SINGAPORE, 6 MAY 2019 – Brunei DPMM were arguably the biggest winners over the weekend as they extended their lead at the top of the table to six points thanks to their victory over Home United, coupled with Tampines Rovers and Hougang United cancelling each other out. Defending champions Albirex Niigata (S) struck late to break Geylang International hearts, while Young Lions pulled off a slim victory over Balestier Khalsa. Remarkably, there was a sending off in each game, too; we recap the weekend’s action below…

Balestier 0-1 Young Lions | Bishan | 3 May
Syukri Bashir 68’

A clinical finish from Syukri Bashir settled a tight contest between these two teams and helped Fandi Ahmad’s charges exact revenge for an opening-day 4-1 mauling. Chances were few and far between, with the visitors having the better of the opportunities; Lionel Tan’s well-struck free-kick was saved, while Syed Akmal headed over from six yards. Saifullah Akbar’s introduction was to prove pivotal as the playmaker, making his return from injury, set up Syukri for a neat turn-and-finish from 14 yards to win the game. Sufianto Salleh’s red card in the closing stages compounded Balestier’s misery.

Facts
– Young Lions won for the first time in five games.
– Syukri scored his second goal of the season; he is joint-top scorer for the Young Lions alongside Haiqal Pashia.
– Young Lions won for the first time from a draw position at half-time this season.             

Balestier XI: Naqiuddin Nodin (GK), Fadli Kamis (C), Nurullah Hussein, Khalili Khalif, Ahmad Syahir (Sufianto Salleh 23’), Daniel Goh, Raihan Rahman (C), Huzaifah Aziz, Sameer Alassane (Fariz Faizal 64’), Sanjin Vrebac (Šime Žužul 74’), Hazzuwan Halim.
Unused subs: Faris Danial (GK), Ahmad Zaki, Illyas Lee, Fazli Shafie.

Young Lions XI: Kenji Rusydi (GK), Jacob Mahler, Zulqarnaen Suzliman, Haiqal Pashia, Syahrul Sazali, Syukri Bashir (Nur Adam Abdullah 90’), Nur Luqman Rahman, Lionel Tan, Joshua Pereira (C)(Syed Firdaus Hassan 46’), Syed Akmal, Sharul Nizam (Saifullah Akbar 35’). 
Unused subs: Zharfan Rohaizad (GK), Asraf Zahid, Rezza Rezky, Qayyum Raishyan.

DPMM 2-0 Home | Hassanal Bolkiah | 4 May
Abdul Azizi Rahman 20′, Andrei Varankou 87′

The DPMM machine just keeps chugging on as they saw off a determined Home United side, who could have come away with a different result had they capitalised on their chances. Hendra Azam pulled the strings for the leaders as he twice picked out his team-mates with accurate long balls, the first resulting in a glorious curled finish by Abdul Azizi Rahman and the second ruthlessly tucked away by league top scorer Andrei Varankou. Azwan Ali’s straight red card late on soured the win, though.

Facts
– DPMM have extended their club-record unbeaten run to 16 league games.
– DPMM are now undefeated in their last 10 home games.
– Azizi Rahman scored his first goal of the season.
– Varankou took his tally to 12 for the season.
– Wardun Yussof kept a league-leading fifth clean sheet of the season.
– Home have lost five league games, as many as they did last season.  

DPMM XI: Wardun Yussof (GK)(C), Abdul Mu’iz Sisa (Suhaimi Sulau 79’), Charlie Clough, Yura Indera Putera, Nurikhwan Othman, Awangku Fakharrazi (Najib Tarif 62’), Andrei Varankou, Abdul Azizi Rahman (Razimee Ramlli 59’), Blake Ricciuto, Azwan Ali Rahman, Hendra Azam.
Unused subs: Haimie Nyaring (GK), Azwan Saleh, Hazwan Hamzah, Shah Razen Said.

Home XI: Rudy Khairullah (GK), Faritz Hameed (C), Faizal Roslan, Ho Wai Loon, Abdil Qaiyyim, Aqhari Abdullah, Hami Syahin (Shahril Ishak 86’), Iqram Rifqi (Hafiz Nor 46’), Adam Swandi, Oliver Puflett (Isaka Cernak 73’), Song Uiyoung. 
Unused subs: Nazri Sabri (GK), Arshad Shamim, Taufiq Muqminin, Danish Iftiqar.

