Written by: Phoon Jia Hui

Tampines Rovers made it three wins in as many games as they comfortably brushed aside Geylang International 3-0 at the Clementi Stadium on Sunday evening to move back to the top of the Great Eastern Yeo’s S.League table.

Goals in the opening half-hour from Miljan Mrdakovic and Luis Closa put Tampines in the driving seat before Aleksandar Duric added a third just before the interval to wrap up victory for the Stags.

Tampines nearly got off to a flyer in the fourth minute when Miljan Mrdakovic latched onto a through ball from Shahdan Sulaiman and hit a shot which Geylang goalkeeper Joey Sim managed to push wide for a corner.

But there was no denying the Serbian forward as he put his side in front in the 16th minute.

It was Shahdan and Mrdakovic who combined again as the latter fired home a powerful finish off Shahdan’s pass for his fourth goal of the season.

Mrdakovic nearly made it 2-0 minutes later but he was denied by the legs of Sim who was at fault for Tampines’ second goal scored by Closa.

Sim spilled a cross from the right and the loose ball fell for Mrdakovic to shoot into an empty net.

Geylang meanwhile looked devoid of ideas as they fell further behind three minutes before the half-time whistle.

Off Mrdakovic’s knockdown, Duric raced through on goal and fired an empathic finish past Sim to seal all three points.

The second-half was no different as Salim Moin’s side continued from where they left off but were let down by poor finishing.

Duric could have gotten his second of the night shortly after the break but only fired straight at Sim before Jamil Ali broke free of the Geylang backline, only to see his low cross meant for Duric trickle wide.

After a dismal showing in the first-half, the Eagles responded in the second-half and were unfortunate not to have pulled a goal back on the 70th mark.

A Ridhuan Muhammad cross from the right was met by Joaquin Lopez in the box but the latter sent a free header just over.

Lopez was then presented with another opportunity six minutes later when he unleashed a fierce shot from 30 yards out but Hyrulnizam Juma’at was equal to it, flying across to tip the Argentinean’s effort over the bar.

Tampines substitute Roberto Martinez could have added further goals late on and put the game beyond all doubt but was first denied by the woodwork after chipping an onrushing Sim before blasting over with only the keeper to beat.

However, the damage was already done as they piled more misery on Geylang who fell to their third straight defeat of the season.