Written by: Nigel Chin

Warriors FC caretaker coach Razif Onn was adamant that Prime League goalkeeper Nur Amin Malik should be spared the blame following his side’s 2-1 defeat to Albirex Niigata (S).

Both goals conceded came from set-pieces, with Amin failing to take command of his area for the first, while he was left rooted to his spot for Fumiya Kogure’s winner from a free-kick.

Incidentally, Amin made his S.League debut earlier this year as a substitute against Albirex and went on to concede five goals.

On Friday evening, Amin was named in the starting line-up after Shahul Rayyan was ruled out following an injury suffered against Hougang United, while first choice goalkeeper Daniel Ong was not deemed fully fit yet and left on the bench.

“I have to give credit to him for playing well today, Razif said of Amin.

“Not say because of one mistake [he will get the blame for the defeat], it’s very unfair to him. He did play well today.

“The first goal, it was a mistake from us created by them (Albirex) – it was loose marking that allowed them to score. The second goal, I was a bit disappointed that the wall broke up.

“That shouldn’t have happened.”

The defeat meant that a finish in the top three is almost impossible for the defending champions, who now have 10 defeats in the season.

They currently trail third-place Balestier Khalsa by six points, with just three matches remaining this season.

“We needed to win this game to go to third position, but because of the loss tonight, it’s very difficult,” Razif said.

“We have to move on still. We will have discussions tomorrow, and we will work out on certain things to improve the team.

“I believe that the mistakes we made today, we won’t repeat again hopefully.”

On the other hand, Albirex coach Tatsuyuki Okuyama was happy his charges managed to earn a result in what he dubbed a crucial match.

“For both teams, this was a very important game and I’m very pleased with this result against the Warriors,” Okuyama shared

“Today’s purpose was to score the goals, so I was very pleased with scoring two goals. Also, both goals came from set-pieces, so that was very pleasing from the boys.”