakov Katusa 83’, Ifat Sha’aban 86’)
Tanjong Pagar United will take some encouragement from a competitive first half display despite eventually suffering a heavy 6-0 defeat to Balestier Khalsa – their 18th defeat of the season.
The Jaguars started brightly and looked capable of troubling the Tigers, but Tin Matic’s superb, curled effort in the 12th minute handed the hosts the lead. However, Tanjong Pagar continued to push forward, with Junior Djile spurning their best opportunity after excellent work from Vabio Canavaro.
With only a one goal deficit at the break, there was still hope for the visitors. However, the second half saw the contest unravel dramatically.
Matic completed a fine hat-trick performance, while further strikes from Bogdan Mandic, Jakov Katusa and Ifat Sha’aban completed a ruthless display from the Tigers.
The result consigns the Jaguars to a last-placed finish, with their 18th defeat of the season leaving them five points adrift of Young Lions with only one game remaining.
Tigers roar to top-half finish in front of home faithful
Balestier Khalsa secured fourth place in emphatic fashion with a commanding victory over Tanjong Pagar United, capping off an impressive campaign under Marko Kraljevic.
The Tigers’ attacking trio of Tin Matic, Jakov Katusa and Bogdan Mandic once again demonstrated their chemistry and cutting edge, combining fluency, movement and ruthless finishing throughout the contest.
At the other end, Mario Mustapic was equally influential, producing several important saves to preserve a clean sheet despite periods of pressure from the Jaguars in the first half.
Having secured a top half finish with one game still to play, Balestier will now look to close out the season strongly against Geylang International and carry momentum into the next campaign.
Balestier Khalsa: Mario Mustapic, Mario Subaric, Madhu Mohana (C), Lazar Vujanic, Bogdan Mandic (Ilyasin Zayan 87’), Harith Kanadi, Daniel Goh (Ignatius Ang 75’), Tin Matic (Ifat Sha’aban 84’), Masahiro Sugita (Elijah Lim 84’), Fudhil I’Yadh (Darren Teh 75’), Jakov Katusa
Unused subs: Martyn Mun, Hafiz Ahmad, Dany Irfan, Aniq Raushan
Tanjong Pagar United: Zaiful Nizam (C) (Matthew Silva 46’), Syahrul Sazali (Naqiuddin Eunos 72’), Kim Likwan, Syed Muhammad Akmal, Fathullah Rahmat, Jesse Daley (Sahil Suhaimi 72’), Estevez Tsai Emilio, Vabio Canavaro, Lee Chanwoo, Lougah Junior Djile (Syahadat Masnawi 62’), Izrafil Yusof (Faizal Roslan 26’)
Unused subs: Kenji Rusydi, Azim Akbar, Naufal Ilham, Aloysius Pang, Samuel Pillai, Anaqi Ismit
Young Lions’ fighting spirit shines through in dramatic finale
Young Lions 2-2 Geylang International | Jalan Besar Stadium | 9 May
(Sergio Mendonca 39’, Louka Tan-Vaissiere 90+8’ | Kim Tae-ho 33’, 90+6’)
Young Lions produced a stirring late comeback to earn a dramatic 2-2 draw against Geylang International in one of the most entertaining matches of the weekend.
Firdaus Kassim’s side started brightly and repeatedly threatened the Eagles’ defence. Nathan Mao had an early effort blocked by Shahdan Sulaiman before later rounding Rudy Khairullah and finishing calmly, only for the offside flag to deny him.
After surviving sustained pressure, Geylang struck against the run of play in the 33rd minute when Kim Tae Ho converted Vincent Bezecourt’s cutback. However, Young Lions responded superbly just six minutes later as Sergio Mendonca reacted the sharpest in the penalty box to curl home his eighth goal of the campaign.
The developmental side continued to dominate large spells of the second half but failed to convert several clear opportunities, with Henry Spence and Nicolas Beninger both failing to convert in one-on-one situations.
It looked as though Young Lions would be punished for those missed chances when Kim Tae Ho struck again deep into stoppage time to restore Geylang’s lead.
But in remarkable fashion, Young Lions responded immediately after the restart. Mendonca threaded a pass through to Beninger, whose cutback was turned home by Louka Tan-Vaissiere to spark wild celebrations and cap off a performance full of resilience and belief.
Young Lions: Izwan Mahbud, Andrew Aw, Sergio Mendonca, Amir Syafiz (C) (Nicolas Michael Beninger 84’), Henry Lawrence Spence (Garv Sahoo 75’), Marcus Mosses, Iryan Fandi, Nathan Mao (Louka Tan-Vaissierre 71’), Andy Reefqy, Danial Herwan (Enrico Silveira 84’), Abdil Qaiyyim
Unused subs: Ashman Saravanan, Firman Nabil, Caelan Cheong, Nur Muhammad Fadly, Yazid Rizal Rais, Zaki Jumlan, Erdy Thaqib Taha
Geylang International: Rudy Khairullah, Kim Tae Ho, Shuhei Hoshino, Riku Fukashiro (Prince Rio Rifae’i 90+5’), Joshua Pereira (C), Vincent Bezecourt (Amy Recha 81’), Nikola Ignjatovic, Shahdan Sulaiman, Shodai Yokoyama, Kaisei Ogawa, Nazrul Nazari
Unused subs: Yu Kanoshima, Aniq Matin Zulfadli, Iqram Rifqi, Gareth Low, Ko Jaehyun, Raiyan Noor, Ryu Hardy, Faisal Shahril, S C Denilson
Stags grind out crucial win in tense ACL2 race
Hougang United 0-1 BG Tampines Rovers | Bishan Stadium | 10 May
(Saifullah Akbar O.G. 83’)
BG Tampines Rovers kept their grip on second place with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Hougang United in a tense encounter at Bishan Stadium.
