Koh Yizhe
info@sleague.com
An early goal from Fazrul Nawaz was enough to condemn his former club to their first loss in four games as SAFFC defeated Gombak United 1-0 in Monday’s match of the Great Eastern-YEO’S S.League.
The 25-year-old, who moved from Gombak to the Warriors in the off-season, was at the right place at the right time to stab Taisuke Akiyoshi’s shot past goalkeeper Zakariah Nerani for his fourth goal of the season.
“I thought it was a very important and morale-boosting win for us,” said a delighted Richard Bok, head coach of SAFFC.
“The whole team worked hard, and congrats to them! They worked their socks off tonight, each and every one of them.”
With the victory, SAFFC ended the Bulls’ three-game winning streak, while elevating themselves to second spot with 15 points from seven matches.
Gombak remain in fifth spot with ten points from six games.
The Warriors made several changes from the side that suffered a 0-1 defeat at the hands of Tampines Rovers last week. Playing away at Jurong West, where they did not enjoy a good record in past years, Bok deployed a very defensive 4-2-3-1 formation, with Noh Rahman and Rhysh Roshan Rai guarding the back four.
Without the suspended Mislav Karoglan, Fazrul was preferred over Indra Sahdan to play as the lone striker, with Akiyoshi, Mustaqim Manzur and Ivan Jerkovic manning the supply lines.
The Bulls meanwhile made only one change from the side that beat Balestier Khalsa 2-1 three days ago, as Ismail Yunos started in defence ahead of an off-colour Jeremy Chiang.
Park Kang Jin and Kwon Jin Sung meanwhile kept their places in attack for the hosts, and it was the two Koreans who combined to craft the first chance of the match.
In the third minute, Park created space for himself on the left side of the penalty box before sending a cross into the danger zone. Although Kwon was able to meet it with his head, SAFFC custodian Shahril Jantan was equal to the effort.
It did not take long for SAFFC to create an opening of their own, and they almost took the lead in the ninth minute when Fazrul’s header from a Shaiful Esah corner was cleared off the line.
The striker was however not to be denied three minutes later.
A loose ball found its way to an unmarked Akiyoshi, who blasted the ball towards goal. It went past a host of players, but the former Gombak hitman applied a decisive touch to direct the ball into goal.
Having taken the lead, SAFFC were content to soak up the pressure for much of the match.
Kwon had a great opportunity to bring his side back on level terms when he had a one-on-one with Shahril, but his first touch to round the keeper was too heavy, and the defence cleared the danger.
Obadin Aikhena then fired a free kick over from distance, before he gave the SAFFC goalkeeper some catching practice with a weak header from a corner just after the half-hour mark.
Three minutes before the interval, the Bulls had yet another opportunity to draw level when they caught SAFFC on the break, but Park took too long to shoot and the SAFFC backline snuffed out the danger.
The Warriors did have a chance to double their lead at the end of the half when Walid Lounis brought Fazrul down right at the edge of the penalty area. However, Jerkovic lifted the resulting free kick just over the bar.
Gombak were having quite a lot of the ball, but they were unable to fashion multiple chances as the Warriors backline held firm.
The pairing of Noh Rahman and Roshan did an excellent job of keeping the Bulls at bay, and even when the ball managed to get past them, Daniel Bennett and Bah Mamdou were a steady force with accurate interceptions and timely tackles.
As a result, even though the hosts continued to see plenty of action in the second half, they were unable to craft as many chances as the first.
Instead, Fazrul almost single-handedly willed SAFFC into repeatedly threatening his old side.
First, his shot on 52 minutes clipped a defender, before a strong header eight minutes later was saved by Gombak custodian Zakariah.
The former national striker was eventually replaced by Indra on 73 minutes, and was given a loud round of applause at the ground where he once did the business for Gombak.
Bulls head coach Darren Stewart tried to shake things up by bringing on Ruhaizad Ismail and Zulkiffli Hassim midway into the second half, but they were unable to threaten SAFFC’s goal.
With the final whistle looming, Gombak were given an opportunity to steal a point when they were awarded a free kick for a foul on the edge of the penalty box. However, Aikhena blasted his shot against the wall and allowed SAFFC to claim all three points.
“It was definitely a tough game,” said Stewart.
“We could have gotten something from this match, and it would be harsh if people say we did deserve to lose. We just went to sleep for one minute and we were punished, then we just couldn’t get back in although we tried and tried.
“It didn’t drop for us today, it wasn’t our day.”
Despite the defeat, the 44-year-old said he was satisfied with the display from his players.
“It was a gutsy performance from my players. I am not disappointed one bit by the performance, only with the result,” he emphasised.
“We set out to be tough to beat, and we were. It took a tough club to beat us so I have no complaints at all.”
SAFFC coach Bok was equally complimentary to Gombak, admitting that his side could not gain real control the match despite holding the lead for over 70 minutes.
“Gombak are a tough team to play,” said the 41-year-old.
“Not a lot of teams can control a match against Gombak. They move the ball well and especially in the attacking third, they pass and run well.
“We were playing away, and so we had to be defensively sound to cut off their movement in the middle. We needed to stifle their movement, and I think we did reasonably well in that aspect.”
He also singled out his centreback pairing of Mamadou and Bennett for praise.
“Bah Mamadou, together with Daniel Bennett, had a superb performance,” he beamed.
“They were a pillar of strength at the back. They were composed and intercepted plenty of balls. It is wonderful to see them working well together.”
Bok and his charges now look forward to a good break before they return to Choa Chu Kang, where they face archrivals Home United on 7 April.
“We have played two big teams in Tampines (Rovers) and Gombak after them. Now, we have a good break and some time to prepare before the Home United game.”
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