Written by: Muhammad Yazid

Courts Young Lions ended the season with a three-game unbeaten streak as they pulled from behind to earn a 1-1 draw with Geylang International at the Jalan Besar Stadium.

It was a game which produced two top-class goals, as Leonel Felice put Geylang in the driving seat in the first half before Iqbal Hussain equalised in the second.

Geylang were coming into the game after a 4-0 thrashing from Hougang United few days ago while the Young Lions were looking for a third consecutive victory, following wins over Hougang and Woodlands.

The Young Lions were smooth in their movement in the final third, but a resilient Geylang defence led by skipper Ridhuan Muhammad and Japanese centre-backs Kento Fukuda and Yuki Ichikawa made things difficult for the developmental squad.

It was a tough battle in the middle of the park as M.Anumanthan and Fabian Kwok were seen tussling for the ball on many occasions with equal chances of gaining possession.

With fifteen minutes to go before the interval, Sahil Suhaimi’s rocket-shot sailed straight into the grateful hands of Siddiq Durimi as the Young Lions had their fair share of going forward.

The Eagles were then awarded with a free-kick in a beautiful position and they took full advantage of it by drawing first blood in the 33rd minute through Felice.

The Argentine forward powered the free-kick from 20 yards out straight into the top corner of the net, leaving Rudy Khairullah with no chance to give his team the lead.

That was the only notable action in the first half as the hosts marched into the dressing room trailing by a goal.

The restart seemed brighter for Aide Iskandar’s side as they were a whisker away from equalising.

Sahil struck a free-kick in a similar position as to the one Felice scored, but the starlet’s cannoned off the woodwork.

Hafiz Nor then forced Rudy into a point-blank save after a shot from an acute angle as the Eagles pursued a second goal.

The visitors were then given a glorious opportunity to put themselves in a comfortable position but Felice blasted Joaquin Lopez’s low cross miles over the bar.

The Young Lions managed to find the equaliser in the 74th minute, through Iqbal, who scored his second goal in two games as he let fly a shot from outside the penalty box which found Siddiq Durimi’s near post.

It was end-to-end from then on as both teams wanted a win, but none managed to find the back of the net, before the man in the middle blew his final whistle.