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Thursday night’s eastern derby at Bedok Stadium ended in three points for visitors Tampines Rovers after an Akihiro Nakamura stinger midway through the first half made it 1-0 to the Stags at the end of the 90 minutes.
Hosts Geylang United had their chances to take at least a draw, but their failure to convert, combined with good goalkeeping by Tampines custodian Hassan Sunny, proved otherwise.
It was nonetheless a credible performance as far as Geylang coach Mike Wong was concerned, although he acknowledged he had badly wanted the goals and the points.
“I am disappointed with the result but not with the way we played,” he told sleague.com after the match.
“We played well in the second half but could not create the opportunity to score and finish our buildups with the goals. We have been practising at our training sessions to finish well, and I was confident of that today, but it did not materialise as planned.
“As for Tampines, they also defended well, and with Hassan in goal picking up the shots and chances confidently, that also made it difficult. We tried playing the low balls too, but their defenders were able to pick up on that too.”
There was a clear air of resignation in Wong’s last comments, and it was understandable given how hard-fought this match had been.
With the two storied eastern rivals playing at close to full strength, the outcome of this battle was looking decidedly cagey from the moment the game got underway.
Tampines came close in the eighth minute when a close-range Benoit Croissant effort stung the fists of goalkeeper Yazid Yasin, the Eagles captain on full alert as he parried the ball away.
Geylang sought to open up the lead with a couple of frenzied attacks deep inside the Stags’ half, and they used the flanks to good effect as they found their way into their opponents’ box a good many times.
Striker Jung Hee Bong’s cross from the right on 22 minutes found compatriot Kim Jae Hong deep inside the Tampines box, but defender Jufri Taha and custodian Hassan’s presence blocked Kim’s attempt as they positioned themselves neatly in the way.
Although Geylang looked more likely to open up the scoring within the first half-hour of play, Tampines proved the more clinical of the sides.
A corner for the Stags on 27 minutes was dispatched to Ahmad Latiff Khamarudin at the far post, and the ball was then threaded to the unmarked Nakamura, who was lurking just outside the 18-yard-area.
The Japanese midfielder duly composed himself before smashing a venomous curler to the right of Yazid’s goal, the blistering drive well beyond anyone’s reach as it rocketed past all and sundry into the right corner.
It was an emphatic reply that would go on to charge up the visitors while sapping the spirits of their hosts.
Chances presented themselves both ways as both the Eagles and the Stags launched forward.
Tampines captain Aleksandar Duric’s cheeky lob on 39 almost made it two for the visitors, the ball heading toward the underside of Yazid’s crossbar before a right-handed save tipped the orb away.
Geylang’s effort to equalise before half-time then saw the determined Korean pairing of Jung and Kim coming very close two minutes before the break, but Jung’s close control after Kim had crossed to him could only be drilled into the frame of Stags defender Park Yo Seb, who defended well to deny his countrymen.
Coming back strongly in the second half, the Eagles faced the prospect of national custodian Hassan going to air as well as ground in repelling all attempts at his goal.
The 27-year-old’s commanding presence between the sticks was bolstered by a line of defence that kept out whatever the Eagles could muster in search of a comeback.
Goalkeeper and defenders aside, Geylang were their own worst enemy as they finished poorly whenever chances presented themselves.
As a typical example, an attempt on 65 minutes by striker Hafiz Rahim was hit way over the bar when he only had the keeper to beat from 12 yards out.
With their shots not hitting the mark, Geylang gambled with the introduction of Rizawan Abdullah and Shah Hirul for Jung and Adrian Dhanaraj in the final ten minutes.
The shift in dynamics into a more attacking-oriented charge was evident, but the Eagles were still to rue their missed chances as clinical finishes still eluded them.
A volleyed drive from inside the six-yard box by Hafiz, after the striker was fed a crisp pass from teammate Syed Fadhil from down the right, was sent narrowly wide of the left post.
And with the hosts’ backline necessarily weakened by the substitutions, Tampines came knocking again in the second minute of injury time, Duric passing his two markers and penetrating into the Eagles box only for the presence of Yazid to deny the Stags a second goal once more.
Tampines coach Steven Tan was nonetheless happy with the points off a single strike, the second such result in a week for his team.
“It’s the three points that’s more important,” he stressed.
“We have a hectic schedule, with the AFC Cup match next Wednesday before playing another league game that same week on Saturday. So the points earned were important today.”
The win opens the Stags’ lead at the top of the standings to five points, although second-placed SAFFC can slash it if they avert defeat at the hands of reigning champions Etoile FC in 24 hours’ time.
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