Ten-man Balestier clinch third clean sheet

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Hiranand Sunny Naresh
info@sleague.com

Balestier Khalsa claimed their first win of the season in sensational fashion on Friday evening, recording a 3-0 result against Geylang United at Jalan Besar Stadium.

The result sees the Toa Payoh-based side clinch their third consecutive clean sheet, despite the first-half sending-off of fullback Anaz Hadee.

The match also saw forwards Kim Young Kwang and Vitor Borges get their first goals of the season. Korean Kim scored in the dying minutes of the first half, and a pair of headed goals in the second half by Borges secured the points for an impressive Balestier side.

For Geylang, meanwhile, it was their second straight defeat on this ground, having lost 2-3 to the Courts Young Lions last week, and they remain in ninth place with just three points from their first four games.

Mike Wong had made only one change to the side that had fallen for this game, with centreback Joo Ki Hwan returning from injury as midfielder Kim Jae Hong sat out due to a red card against the Young Lions.

Up front, Masrezwan Masturi and Hafiz Rahim, in his signature orange boots, continued their partnership, hoping to end Balestier’s run of clean sheets.

Balestier coach Salim Moin meanwhile sprang a surprise by leaving star midfielder K. Vikraman on the bench, replacing him with holding midfielder Ishak Zainol in what appeared to be an effort to firm up the defensive line headed by skipper Paul Cunningham.

The first half was by no means the most exciting from both sides, riddled as it was by sloppy passing, silly fouls and few attempts on goal.

The only notable incident in the early period was a fresh injury blow Geylang suffered when midfielder Syed Thaha sustained an injury and had to be replaced by former Balestier trainee Rizawan Abdullah on 27 minutes.

Things came to life in the late period of the first half, however, and Balestier, who had scored just one league goal prior to this encounter, began to show their teeth.

Borges was a constant thorn in the Geylang defence and on 38 minutes, the burly Brazilian outmuscled three Geylang defenders to create space in the box and unleash a ferocious shot across the face of goal.

Yazid Yasin was up to the task for Geylang, though, as he pulled off a brilliant acrobatic save to tip the ball around the post. The resulting corner was then gathered by the goalkeeper, who quickly launched the ball upfield for Masrezwan to chase.

Masrezwan found himself tracked by Anaz, with whom he was once teammates at Woodlands Wellington. The defender never looked like reaching the ball and thus took out the striker, leaving referee Ahmad A’qashah no choice but to send him off for a professional foul.

Despite the setback, however, Balestier kept on pressing at their opponents, and were rewarded just before the half-time whistle.

Latching on to a through ball by supporting forward Andrew Tan, Tigers striker Kim got behind the Geylang defence and slotted the ball beyond Yazid’s reach to give his side a one-goal lead going into the break.

Stunned by the late strike, Geylang came out with all guns blazing in the second half and sought control of the game right from the get-go.

But for all their long spells of possession, they never once forced Balestier goalkeeper Joey Sim into a save.

Instead it was Balestier doing all the effective attacking, and they doubled their lead on 54 minutes when they were awarded a free kick some 40 yards out.

Tan once again turned provider when his lobbed delivery found Borges in the area, and the forward’s well-placed header into the bottom corner left Geylang with a mountain to climb.

The Eagles fans thought their side were back in the game on the hour mark, but the boyish-looking Hafiz could only find the side netting after being put through by Romanian midfielder Vasile Ghindaru.

That started a run of misplaced passes and needless fouls conceded by Geylang, who were desperate to regain possession at all costs.

Balestier meanwhile were defending resolutely and exploiting gaps left by the men in green, looking nothing like the ten-man team they were as they put up a display that impressed everyone present, including local legend Fandi Ahmad.

They delivered the final nail in Geylang’s coffin with 67 minutes gone, after yet another unnecessary foul by the Eagles. The resulting free kick found Borges completely unmarked in the area, and the shaven-headed man gleefully delivered a thumping header into the back of the net.

Despite the yawning gap, Geylang fans were still chanting away, urging their team to find a goal, but a late flurry of crosses into the box failed to find the head of a Geylang player and trouble Sim at all.

Balestier Khalsa team manager S. Thavaneson was happy at his team’s performance as he spoke to the media afterwards, but warned everyone against writing Geylang off.

“I found the first half boring, which is surprising as matches between Balestier and Geylang have traditionally been exciting and close,” he said, bemused.

“However in the second half I was pleased with the performance of the ten men. They covered the pitch well, and they stopped Geylang from making their forays into our half like they did in the first half.

“And I’m happy Vitor finally scored. He has been one of our most hardworking players and he deserves it.

“Overall, it’s a good result. We are still one of three unbeaten teams and our foreign players are providing us with good strength and height.

“But in fairness, Geylang has had better days and it was flattering to beat them by three goals,” added Thavaneson in conclusion.

Eagles coach Wong was disappointed with the loss, but refused to put the blame on his players.

“I can’t fault the boys for fighting. They tried very hard, chased the ball and gave their best,” said the 45-year-old.

“Balestier were lucky with their third goal and I felt that there was foul before the goal, but that’s football.

“I told the boys to not be so downhearted. We live for another day and another game against Gombak (United) so we cannot be crying over today’s defeat.

“We have lost three of our first four games and that is something I really have to think about.

“Injuries have hit us hard early,” he continued as he looked at his team’s poor start to the campaign.

“Joo hasn’t trained as he just came back from injury yesterday, and (Syed) Fadhil also just returned yesterday after recovering from a neck injury. Now we have Masrezwan (swollen knee) and Thaha (swollen ankle) added to the injury list, so it’s not going to be easy for us until this clears up.

“Anyway I never liked playing at Jalan Besar. I’m glad I only have three more games left to play in this stadium!”