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Tampines Rovers did everything right against Gombak United in Friday night’s Great Eastern-YEO’S S.League game – apart, that is, from scoring a second goal to seal a win.
Having led for over 50 minutes by a margin of one that could have become two, they were instead made to settle for a 1-1 draw, just as they did when the teams met in the opening round of the season at Jurong West Stadium back in February.
This time the Stags led from a well-crafted goal on 34 minutes slotted away in his customary way by top scorer Aleksandar Duric, following a fine run and cross from Shahdan Sulaiman.
But they could not find their way past a well-drilled Gombak backline a second time, and as the minutes ticked away the Bulls began to throw men forward, albeit cautiously at first, snatching a late equaliser off a wicked deflection from a Kwon Jin Sung shot.
“Tampines probably did enough to win and were the better side on the night, but I thought we deserved the point for our work ethic alone, as we never stopped and defended really well,” said Gombak coach Darren Stewart after the match.
“We did not play our best football, but the players worked really hard so I can’t fault them at all.”
Tampines might have scored even earlier than they actually did had Frenchman Benoit Croissant been more fortunate when venturing forward on the quarter-hour mark.
He dashed through after a searching run down the right flank and then attempted to lob Bulls goalkeeper Zakariah Nerani, who momentarily appeared beaten, only to stretch himself fully to his right and stick out a hand to push the ball away.
It was a scary moment for the Bulls and perhaps even a turning point in the game, as a goal then could have signalled the start of an avalanche.
Ahmad Latiff Khamarudin also tried his luck with a volley on 22 minutes which Zakariah claimed just under his crossbar, with Gombak fans breathing a sigh of relief when the ball was made safe.
Then came the breakthrough.
A rare turnover of possession on half-way allowed Shahdan to get into the Gombak penalty area on the left, and he then delivered a low cross that Duric converged on as the latter came steaming in at the far post with a typical right-footed tap-in.
If that was a sign that Tampines had the game under their control at last and would soon go on and take the full allotment of points, nobody told Gombak, whose defence showed little sign of cracking again and whose midfield applied themselves to the task of keeping as much of the ball as possible.
Gombak were able to take the game to Tampines in the second half in what was a very real attempt to get back on level terms.
Zulkiffli Hassim was one of the more lively presences in the Bulls’ engine room, and when his diagonal pass on 68 minutes found Hamqaamal Shah, it appeared that the Stags might be in some trouble.
The latter, however, found the angle too difficult, and his low shot skimmed inches past the far post, much to the relief of Tampines goalkeeper Hassan Sunny.
There was a good chance for Tampines eight minutes later when Duric and Shahdan got a good move going down the left, as the big man tried to repay Shahdan for his earlier assist.
Passes were exchanged as the two Tampines men weaved their way through into the box.
As Duric slipped the ball through a needle-eye opening to set up his midfield teammate, the gap between the keeper and the Tampines man became too small and Zakariah was able to smother Shahdan’s effort.
Zakariah was at his best once more ten minutes from time when he parried a close-range effort from Shahdan, after a free kick from Zahid Ahmad had come back off a defender stationed near the line.
After that Gombak began to get a little more serious.
Park Kang Jin provided a good cross for Hamqaamal on 82 minutes, but the wide midfielder could only head the ball across the face of the Tampines goal.
From 20 yards out four minutes later, Gombak substitute Kwon fully tested Hassan with a fierce drive that the latter appeared to see late, as he could only parry the effort before reclaiming the ball on the outskirts of his penalty area.
Then came the big blow from Gombak and a very real setback for the overworked Tampines defence, as Croissant was penalised for a foul around the edge of the box on 87 minutes.
Tampines coach Steven Tan was of the view that a number of free kicks were being awarded that might not have been warranted, and this latest given by referee Muhd Taqi was the last of them.
Tan did not want to say too much, but certainly felt that his team might have been hard done by, even as he acknowledged that he had warned his players against giving away free kicks around the edge of the box, especially in the closing stages.
The free kick was indirect, but when the ball was slipped swiftly to Kwon, his low shot had enough power behind it to deflect off the wall and completely wrong-foot Hassan.
With only three minutes left, plus another three of stoppages, Tampines had little chance to regain their lead.
Substitute Jamil Ali, probably thrown on as a direct response to the goal, did his best with a cross that fell for Aliff Shafaein close to goal in stoppage time, but Zakariah was once again too smart and the chance went begging.
Another valuable point for Gombak, perhaps, but for Tampines this was not the maximum three they had been looking for.
The result, though, was enough to extend their lead at the top of the table to four points over nearest rivals Home United, who interestingly are Gombak’s next opponents next Thursday night, also at Jalan Besar Stadium.
They would certainly hope the Bulls, having hurt them somewhat already, would do them a favour this time.
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