SINGAPORE – Singapore Premier League (SPL) champions Albirex Niigata continued their relentless quest for more silverware, as they beat Singapore Cup winners Hougang United 3-0 in the Community Shield match on Sunday.

While this was just a curtain-raiser for the new SPL season that kicks off on Friday, the match created history as 3,078 fans at the Jalan Besar Stadium witnessed the first official football game in Singapore to use the video assistant referee (VAR).

And it proved decisive as two of Albirex’s goals came after a VAR review.

After referee Jansen Foo had consulted the VAR twice in the first half to wave off Hougang’s penalty appeals – the VAR correctly ruled that there was no foul on Hazzuwan Halim in the 32nd minute and no handball by Shunsaku Kishimoto 11 minutes later – Albirex made the breakthrough early in the second half.

Foo had initially allowed play to go on, but was alerted to a 51st-minute clash between Cheetahs defender Naoki Kuriyama and White Swans substitute Riku Fukashiro inside the box.

The referee went to the pitch-side monitor to review the incident and pointed to the spot. Up stepped Seia Kunori to convert the 57th-minute penalty to give the White Swans the lead.

The VAR was involved again in the 69th minute, when Shodai Yokoyama’s header was initially chalked off for offside, only for the decision to be overruled as the Japanese side doubled their advantage.

With the wind taken out of their sails, the Hougang defence gave Fukashiro too much time and space to fire past Zaiful Nizam just five minutes later.

It proved to be too high a mountain to climb for the Cheetahs, even with nine minutes of added time.

Albirex coach Kazuaki Yoshinaga, who has seen the departure of last season’s regulars such as Ilhan Fandi, Kan Kobayashi and Jun Kobayashi, said his new-look side played better in the second half after a shaky first period.

“I won’t compare how this team are different from last season’s,” he said. “It would be fun for everyone to watch and judge.

“We do have some players who are injured, so I expect the team to be more competitive when they are back.

“There will be issues every now and then with VAR, but we need to think it’s part of football and adapt accordingly.”

Hougang coach Firdaus Kassim was left to rue their inability to convert their early chances.

He said: “It was a game of two halves. We didn’t take our chances in the first half, we targeted the spaces between their fullbacks and centre-backs as we knew this would be an issue for Albirex.

“We then lost our focus and discipline after we conceded the first goal, when the VAR decisions didn’t go our way.

“But it is better that such things happen now before the league starts and we just have to learn from this. With the players we have, I’m hoping today’s result is a one-off.”

Analysis

Despite the scoreline, Albirex and Hougang – both of whom have gone through squad revamps – played out a frenetic and competitive first half filled with crisp passing and stout defending that should give their coaches some encouragement.

Things could have played out differently had Hazzuwan scored instead of striking the post in the fifth minute. He also failed to control the ball when clean through in the 14th minute.

For all their good work, they may rue not having a No. 9 in the mould of Brazilian Pedro Bortoluzo, who has left.

As for Albirex, this has been their winning formula over the past few years – be tidy in defence and clinical when opportunities arise.

This season, they have found another new crop of exciting young talent for their title defence, and in their convincing fourth Community Shield win, they have thrown down the gauntlet to the local contenders.