Lion City Sailors’ Shawal Anuar in action against BG Tampines Rovers, 29 September 2024
SINGAPORE, 30 SEPTEMBER 2024 – The 2024/25 Singapore Premier League (SPL) title race remains finely in the balance with Lion City Sailors rescuing a late draw against rivals BG Tampines Rovers to stay three points clear at the top, while Geylang International demolished Tanjong Pagar United to consolidate third spot. Albirex Niigata (S)’s resurgence continues with a win over Balestier Khalsa, while Brunei DPMM and Hougang United played out an entertaining draw. We recap all the action here…
Cheetahs show resilience
Hougang 2-2 DPMM | Jalan Besar | 27 September
Stjepan Plazonja 74’, Dejan Račić 90’+5 | Julio Cruz pen. 13’, Ismail Salihović O.G. 15’
DPMM led by two goals for large periods of the game after Cruz had put them ahead from the spot and Oliveira forced Salihović into an own goal, but Hougang rallied – with Plazonja going on a superb solo run before slotting in from a tight angle before teeing up Račić to bundle in deep into injury time to earn a share of the spoils.
Facts
- DPMM are now unbeaten in their last six matches, while Hougang have drawn their last three outings.
- Račić has now netted 12 goals in 13 appearances this season.
Hougang: Zaiful Nizam (GK), Nazhiim Harman (Danish Irfan 63’), Ensar Brunčević, Faris Hasić, Jordan Vestering, Ajay Robson (Justin Hui 90’+2), Ismail Salihović (Zamani Zamri 90’+2), Hazzuwan Halim (Gabriel Quak 63’), Stjepan Plazonja, Shodai Yokoyama, Dejan Račić.
Unused subs: Kenji Rusydi (GK), Isaac Jonathan (GK), Danie Hafiy.
DPMM: Kristijan Naumovski (GK), Nazry Aiman (Syafiq Safiuddin 90’+2), Yura Indera Putera, Nurikhwan Othman, Najib Tarif, Farshad Noor, Azwan Ali Rahman (C), Gabriel Gama (Abdul Mu’iz Sisa 90’+6), Hakeme Yazid (Hanif Hamir 90’+2), Julio Cruz, Miguel Oliveira (Naziruddin Ismail 28’, Hanif Farhan 90’+2).
Unused subs: Haimie Nyaring (GK), Azwan Saleh, Faturrahman Embran, Abdul Hariz Herman.
Red Card – Azwan Ali Rahman (DPMM) 80’
Hougang United’s Gabriel Quak in action against Brunei DPMM, 27 September 2024
White Swans climb to fifth
Balestier 2-3 Albirex | Bishan | 28 September
Riku Fukashiro 9’, Jordan Emaviwe 90+2′ | Shingo Nakano 5′, 75′, Jordan Emaviwe O.G. 45′
Nakano’s early precise lob was cancelled out by Fukashiro’s brilliant finish off Elijah Lim’s cross, but Albirex retook the lead with Emaviwe bundling Yojiro Takahagi’s corner into his own net before Nakano benefitted from Yohei Otake’s through ball to net a second. Emaviwe then scored at the right end late on to pull one back, but it proved to be too little too late for the Tigers.
Facts
- Albirex won back-to-back games for the first time this season – they have now just lost once in their last six matches.
- Nakano netted braces in two consecutive games – he has now netted 14 goals in 13 appearances for Albirex this season.
- Balestier are now winless in their last three outings.
Balestier: Hafiz Ahmad (GK), Darren Teh, Amer Hakeem (Emmeric Ong 46’), Jordan Emaviwe, Harith Kanadi (Fudhil I’yadh 78’), Alen Kozar (C), Ismaïl Sassi, Masahiro Sugita, Elijah Lim (Ignatius Ang 72’), Riku Fukashiro, Kodai Tanaka.
Unused subs: Martyn Mun (GK), Tajeli Salamat, Amiruldin Asraf, Syukri Noorhaizam, Irfan Mika’il, Reycredo Bukit.
Albirex: Hassan Sunny (GK), Ryhan Stewart (Arshad Shamim 83’), Syed Firdaus Hassan, Stevia Egbus Mikuni, Junki Yoshimura, Ho Wai Loon (C) (Gareth Low 63’), Yojiro Takahagi, Yohei Otake, Haziq Kamarudin (Daniel Goh 72’), Shuhei Hoshino, Shingo Nakano.
Unused subs: Dylan Pereira (GK), Zainol Gulam (GK), Idraki Adnan, Syukri Bashir, Daniel Martens, Kenji Austin.
