There’s almost certain to be an inquest after the Warriors went down 3-6 to Albirex Niigata (S) at Jalan Besar Stadium on Thursday night (28 April).
The game was switched from Jurong East Stadium, which was closed as were all stadiums except Jalan Besar, during the election campaign.
Albirex have always loved playing on the artificial pitch near town and they took full toll on a very sluggish Warriors’ team as they raced to a 3-0 lead inside 27 minutes.
And even though Mislav Karoglan reduced the deficit two minutes later, the Japanese team took only another 10 to make it 4-1.
There was nothing really wrong with the SAFFC attack, well-led by Karoglan and Fazrul Nawaz, though the latter was off-cue more than once, when well placed to score, especially in the first half.
Karoglan, however, was much sharper and his first goal on 29 minutes was a beauty.
Mustaqim Manzur delivered a clever ball over a defender’s head on the left of the area. Th Croat needed to shrug aside his opponent, which he did with great skill and strength, before fooling the keeper at the near post with a deft finish.
But so much damage had been done much earlier that it was always going to be hard for the Warriors to make their way back into the game.
In the eighth minute, Kazuki Kobayashi, known for his audacious goals, was at it again lifting the ball from wide out high over the head of Shahril Jantan to the astonishment of the 1,158 strong crowd.
“The first goal was a very good one, I thought,” said Warriors’ coach, Richard Bok, after the game.
“The other five were all due to silly defensive errors, we gave those goals away, after our defence had looked so solid over the last 10 games.
“Credit to them, though, they love playing at Jalan Besar and I don’t want to take anything away from them as they played well,” he said.
“We did create plenty of chances and didn’t take enough of them,” he reasoned.
“We have to re-group, look at the video and tighten things up at the back again,” he offered.
Bok could also have known equally that Albirex, for whom dynamic striker, Shotaro Ihata, notched four goals, could easily have had another two, with more composure by Ihata and his strike partners .
The other goal of the six came from skipper Shimpei Sakurada in the 21st minute, with the four in a row by Ihata something of an individual showcase of skills.
Although Albirex scored six, the Warriors managed two more of their own, including a Karoglan penalty in the 49th, after Fazrul had been pushed from behind.
Ivan Jerkovic netted a very classy free-kick in the 39th, hitting the ball from around the edge of the box into the top left corner of the net, using the toe of his boot to perfect effect, putting the ball straight, rather than curling it over the wall.
Jerkovic, of course, was not too interested in discussing his goal after the game as he and Karoglan moved away from the stadium.
“I don’t think I’ve even been in a game where my team has conceded six goals before,” said Jerkovic.
Karoglan was equally perplexed.
“Our defence seemed to go missing today,” was all he wanted to say despite his two well-taken goals.
Team: Shahril Jantan (C); Hafiz Osman (Daniel Hammond 82), Daniel Bennett, Bah Mamadou, Shaiful Esah; Noh Rahman; Ivan Jerkovic, Rhysh Roshan Rai (Ruzaini Zainal 78), Mustaqim Mansur (Indra Sahdan 82); Mislav Karoglan, Fazrul Nawaz
Subs not used: RGK Hyrulnizam Juma’at, Razaleigh Khalik, Leow Kuang Yong, Matthew Abraham
Referee: Abas Daud
Crowd 1,158
Yellow cards: Rhysh Roshan Rai 78, Daniel Bennett 81
Warriors captain Shahril Jantan makes a save.
Ivan Jerkovic (centre) reduced the deficit briefly with a free-kick.
Fazrul Nawaz goes close.
Daniel Bennett tries to clear.
Mislav Karoglan took his goals well.
Karoglan scores his first goal to make it 1-3.
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