SINGAPORE PREMIER LEAGUE
Albirex Niigata 2
Young Lions 1
They were just moments away from holding Singapore Premier League (SPL) defending champions Albirex Niigata to what would have been a richly deserved 1-1 draw.
But, despite the valiant effort from the Young Lions, they were dealt a sucker punch in the 96th minute after goalkeeper Kenji Rusydi fumbled Hiroyoshi Kamata's strike to concede an own goal at the Jurong East Stadium yesterday.
While Young Lions coach Fandi Ahmad was disappointed with the result, he praised his team's effort and refused to pin the blame on Kenji, highlighting the custodian's crucial saves in the second half.
"The boys did very well holding Albirex till the end and I thought the goalkeeper did very well until that slip off his palm," said Fandi.
"I thought we deserved at least a point, but this is just our luck. Football is about scoring goals. We need to improve on that because we're not scoring enough now."
After a slow start from both sides, Albirex broke the deadlock after 14 minutes when Naruki Takahashi headed home from Kyoga Nakamura's corner.
The Young Lions went in search of the equaliser, but long-range strikes from Syahrul Sazali and Sharul Nizam Anwar went wide. In the 32nd minute, they pulled level through a Haiqal Pashia penalty after Albirex goalkeeper Kengo Fukudome brought Sharul down.
The evening match was then delayed for about an hour at half-time owing to the lightning warning system being activated.
When play resumed, the Young Lions came close to taking the lead with narrow misses from captain Joshua Pereira and Nur Luqman Rahman.
The Albirex duo of Nakamura and Daizo Horikoshi were a constant threat to the Young Lions' defence, but crucial saves by Kenji kept the score level.
The away side looked to have done enough to secure a precious point until the 96th minute, when Nakamura dribbled past three Young Lions players and passed to Kamata, whose strike slipped through Kenji's fingers to hand Albirex their third straight win.
Fandi said: "It happens when a cross comes and someone is free and you just take the shot. One shot, one goal and he (Kamata) took a really good shot there."
Albirex coach Keiji Shigetomi was delighted with the result.
He said: "Today was a very difficult game for us. Although we scored the first goal and tried to get a second in the first half, they scored a penalty instead.
"After the long delay, I thought it'll get more difficult, but our players kept up their aggression. They fought for every ball and didn't give up all the way until the winning goal."
Ahead of their next match against Hougang United on Wednesday, Shigetomi said: "Until now, all the goals we've conceded have been from set pieces so we will look at them and try to defend the set pieces better."
Albirex moved up one spot to fourth on 11 points after the win, while the Young Lions, who will face league leaders Brunei DPMM on Wednesday, remain eighth in the nine-team SPL.
In yesterday's other match, Balestier Khalsa drew 1-1 with Tampines Rovers at Bishan Stadium.
Victory over Man City would be biggest FA Cup shock ever, says Newport boss Flynn. Newport County Manager Michael Flynn during the Sky Bet League Two match between Newport County and Milton
Victory over Man City would be biggest FA Cup shock ever
Champions League final: Jurgen Klopp reveals Pep Guardiola called him to congratulate Liverpool on beating Spurs Manchester City manager was one of the first to congratulate Klopp following the 2-0 victory over Tottenham in Madrid after their season-long Premier League battle Load more
Liverpoolfc-blog (@LFC_Blog) | Twitter
Premier League: Liverpool back on top after dominant win over Bournemouth Description: Sadio Mane, Georginio Wijnaldum and Mohamed Salah scored the goals as Jurgen Klopp's men showed little sign of the nerves and mistakes in recent 1-1 draws with Leicester and West Ham.
Liverpool beat Newcastle with late Origi winner to top
A body recovered by British investigators from the submerged wreckage of a plane that went down in the Channel has been identified as that of footballer Emiliano Sala, police said on Thursday.The
Emiliano Sala's Body Identified as Family Pays Tribute to
Fulham boosted their Premier League survival hopes as Aleksandar Mitrovic scored a stoppage-time winner to give them a dramatic 1-0 victory over bottom team Huddersfield Town at Craven Cottage on
Late Mitrovic strike earns Fulham win over Huddersfield
Violent England fans an embarrassment to the team and not welcome, says FA theusbreakingnews 1 day ago US Breaking News Leave a comment 8 Views The Soccer Affiliation has condemned the England supporters who brought about mayhem at the streets of Porto on Wednesday evening as "a humiliation to the workforce" - and says they don't seem
The FA slam England fans as an 'embarrassment to the team'
Gymkhana FC's president Patrick Francis has lashed out against the decision of the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) to expel his club from the National Football League (NFL) for its failure to send down the full set of 11 players at the start of three matches this year. Speaking to The
U.S. businesses optimistic on China growth, bemoan unfair
SINGAPORE PREMIER LEAGUE. Home United v Young Lions. Bishan Stadium, 5.30pm. They had a taste of blood, and now the Young Lions want more. Tipped by many to struggle in the Singapore Premier League (SPL) this season, Fandi Ahmad's charges pulled off a massive upset last week when they beat a Hougang United team boasting several senior national players 2-1.
John Cena reveals another shock new look - and WWE fans love
sportsloveme.com/wwe/john-cena-reveals-another-shock-new-look-and-wwe-fans-love-it/
What can be decided this weekend? English football permutations on a pivotal week; Tony Bellew picks best Premier League team with no Liverpool players; Match Of The Week: Home United's interim coach Noh Rahman is not resting on his laurels
Firmino Suffers Harm After Liverpool's 5-Objective Rout
Premier League: Willian Gem Sinks Newcastle United As Chelsea
Report Ad
Did you check eBay? Fill Your Cart With Color today!
Qatar will not take a decision on whether to expand its 2022 World Cup to 48 teams from 32 until it has seen the details of a feasibility study from FIFA, an official from the country's World Cup
Qatar won't decide on 48-team World Cup until it's seen FIFA
No comments:
Post a Comment