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Tampines Rovers confirmed their place in the second round of the AFC Cup after they routed Maldivian side Victory Sports Club 4-0 in a one-sided Group G clash at Jalan Besar Stadium on Tuesday.
Separated only by a goal difference of one, they are now level on points with group leaders Muang Thong United of Thailand, who also progressed into the knockout stage after holding Vietnam’s Hanoi T&T to a goalless draw in Hanoi.
Shahdan Sulaiman and Ahmad Latiff Khamarudin opened the scoring for the hosts in the first half, before skipper Aleksandar Duric netted a brace after the break to complete the victory.
The Stags will now face Muang Thong in their final group match in Nonthaburi on 10 May to determine who will finish top and secure home advantage in the octofinals against potential Middle Eastern opponents from Group E.
There were only two changes from the Tampines lineup that had beaten T&T 3-1 in their crucial home match last week. South Korean defender Park Yo Seb returned to the three-man backline, while Shukor Zailan started in the middle of the park.
Victory came to Singapore with an all-local outfit after Nigerian forward Monday Patrick Ogbole failed to obtain the necessary visa clearance to travel.
While the S.League leaders started at a slow pace against the Maldivian minnows, their determination to break the deadlock was evident as attempts from Akihiro Nakamura, Shahdan, Latiff and Duric peppered across Mohamed Faisal’s goal.
It was Shahdan who opened the floodgates for the yellow shirts after 18 minutes, when his first-time volley off an Imran Sahib cross sailed into the bottom corner of the net.
While the home side dictated the pace of the game with their incessant passing and casual flicks, the visitors offered little brilliance of their own as they were clearly outclassed and outthought in every department.
Of the rare few counterattacks the 2010 Maldives FA Cup winners created in the first half, only one made Singapore international Hassan Sunny work, the big man blocking an attempt by Mukhtar Naseer with his foot.
After squandering three clear chances to extend the lead, Latiff made it 2-0 for Tampines one minute before half-time when his header off a Shahdan cross from the left bounced into the net at the far post.
If things looked easy in the first half, the second offered little change as the Stags continued to dictate proceedings and press for more goals to close the goal difference gap on Muang Thong.
Efforts from Benoit Croissant, Duric, Latiff and even the usually shot-shy Ismadi Mukhtar stretched the Victory defence, before Duric put his name on the scoresheet three minutes before the hour mark.
Latching on to a through pass in the middle, the Tampines skipper saw his first attempt saved by Faisal, but the poor parrying allowed him to tap the rebound into an empty net.
Victory put up a brief if spirited fightback after the third goal, with wide man Ibrahim Fazeel forcing two quick saves from Hassan in three minutes.
But that was as good as the visitors could give, as Tampines stepped up their urgency in the search for more goals with the minutes ticking away.
Duric netted his second of the night, and the fourth goal for the hosts, nine minutes from the end as he tapped in at the far post off a low ground pass on the right from Imran.
Shahdan could have made it five for Tampines in the dying minutes after he was released by Duric, but he saw his attempt sail wide.
Still, the thumping seemed satisfactory to the Stags fans in the stands as the two-time S.League champions made sure they had at least one more game to look forward to in their Asian campaign this year.
Victory head coach Suzain Ali acknowledged his side had not been able to compete with their opponents, as they slumped to their fifth straight defeat in the group.
“We are not at the same level and do not have the same strength and abilities as Tampines,” he lamented at the post-match press conference.
“They have a good team who have played together for some time, while we are playing out there as a group of individuals.”
The former Maldives international backed Tampines to excel in the knockout stages of the continental tournament.
“From what I have seen, I believe Muang Thong and Tampines will do very well and go far in the AFC Cup,” he assessed.
His Tampines counterpart Steven Tan was content to secure the win and passage into the second round, but believed his side could have done better with their finishing.
“It took us 15 to 20 minutes to get ourselves warmed up for this game, so the engine started very slowly,” he said.
“But once the ball was at the back of the net, it got everyone going to score more.
“We especially told the players to go for more goals in the last 15 minutes, after we learnt that the other game in Hanoi ended 0-0.
“We tried and could have scored more goals, but either the final ball was too hard or the finishing was not there.”
With the Stags remaining second on inferior goal difference, the ex-national player urged his men to aim for top spot in Group G despite a crowded fixture list.
Tampines return to Jalan Besar Stadium for an S.League match in another three days, before flying out to Thailand for their Muang Thong mission.
“The original intention is to see how far we can go, and whether we can progress into the next round,” revealed Tan.
“I have told the players that it is entirely up to them to decide whether they want to stay at home or fly to the Middle East in the second round.
“My biggest worry right now is fatigue, but we are not going to rotate the squad. We cannot do that anyway, as we want to maintain our winning run.
“It would have been perfect for us if we do not have a game on Friday, but we have to play against Gombak (United) this week before the Muang Thong game on Tuesday.”
Tampines Rovers: Hassan Sunny; Seiji Kaneko, Benoit Croissant, Park Yo Seb; Imran Sahib, Shukor Zailan (Taufiq Rahmat 83’), Shahdan Sulaiman, Akihiro Nakamura, Ismadi Mukhtar; Ahmad Latiff Khamarudin (Aliff Shafaein 64’), Aleksandar Duric.
Victory SC: Mohamed Faisal; Ismail Shafeeu (Ibrahim Sinaz 59’), Ahmed Shafiu (Ali Shareef 46’), Sabah Mohamed Ibrahim, Mohamed Rasheed; Mukhtar Naseer, Mohamed Sifan, Afiu Mohamed Hamid (Ahmed Firaz Moosa 71’), Mohamed Shaffaz, Ibrahim Fazeel; Hussain Shimaz.
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