SINGAPORE- All eyes have been on the Singapore Premier League's first million-dollar footballer Diego Lopes but another Brazilian, Geylang International's Matheus Moresche, has been quietly making waves himself.

Moresche grabbed his fifth and sixth goals of the season as he inspired the Eagles to just their second win of the season with a 4-2 victory over the Young Lions at the Jalan Besar Stadium on Sunday (April 25).

The 22-year-old credited his performance to his pregnant wife back home and also downplayed any comparison to to Lopes, who has scored four goals so far.

He said: "Diego Lopes is Diego Lopes and I am Moresche. We are two different (players).

"I am really happy with the win and of course really happy to be scoring. My wife, who is four months pregnant and is back in Brazil, has been my motivation and I always credit all the goals I scored to her.

"I think the fans being here today was great for me too."

Eagles' head coach Noor Ali was a relieved man after the match, saying: "This was an important win for us after our recent results."

He also hailed Moresche's contributions, adding: "He is a player that is going to entertain the league. You could see today how much the crowd loved him. What I liked most from him was his defensive efforts. He deserved his goals."

A bright start from the Eagles yielded the opening goal in the 10th minute when a corner whipped in by Harith Kanadi was headed into goal emphatically by defender Faizal Roslan.

But the Young Lions equalised just four minutes later. Eagles' Japanese defender Yuki Ichikawa was adjudged to have pulled down Ilhan Fandi in the box as the Young Lions attacker tried to get to a corner. Hami Syahin stepped up and tucked the penalty away.

Geylang then upped the ante in the second half with Barry Maguire at the heart of their attacks.

It was his well-timed through ball in the 53rd minute that Amy Recha latched on to and struck past the Young Lions 'keeper to regain the lead for the Eagles.

Just five minutes later, a flick-on from a set piece left Moresche with the simplest of tasks to tap in from close range.

The Young Lions made the Eagles sweat in the latter stages after Syed Akmal made it 3-2 in the 77th minute. But Geylang secured their victory with a fourth in stoppage time as Moresche swept home a loose ball in the box.

The Young Lions coach Philippe Aw said: "The whole year I've been talking to the team about performances rather than the results. We have to remember that we are a developmental side. And that's the focus for us.

"From today's game, I thought we could have defended our set pieces better and that was disappointing. We need to improve that."

With the win, Geylang are now sixth in the eight-team SPL with the Young Lions rooted at the bottom of the table without a victory.

A total of 237 fans cheered on the teams at Jalan Besar, with safety measures allowing a maximum of 250 fans to witness the action live without Covid testing taking effect from Saturday.

In the evening's other match, Albirex Niigata returned to the top of the table with a 4-1 win over Balestier Khalsa.

Analysis

After qualifying for the AFC Cup last season by finishing fourth in the league, Geylang fans would have been looking forward to the current campaign to see how the Eagles would fare. With the additions of Dutch attacker Sylvano Comvalius and Brazilian hotshot Moresche, excitement was high. But ultimately, with eight matches gone, the team have largely flattered to deceive.

This 4-2 victory is a welcome boost but it came against the league's bottom side. Defensive frailties still exist as seen from the goals they conceded on Sunday and they will need to shore up at the back to compete against the rest of the teams in the league.

Up front, Moresche has brought the goals and the flair but if the Eagles are to make a splash like they did last season, Comvalius will need to lead the line more effectively than he has done. Against the Young Lions, he was brought off at half-time.

Elsewhere, Maguire's return from injury has meant that the Eagles look stronger in midfield.

With a win to kick start round two, the Eagles will look to put their bad start to the season behind them.