Prime League: Singapore Cubs 1-1 Warriors FC

Written by: Phoon Jia Hui

Warriors FC settled for a point after a 1-1 draw with Singapore Cubs in their opening game of the 2014 Great Eastern Yeo’s Prime League season at the Jurong West Stadium on Monday night.

Hazim Faiz put the home side in front in the 50th minute but Suria Prakash leveled matters eight minutes later via a penalty to earn Warriors a share of the spoils.

The first half was an evenly-contested affair as both teams cancelled each other out with the first chance of the game coming four minutes in through Warriors’ Raden Ishmadi whose effort was blocked for a corner.

Hazim then nearly opened the scoring at the other end minutes later but a Warriors defender was on hand to clear the danger before any red shirt could pounce.

Kevin Wee’s charges came closest to scoring on the stroke of half-time when Hamzah Fazil was forced to push Nur Asyidiq Sukarto’s powerful shot around the post for a corner before the half-time whistle went.

The second half saw a much-improved Singapore Cubs emerge from the break as they went on to take the lead five minutes after the restart.

Off Yus Henzry’s knock down, Hazim tapped home the loose ball from four yards out and punished a static Warriors defence.

However, their joys were short-lived as the visitors equalized.

After Raden went down under a challenge from behind, referee Manoj Kalwani pointed to the spot and up stepped Suria who sent Hamzah the wrong way to make it 1-1.

Yus Henzry then nodded past Neezam Aziz in the 62nd minute and thought he had found the winner but was denied by the linesman’s flag on the far side.

Both teams pushed bodies forward in the final half hour but were unable to find the elusive winner at the end of the day.

Speaking after the game, Warriors FC coach Kevin Wee felt that his team were ‘lucky’ to have come away with a draw but vowed to improve.

“I thought we were we lucky to draw (today),” he said.

“We were not at our best but full credit (must be given) to the Cubs. They played well. As much as I hate to say it, this is a good point (earned) for us and a fair result to me.

“We kept our defensive shape well today and that was the only thing we had. There’s (still) much more the team has which we need to build on.

“We were not sharp in our overall play and our fitness level was very low. We can be better and we are capable of better showings. That’s for sure,” he asserted