Andrew Aw Yong’s late strike seals 10-man Young Lions’ comeback win against Albirex Niigata
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Several Young Lions players, including match winner Andrew Aw (right, no. 19), embrace goalkeeper Aizil Yazid at the full-time whistle.
ST PHOTO: ARIFFIN JAMAR
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SINGAPORE – As the full-time whistle blew at the Jalan Besar Stadium on June 15, several Young Lions players collapsed to the ground in jubilation, while others ran to embrace goalkeeper Aizil Yazid.
Aizil’s crucial save seven minutes into stoppage time helped the 10-man Young Lions notch a 3-2 win over defending champions Albirex Niigata – their first since November 2015.
And substitute Andrew Aw Yong capped off a night of firsts, as the right-back scored his maiden goal in his senior career after 46 appearances since 2020. The 21-year-old netted the winning goal in the 86th minute, lifting his side to their first victory of the season and off the bottom of the table.
The Young Lions are now seventh in the nine-team Singapore Premier League, one place behind the White Swans. It also was the perfect response to a 7-1 defeat by Geylang International in their previous game.
Calling the goal “one of the best moments of my career”, Aw Yong, who came on in the 65th minute, said: “Honestly, I can’t describe the feeling, I’m just happy to contribute to the team and to win the game, that means a lot.
“I really can’t put (the feeling) into words... I’ve been working very hard for this. Hopefully, this won’t be my last this season.”
Coach Nazri Nasir revealed that Aw Yong had missed several key chances during the team’s pre-season friendlies. He said: “I told him, instead of rushing things, pick your spot, be patient and composed. And scoring against (Singapore No. 1) Hassan Sunny is a confidence boost for him.”
Taking his coach’s advice to “trust my instincts”, Aw Yong reacted quickly when a miskicked clearance fell to him inside the box, firing the ball into the back of the net with only Hassan to beat.
Nazri noted that the White Swans are not the same team as past seasons after turning local in 2024. He added: “No matter which team we play against… a win is a win. For us, the performance is very important and if we play well, the result will come, and it showed today.”
Goalkeeper Aizil Yazid catching the ball ahead of Albirex’s Stevia Mikuni. The custodian later denied Mikuni’s header seven minutes into stoppage time.
ST PHOTO: ARIFFIN JAMAR
On a night of drama and tension – and a surprise appearance of 15 China fans who turned out to support Hassan
Young Lions fullback Raoul Suhaimi was sent off in the 56th minute after a late challenge on Daniel Goh, and Nakano notched his brace from the resulting set piece.
But in the 79th minute, Young Lions made it 2-2 through Itsuki Enomoto’s left-footed shot, before Aw Yong’s finish set up a grandstand finale. Mikuni saw an effort come off the crossbar, before his header was tipped over by Aizil in the closing stages.
Albirex goalkeeper Hassan Sunny taking a wefie with China fans after the match.
ST PHOTO: ARIFFIN JAMAR
Albirex coach Kazuaki Yoshinaga lamented his team’s reaction to going 2-1 up. He said: “A loss is always difficult to accept, but the way we lost was hard to take.
“With the target we set at the beginning of the season to win the title, we’re in a bit of a difficult situation, but it’s still the fourth game. We need to keep our heads up and move on.”
ANALYSIS
The Young Lions showed great resilience to bounce back from their 7-1 loss to Geylang, creating multiple chances and having positive link-up play going forward.
Albirex, in contrast, lacked ideas in most parts of the game, with their wingers uninspiring against a compact defence.