A cagey first half offered few clear opportunities before the game burst into life after the break. Trent Buhagiar’s driving run through the heart of the Hougang defence in the 48th minute forced Ryaan Sanizal into a desperate challenge. Following a VAR review, the Hougang captain’s yellow card was upgraded to red for denying a goalscoring opportunity.
The Cheetahs’ task became even more difficult in the 70th minute when Victor Blasco was dismissed for catching Shah Shahiran with a flailing elbow.
Despite their numerical advantage, the Stags struggled to break down a determined Hougang side. The breakthrough finally arrived in the 83rd minute when Saifullah Akbar inadvertently turned Hide Higashikawa’s header into his own net.
It was far from a convincing display from William Phang’s side, but the victory was vital as they maintained a two-point cushion over Albirex Niigata (S) in the race for the AFC Champions League 2 (ACL2) spot.
Hougang United: Ridhuan Barudin, Jordan Vestering, Chonlawit Kanuengkid (Anders Aplin 90+6’), Huzaifah Aziz, Saifullah Akbar, Settawut Wongsai (Farhan Zulkifli 68’), Ryaan Sanizal (C), Nabilai Kibunguchy, Yuma Suwa, Victor Blasco Llorens, Jaushua Sotirio (Saharat Panmarchya 75’)
Unused subs: Aizil Yazid, Kanok Kongsimma, Parinya Nusong, Washington Ayovi, Rauf Sanizal, Brant Tan, Wong Ngang Haang, Syady Sufwan, Woo Chun Wei
BG Tampines Rovers: Syazwan Buhari (C), Raoul Suhaimi (Irfan Najeeb 89’), Shuya Yamashita, Jacob Mahler, Seiga Sumi (Joel Chew 68’), Shah Shahiran, Glenn Kweh (Taufik Suparno 68’), Trent Anthony Buhagiar (Hide Higashikawa 76’), Takeshi Yoshimoto, Yuki Kobayashi, Kohya Kazama (Zikos Chua 89’)
Unused subs: Kasey Champlin Rogers, Ong Yu En, Amirul Haikal, Iman Hakim, Anton Goh, Tara Ndao, Naufal Mohammad
Red card – Ryaan Sanizal (Hougang United) 51’, Victor Blasco Llorens (Hougang United) 70’
Albirex end Sailors’ invincible dream in statement victory
Lion City Sailors 0-2 Albirex Niigata (S) | Jalan Besar Stadium | 10 May
(Shingo Nakano 50’, Toni Datkovic O.G. 53’)
Albirex Niigata (S) delivered a standout performance to hand Lion City Sailors their first league defeat of the campaign and end the newly crowned champions’ hopes of an unbeaten season.
The White Swans looked dangerous throughout and nearly took the lead in the first half when Shingo Nakano’s effort was parried onto the post by Ivan Susak. Yang Hyeonju thought he had opened the scoring four minutes later, only for the offside flag to intervene.
Albirex eventually found the breakthrough early in the second half when Nakano evaded the attention of Lionel Tan to head home Hyeonju’s cross for his 19th goal of the season, moving him ahead of Hide Higashikawa in the Golden Boot race.
The visitors doubled their lead just three minutes later when Hyeonju again caused havoc in the Sailors penalty area. Susak repelled his initial effort, but he squared the rebound to Zulqarnaen Suzliman and the Sailors loanee’s effort found the back of the net, despite Toni Datkovic’s despairing lunge.
That sparked a response from the newly crowned champions, with Hassan Sunny called into action several times while Lennart Thy struck the post in a frantic spell.
Albirex, however, held firm to secure a statement victory, while Sailors’ frustration deepened in injury time as Datkovic was sent off for hauling down Nakano.
Lion City Sailors: Ivan Susak, Toni Datkovic, Lionel Tan, Bart Ramselaar, Hafiz Nor (Kyoga Nakamura 58’), Hariss Harun (C) (Luka Adzic 58’), Song Uiyoung (Rui Pires 68’), Hami Syahin, Nur Adam Abdullah, Akram Azman (Lennart Thy 58’), Lucas Eliezer Agueiro (Anderson Lopes 71’)
Unused subs: Adib Nur Hakim, Efan Qiszman, Shawal Anuar, Christopher van Huizen, Bailey Wright
Albirex Niigata (S): Hassan Sunny, Kim Taeuk, Komei Iida, Naoki Yoshioka, Zulqarnaen Suzliman, Katsuyuki Ishibashi (Ren Nishimura 83’), Cho Eunsu, Abdul Rasaq Akeem (Delwinder Singh 83’), Yang Hyeonju (Takumi Yokohata 77’), Haziq Kamarudin (Nicky Melvin Singh 66’), Shingo Nakano (C)
Unused subs: Takahiro Koga, Dylan Pereira, Soshi Kadowaki, Danish Qayyum, Shakthi Vinayagavijayan, Aqil Zafri Junaidi, Arsyad Azrain, Sachin Kabilan Chandra
Red card – Toni Datkovic (Lion City Sailors) 90+8’