Red Card – Ismaïl Sassi (Balestier) 58’
Balestier Khalsa’s Harith Kanadi in action against Albirex Niigata (S), 28 September 2024
Doi is inevitable
Tanjong Pagar 2-7 Geylang | Jurong East | 28 September
Tomoki Wada 20′, Akram Azman 41′ | Tomoyuki Doi pen. 18′, 74′, 80′, Ryoya Taniguchi 25′, Naqiuddin Eunos 33′, Shakir Hamzah 45′, Vincent Bezecourt 63′
After Wada’s sweeping finish cancelled out Doi’s early penalty, Geylang retook the lead with Taniguchi nodding in Doi’s cross before Naqiuddin fired home from a tight angle to make it 3-1. Akmal then halved the deficit from close range, but it was one-way traffic for Geylang thereafter. Doi teed up Shakir for an unerring finish and Bezecourt curled a brilliant shot home from range to extend the lead to 5-2, before Doi finished the night off with two clinical finishes to complete yet another SPL hat-trick.
Facts
- Doi took his goal tally for the season up to 28 – 13 more than nearest challenger Kodai Tanaka from Balestier.
- That was Doi’s fifth hat-trick of the season, and he has also netted 10 goals across his last five outings.
- Naqiuddin has five goals this term, after scoring just two in six seasons between 2018 to 2023.
- Tanjong Pagar are now winless in their last nine matches.
Tanjong Pagar: Riki Kimura (GK), Syed Akmal (Ihsan Hadi 79’), Timur Talipov (Umar Akhbar 46’), Curtis David Gray, Akram Azman (C) (Azim Akbar 79’), Tomoki Wada, Rezza Rezky, Rizqin Aniq (Sahil Suhaimi 46’), Zenivio Mota, Stefan Paunović (Farid Jafiri 75’), Shodai Nishikawa.
Unused subs: Fashah Iskandar (GK), Daniel Elfian, Aloysius Pang, Saiful Azhar.
Geylang: Rudy Khairullah (GK), Joshua Pereira (C) (Faisal Shahril 81’), Rio Sakuma, Keito Hariya, Shakir Hamzah, Takahiro Tezuka, Vincent Bezecourt, Naqiuddin Eunos (Raiyan Noor 84’), Ryoya Taniguchi (Akmal Azman 81’), Ahmad Syahir (Zikos Chua 46’), Tomoyuki Doi.
Unused subs: Hairul Syirhan (GK), Kyan Neo, Irfan Rifqi, Tariq Shahid.
Geylang International’s Tomoyuki Doi celebrates scoring against Tanjong Pagar United, 28 September 2024
Sailors still in the driving seat
BG Tampines 2-2 Sailors | Jalan Besar | 29 September
Faris Ramli 49’, Boris Kopitović 55’ | Shawal Anuar 8’, 87’
A pulsating game saw Shawal producing a stunning lob from the centre circle to put the Sailors ahead, before BG Tampines turned it around – with Faris sneaking in to slot in Glenn Kweh’s low cross before Kunori’s long-ranger took a deflection off Kopitović to wrongfoot Izwan Mahbud and make it 2-1. However, the Sailors rescued a share of the spoils late on with Shawal rising highest to nod home Toni Datković’s deep cross.
Facts
- BG Tampines are now winless in their last five SPL games.
- BG Tampines are one of only two teams along with Geylang International to have taken points twice off the Sailors this season.
- Faris and Kopitović have scored in both encounters against the Sailors this season.
- Shawal has now equalled his best-ever scoring tally of 11 goals from the 2022 league season with Hougang.
BG Tampines: Syazwan Buhari (GK) (C), Shuya Yamashita, Amirul Adli, Miloš Zlatković, Glenn Kweh (Jared Gallagher 74’), Shah Shahiran, Kyoga Nakamura, Joel Chew (Saifullah Akbar 67’), Faris Ramli (Yasir Hanapi 81’), Seia Kunori, Boris Kopitović.
Unused subs: Ridhuan Barudin (GK), Sunny Tia (GK), Syahrul Sazali, Jovan Ang, Caelan Cheong, Thanet Suknate.
Sailors: Izwan Mahbud (GK), Bill Mamadou (Lionel Tan 65’), Bailey Wright (C), Toni Datković, Haiqal Pashia (Christopher van Huizen 65’), Rui Pires, Song Uiyoung, Sergio Carmona Pérez (Hafiz Nor 65’), Shawal Anuar, Abdul Rasaq Akeem (Maxime Lestienne 56’), Obren Kljajić (Hariss Harun 90’+2).
Unused subs: Adib Nur Hakim (GK), Zharfan Rohaizad (GK), Hami Syahin, Nathan Mao.
Lion City Sailors’ Toni Datković in action against BG Tampines Rovers, 29 September 2024
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