info@sleague.com
Home United are now just one point behind Great Eastern-YEO’S S.League leaders Tampines Rovers after dismantling Gombak United 4-1 at Jalan Besar Stadium on Thursday night.
Shi Jiayi scored a brace from corners either side of the interval, while Qiu Li and substitute Firdaus Idros had a goal each in the second half as the Protectors followed up on their success against Balestier Khalsa last week to register their ninth win of the season.
Winning the three points for Lee Lim Saeng’s side also means they now extend their winning run to four matches.
But their victory was heavily assisted by Park Kang Jin’s red card on 29 minutes. Until that point, Gombak were doing a decent job against their opponents, but then came Park’s marching orders for dissent, which allowed Home to stamp their dominance.
“It’s hard not to talk about the refereeing after a game like this,” bemoaned a normally-politically correct Darren Stewart.
“Until the sending-off I thought we were magnificent and were playing good football. But after that we weren’t going to get anything out of this match. Once we were down to ten men we were just looking to keep the score to a minimum.
“I just feel gutted for the boys.”
Indeed, Gombak were the team that had an early sight at goal in the opening minutes. Kwon Jin Sung, who earned his place in the starting lineup after he scored with a late free kick in the Bulls’ draw with Tampines Rovers, had his shot saved by Lionel Lewis after only ten minutes.
Lewis was returning to the first eleven for Home after a hamstring injury had kept him out of the 5-2 victory over Balestier last week.
Both teams were rather cautious in the first 20 minutes, but it was Home who took the lead with their first clear-cut chance of the match midway into the first half.
Kenji Arai’s flick-on from a Juma’at Jantan corner confused the Gombak defence, which allowed Shi, who was unmarked, to head into an unguarded net.
The Bulls pushed hard for an equaliser, but before they had a chance to create an opening, disaster struck on 29 minutes.
Already trailing 0-1 at that point, Park showed his frustration to the referee when a foul went against his team, earning himself a yellow card. Possibly saying more then that the referee did not like, the act resulted in his marching orders.
Qiu nearly doubled his team’s lead shortly afterwards when his shot from outside the box struck the bar, before Darren Stewart decided he needed to make changes.
Attacking spearhead Kwon was the one sacrificed on 36 minute, as he was replaced by defensive midfielder Shafuan Sutohmoh in a move intended to shore things up in the centre.
The Protectors continued to make the most of their one-man advantage, Korean star Kim Dae Eui dribbling past a couple of defenders before dragging his shot wide, and then Frederic Mendy’s header found the bar instead of the back of the net from Kim’s cross.
Half-time must have come as a relief for the Gombak players, but things did not get any better in the second half as they conceded a goal within two minutes of the restart.
Shi, a man better known for his skills with his feet, scored his second headed goal of the night from another corner to give Home a 2-0 lead.
A minute later, Chang Jo Yoon halved the deficit with a beautiful curling shot from just outside the area that Home custodian Lewis could do nothing about. Though the Protectors eventually scored two more, Gombak’s goal was definitely the pick of the bunch on the night, one that the neutrals in the stadium would definitely have enjoyed.
However, the Home supporters were cheering again on 55 minutes when a penalty was awarded after substitute Firdaus Idros was brought down by goalkeeper Zakariah Nerani just inside the area.
Mendy was the architect of the move, displaying some fancy footwork to get past two defenders before threading a perfect lifted ball from the left to the onrushing Firdaus, who came on at half-time for his doppelgänger Firdaus Kasman.
The Gombak custodian, despite looking groggy as a result of the challenge, was lucky to stay on the pitch as that looked to be a clear goalscoring opportunity, but he was helpless as Qiu sent him the wrong way to make the score 3-1.
Firdaus Idros almost got onto the scoresheet ten minutes later when his shot from a tight angle was saved by Zakariah, but the 24-year-old was not to be denied on 79 minutes as he tapped into an open net after Gombak’s goalkeeper punched Qiu’s cross straight into his path.
Late substitute Sufian Anuar had a great opportunity to make it 5-1 for the Protectors after being sent through by Mendy, but his shot was well kept out by Zakariah, who at least made an effort to redeem himself.
Gombak then had the last chance of the match when substitute Zulkiffli Hassim headed Tengku Mushadad’s injury-time free kick onto the bar, but they were unable to change the score and so could only se their five-match undefeated run come to an end.
For much of the post-match conference with Bulls head coach Darren Stewart, he talked about the red card which changed the direction of the match.
“The boy (Park) can’t speak English and has even got problems stringing a sentence together, so I don’t know what he said to the referee,” said the Australian.
“(The red card) didn’t do justice to the efforts that the lads put in. I am not saying it not was a red or the decisions were bad, but a bit of common sense helps early in the game.”
“Against a team of quality like Home United, you can’t afford to have things go down against you. Of course, we didn’t deserve anything from the game, but we weren’t poor even when we went down to ten men.”
Home coach Lee was obviously very delighted with the result, and pointed out that the team had also performed well en route to the win.
“I am so happy,” beamed the Korean.
“In the last game, we had a good performance and we had the same tonight, so I am proud of my guys.
“Now we are one point away from the top, but we still have a lot of games to play. I hope our guys will try to play at their best to get to where we want.
“I am confident and happy to watch my guys play the way they did tonight.”
When asked about his compatriot Park’s sending-off in the first half, Lee admitted initial surprise, but said he quickly reasoned out the probable cause.
“I think he might have said something wrong or was swearing at the referee. Every team can experience something like that – with the opponent leading the game 1-0, you have your guy sent off. It can be damaging to the team.”
Lee was careful not to directly answer any question regarding his team’s numerical advantage, but he stressed his pleasure with the work everyone had put in, including Mendy, who was visibly frustrated not to get a goal himself.
Even without the Frenchman finding the net here, though, the four goals in the game have sent Home top in terms of goal count with 33 in 13 matches, throwing the gauntlet firmly in the direction of Tampines and Albirex Niigata (Singapore), who meet each other in 72 hours.
Gombak meanwhile could be fretting over the possibility of losing fifth spot, as sixth-placed Etoile FC, who have played ten matches compared to their 13, will meet Balestier Khalsa in a game the defending champions are widely expected not to lose.
No comments:
Post a Comment