Albirex 2-0 Geylang | Jurong East | 5 May
Kyoga Nakamura 86′, 90’+2

Albirex took advantage of Muhd Noor Ariff’s dismissal for two yellow cards in the 80^th minute to strike two late goals, both brilliantly executed by captain Kyoga Nakamura. The left-footed maestro curled a glorious finish into the top left corner from 20 yards to break the Eagles’ resistance, before making sure of the three points with a 25-yard rocket that went off the right post as Zainol Gulam watched on helplessly. The win boosted Albirex to second place.  

Facts
– Noor Akid Nordin made his Albirex debut.
– Albirex notched a fourth straight home win.
– Albirex are now unbeaten in their last 45 games in all competitions at home.
– Geylang suffered a third straight loss.
– Nakamura is the first player to score twice from outside the box in a single league match this season; he also has three goals from outside the box, the most in the league.

Albirex XI: Kengo Fukudome (GK), Shuhei Sasahara, Naruki Takahashi, Shoki Ohara, Sota Sugiyama (Kodai Sumikawa 90’+2), Kaishu Yamazaki, Daizo Horikoshi, Noor Akid Nordin (Daichi Tanabe 46’), Daniel Martens (Yoshikatsu Hiraga 66’), Kyoga Nakamura (C), Hiroyoshi Kamata.
Unused subs: Hyrulnizam Juma’at (GK), Firas Irwan, Gamu Tasaka, Zamani Zamri.

Geylang XI: Zainol Gulam (GK), Darren Teh, Anders Aplin, Yuki Ichikawa (C), Danish Irfan (Jufri Taha 52’), Muhd Noor Ariff, Umar Akhbar, Amy Recha, Fikri Junaidi, Fareez Farhan (Shawal Anuar 74’), Zikos Chua (Gabriel Myong 46’).
Unused subs: Hairul Syirhan (GK), Christopher van Huizen, Ifwat Ismail, Syafiq Asaraf.

Tampines 3-3 Hougang | Our Tampines Hub | 5 May
Shah Shahiran 57′, Zehrudin Mehmedović 67′, Khairul Amri 70′ | Kong Howon 30′, Faris Ramli 56′, 63′

Hougang let slip a lead for the second game running as they threw away a 3-1 advantage to end up sharing the spoils with 10-man Tampines. Kong Howon broke the deadlock with an easy header off Zulfahmi Arifin’s corner and when Faris Ramli cracked in a second just four minutes after Yasir Hanapi copped a second yellow, it seemed like the Cheetahs were on course for all three points. But the Stags had other ideas and Ryutaro Megumi set up Shah Shahiran to fire in from a tight angle barely a minute later. Faris hit the bar minutes before bundling in Muhaimin Suhaimi’s cross, but Zehrudin Mehmedović hit back swiftly by tucking away Megumi’s cut-back. Stipe Plazibat’s failure to put away a one-on-one chance was punished by the hosts, who somehow left Khairul Amri unmarked to tap in Jordan Webb’s low ball. Faris headed a good chance over late on as Clement Teo’s men rued two points dropped.  

Facts
– The first encounter between these two teams also produced six goals, with Tampines winning 5-1 that time.
– Shah scored his first career goal.
– All three of Zehrudin Mehmedović’s goals have been as a substitute; no other player coming off the bench has scored more.
– Tampines have not won in five league games now.
– Twelve different players had made at least one assist for Hougang; no other team has had more to do so.
– This is the first time this season (in six games) that Hougang have failed to win a match after scoring first.

Tampines XI: Syazwan Buhari (GK), Madhu Mohana, Daniel Bennett, Amirul Adli, Irwan Shah, Yasir Hanapi, Joel Chew (Zehrudin Mehmedović 46’), Shahdan Sulaiman (C), Ryutaro Megumi, Jordan Webb (Taufik Suparno 87’), Shah Shahiran (Khairul Amri 58’). 
Unused subs: Zephen Nonis (GK), Akmal Azman, Zulfadhmi Suzliman, Hamizan Hisham.

Hougang XI: Ridhuan Barudin (GK), Muhaimin Suhaimi, Kong Howon, Afiq Yunos, Jordan Vestering (Hafiz Sujad 46’), Nikesh Singh (Fabian Kwok 72’), Zulfahmi Arifin (C), M. Anumanthan, Amir Zalani (Fazrul Nawaz 65’), Faris Ramli, Stipe Plazibat. 
Unused subs: Khairulhin Khalid (GK), Alif Iskandar, Afiq Noor, Shahfiq Ghani.  

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