Goal drought broken as Mendy leads way

Source

Bhaskaran Kunju
info@sleague.com

Frederic Mendy finally opened his scoring account for his new club as Home United battled their way to a third straight victory, this time against Albirex Niigata (Singapore).

The 2-1 win pushed the Bishan-based club back to the summit as the White Swans crashed to their second consecutive defeat after an impressive start to the season.

Events that had unfolded just days earlier were on the minds of the staff and players of Albirex, who all donned black armbands as a mark of respect for the victims of the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

Their opponents on the night joined them in their act of remembrance, and the match itself had begun with a minute of silence that was respectfully observed by all who were present.

But it was all about the Protectors from the get-go, and it took all of just four minutes for Mendy to break the deadlock.

A low hard cross from Juma’at Jantan was poked in from close range by the lanky Frenchman, who had to also muscle himself into position against the Japanese defence.

Mendy’s first goal for the club was met with delight by his coach Paul Lee Lim Saeng, but the Korean was quick to play down the importance of the goal, insisting that his overall performance even before this match had been excellent.

“I’m so happy for him,” beamed the former Korea international.

“I didn’t give him any stress (for not having scored so far). I told him, ‘You can score, that’s why you should be patient.’ He’s so good and he has a killer instinct in front of goal.”

Home would come close to increasing their lead on several occasions before clinching their second right on the stroke of half-time.

Qiu Li, another chief tormentor of the night, snaked his way past the entire backline on 25 minutes before finally pulling too late from a difficult angle, allowing Yoshito Matsushita to punch the ball away.

Sherif El-Masri, who had been given a surprise start on the right berth of midfield, had his chance as well as when he pounced on a long ball and worked himself into space for a stinging shot. But again, Matsushita was able to thwart a near-certain goal.

Before conceding for the second time on the night, Albirex had only a couple of decent attempts on goal, the first coming though rightback Ryuta Hayashi, who managed to trouble Lionel Lewis with a snap shot from the corner of the penalty box.

Just a few minutes earlier, captain Shimpei Sakurada glanced a header just past the far upright, even as Shotaro Ihata tried to pounce on the elusive free ball.

But Shi Jiayi ensured his side entered the second half comfortably ahead after he slotted home from close range from a Mendy header, as the forward made a nuisance of himself inside the box.

Home kept up the pressure on Albirex even as the White Swans tried sporadically to break the deadlock. But their inclination towards eye-catching football was well overcome by a bruising and dominant Home side who never looked a step out of place.

Shi almost doubled his tally ten minutes after the restart but, after some impressive buildup play, fired his shot just over the crossbar.

Firdaus Idros, who had come on just minutes after the restart in place of El-Masri, had his fair share of chances as well, looking lively in a central role as Mendy dropped a little into the flanks.

Firdaus headed a well-placed Mendy cross just wide on the hour mark, then 12 minutes from the end, his drive from just inside the penalty box had to be parried away by Matsushita, who then had to recover quickly to turn Asraf Abdul Rashid’s near-post volley round the upright for a corner.

Qiu had a chance from the resulting corner, but his header from a deep run was well wide.

That miss was also marked by the entrance of Bruno Suzuki Castenheira, who finally entered the foray with just over ten minutes of regulation time left.

The inexplicable absence of the popular Japanese forward was coyly dealt with by Albirex coach Koichi Sugiyama after the match, though another club official did reveal a possible injury that had hampered his selection when asked separately.

Nevertheless, Castenheira’s introduction proved to be the catalyst the White Swans needed, as he was right in the thick of action setting up Ihata’s goal on 84 minutes.

After the half-Brazilian casually slipped a ball through inside the box, Ihata had to muscle off his markers to power in from close range and reduce the deficit.

The late goal sparked an Albirex mini-revival, though no real threat surfaced as Home nervously held on to a crucial win.

Lee was frank on his feelings towards the end of the match.

“Frankly speaking I was angry,” he said of the late goal conceded.

“But I couldn’t tell that to my players so I kept it to myself. But I was so worried they’ll come back!” he said in mock exasperation.

“Regardless we got our three points, and we can work on winning our next game against Tanjong Pagar.”

Albirex coach Koichi Sugiyama meanwhile did not hold back his praise for his opponents.

“My players did very well, but the Home United team is very strong,” said the 39-year-old, showing great humility in the presence of Home general manager S. Mahalingam.

“Players like Mendy and Kenji (Arai) were really good. Every player has potential and ability, they have a good team. I’m looking forward to playing Home again.”

On a more sombre note, Sugiyama did reveal that recent tragic events were on the minds of the players and staff alike.

“We were relieved our families and friends are safe, we did make sure of that. But of course there are so many victims in Japan, so I just regret that we couldn’t send any good news to Japan,” he said.

“But I think for us, the important thing is to keep going and never give up. It’s what’s important for us.

“I also appreciate that the opponents and fans had their thoughts for us. I really appreciate that.”