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They saw their 25-game unbeaten run come to an end last week against fellow title hopefuls Singapore Armed Forces FC, but Home United could not have asked for a worse return to form.
On Thursday night, against reigning S.League champions Etoile FC, the Protectors fell to their second consecutive defeat, this time on home soil in front of a near-capacity stand of 1,805 spectators.
Theo Raymond’s solitary strike on 63 minutes went unmatched at the final whistle, allowing the Stars to leapfrog over their opponents to second in the standings, a point behind leaders Tampines Rovers, who have a game in hand.
Raymond, who is also his club’s third-choice goalkeeper, had looked incredibly unconvincing up till his match-winner.
The goal against the run of play came from a half-cleared corner kick, which the midfielder pounced on from thirty yards out. A well-struck volley before the first bounce was precision-placed for the bottom far corner of the Protectors’ goal and just out of reach for custodian Lionel Lewis.
Etoile coach Guglielmo Arena was full of praise for his man, who was making a rare appearance in the starting eleven.
“Theo had a good game, and he even managed to score,” praised the Italian, who had come dressed for the big match.
“It was definitely not an easy game. There were a lot of free kicks and (Frederic) Mendy is not so easy to cover.”
Arena however did not hold back his views on the refereeing for the night, something his Home counterpart had also noted his concerns about.
“There were a lot of fouls on the goalkeeper inside the penalty box,” said Arena, slightly agitated.
“Goalkeepers need to be protected inside the area, but there was a lot of pushing and charging, but no action taken by the referee!”
The charge that Antonin Trilles was at the receiving end of some physical tactics by Home was intriguing, given the man in the white top seemed to be having a bad game on his own accord.
Trilles did not have the most comfortable of games and looked to be a liability in dealing with high balls, yet despite the goalkeeper’s questionable form, there was little serious concern for the Etoile defence as the Protectors never really threatened to take advantage.
In fact Trilles had no clear shot on goal to deal with for the night, such was the dearth of bite from the home side.
The only clear chance Home had was a direct free kick just a few yards off the centre edge of the penalty box, which captain Shi Jiayi sailed over the crossbar.
On the other hand, despite enjoying much less possession, Etoile nearly broke the deadlock in the first half, only to be denied by a very sharp Lewis.
Jonathan Toto, who has slowly started to come into his own in recent matches, turned his markers inside out before firing a well-measured effort from the centre of the penalty box, but was unable to beat the seasoned custodian, who pulled off a fine reflex save.
Toto was however also guilty of passing on a sitter later in the second half, when he lobbed a low cross on to the crossbar from close range.
The only Home player who ruffled some feathers was Mendy, who looked dangerous on the ball each time. But the former Etoile player was all too familiar to his opponents, even the ones he had never played with, as they never allowed the lanky forward room to manoeuvre beyond the final third of the field.
The only notable contribution from last year’s top scorer, despite all his hard work, was a theatrical dive just past the twenty-minute park which failed to fool referee Muhd Taqi.
But the dreadlocked forward had the full support and praise of his coach Lee Lim Saeng.
“As always I must thank my players for their efforts,” said the Korean, who looked to be in a sombre mood.
“Mendy was working hard and I think he did well, even though he didn’t score. I applaud his effort. I just hope the players can recover from this as soon as possible.”
Lee, who had initially played down the absence of key players like Qiu Li and Juma’at Jantan, later admitted that his side could have played better.
“We still have injured players coming in, so we can only get better,” he mused.
“These are players who can play good football. They have quality.”
But on a grim note, the former Korea international admitted that he would still have to check on his captain Shi’s condition, and hoped that his injury was not too serious.
The Home No.7 had initially been stretchered off following a bad tackle, but was still kept in play for the full duration of the game given his influence.
That the influence could not be brought to bear against Etoile would have been a disappointment to the player himself and his teammates, now that they have played against all three of their main title rivals and ended up with a solitary point.
It may still be early in the season, but with other sides steadily getting into gear, Lee’s charges have some catching up to do.
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