Written by: Shawn Lim

Tampines Rovers coach V.Sundramoorthy paid tribute to his side’s potent attack after watching them tear apart Geylang International 4-1 at Bedok Stadium on Tuesday night.

Mateo Roskam, Fabian Kwok, Rodrigo Tosi and Aqhari Abdullah got on the scoresheet for the Stags as the visitors scored with almost every shot they had on target.

Shawal Anuar pulled a goal back for the Eagles in second-half stoppage time, but it proved to be  scant consolation for the hosts.

Sundram was pleased with how his charges converted almost every goal-scoring opportunity they had, given that his side were infamous for their profligacy in front of goal in the earlier part of the season.

“We basically took all our chances today and we scored an early goal, which normally doesn’t happen for us, especially earlier in the season where we missed so many chances,” said Sundram.

“Now the boys are sharper because they are hungrier and I hope this continues to the end of the season.”

However, Sundram also voiced his displeasure with his side’s failure to keep a clean sheet, a small blip in an otherwise perfect day at the office for the Stags.

“I am sad we conceded the goal because it was quite soft – ball played behind our defence and everyone went to sleep – but that’s normal when you are leading by a few goals and everyone switches off,” said the 50-year-old.

The victory for the Stags edged them closer to the summit of Great Eastern Yeo’s S.League table and they will face league leaders Brunei DPMM in their next match.

Sundram believes that the Wasps are within touching distance and declared that his side will not stop fighting to the end.

“The boys played well because they wanted to win this game and keep pressure on the top teams,” said the former Singapore International footballer.

“For us, we take a game at a time and it has been a difficult season. But we will fight until the end to see where we finish.

“We are playing DPMM next and we can cut their lead to three points. It’s in our hands, not somebody else’s hands, so we should focus on the next game.”

Geylang coach Jorg Steinebrunner was an extremely unhappy man after the heavy defeat and was not in the mood to share his thoughts about the game.

“Congratulations to the Tampines Rovers for the victory and my boys did very well despite the 4-1 defeat,” was all the German said as he disappeared into the tunnel.