Forward Shuhei Hoshino promises to toil for Geylang International

SINGAPORE – Replacing a team’s top scorer is never easy, let alone when it is a forward like Japanese hitman Tomoyuki Doi, who plundered 44 goals in 31 matches for Geylang International in the 2024-25 Singapore Premier League (SPL) season.

While most would deem finding a suitable replacement top of their priority list, football fans and pundits were befuddled when the Eagles announced in July that former Albirex Niigata and Balestier Khalsa forward Shuhei Hoshino would be taking the place of Doi.

Doi was snapped up by Thai giants BG Pathum United in June after a prolific season here. In comparison, Hoshino netted just seven goals in 29 appearances for the White Swans.

The Japanese, 29, is eager to prove to fans that Geylang have made the right decision.

In their last outing against the Young Lions in the SPL on Oct 25, he opened his account for the Eagles with a 21st-minute goal in their 3-1 victory at Our Tampines Hub.

Ahead of their Singapore Cup opener against his former side Albirex on Nov 1 at Our Tampines Hub, Hoshino said: “Of course I cannot say that I can score many, many goals like Doi, but I (can) help Geylang to be more of a team.

“I will work hard for this team and I think I can help Vincent (Bezecourt) and Ryoya (Taniguchi) to also score more. My motivation is that at the end of the season, I want people to say ‘okay, Geylang made the right choice to sign (Hoshino)’.

“I want to help this team to win something, maybe the cup and I think we can finish top two in the SPL.”

Geylang head coach Noor Ali said he signed Hoshino due to a few factors, including the club’s budget, the Japanese’s familiarity with the SPL and his ability to defend from the front.

“It was never going to be easy finding a replacement for Doi in terms of goal scoring,” said Noor. “Hoshino suited the budget we had for this season and he knows this league really well.

“He is also someone who can hold up the ball for us and he works really hard for the team at the top of the pitch. I think the goals will eventually come for him.”

While Hoshino admitted that he endured his worst season in the previous campaign with Albirex, he believes more game time with the Eagles will bring out his best form.

He is targeting 20 goals and 10 assists.

Hoshino is a familiar face for local football fans. In his debut season in 2018, he netted 19 goals in 23 matches to claim the SPL Golden Boot as Albirex won the league and cup double.

He left Singapore the following season to play in the third tier of South Korean football with Busan Transportation Corporation, before returning in 2020 to sign for Balestier.

In his time here, he has netted 70 goals in 153 appearances. While he considers himself to be “almost like Singaporean” after more than five years – he has a cup of kopi-o kosong daily and counts chicken rice and laksa among his favourite dishes – Hoshino has no plans to become a Singaporean citizen.

Apart from Hoshino, Noor has also drafted in Japanese attacker Riku Fukashiro from Balestier to form a Japanese attacking triumvirate with Taniguchi.

The Eagles were the SPL’s top-scoring team last season with 97 goals in 32 games en route to finishing third, but they also conceded 64.

This season, with a team defending more cohesively, Noor is eyeing a deeper cup run.

The 2009 Singapore Cup champions have failed to progress beyond the group stage in the past two editions.

Victory in their opening game will not come easy against an Albirex side, who defeated them 2-0 in the SPL in September.

With the Young Lions not competing in the cup, Geylang are one of five clubs along with Balestier, Albirex, Hougang United and Tanjong Pagar United who will contest a single round-robin group stage, with each team playing four matches.

The top two teams will progress to the two-legged semi-finals and take on either the Lion City Sailors or BG Tampines Rovers on Dec 14 and 20. Seeded based on their positions in the previous SPL season, champions and cup winners Sailors and runners-up BG Tampines received byes into the semi-finals.

Outlining their semi-final target, Noor said: “We have not been doing well in the cup in the last few seasons and we want to do well this time. Albirex is not an easy opponent – we lost to them earlier this season so we must focus and plan well.”

Meanwhile, Albirex coach Keiji Shigetomi said his team’s ambition is to win the cup.

He said: “We expect a tough and competitive match. Geylang are a team with good organisation and fighting spirit, so we must stay focused throughout the 90 minutes.”

Balestier Khalsa vs Tanjong Pagar United, Bishan Stadium, 7.30pm, Nov 2

Just nine days after Balestier claimed a 2-1 victory over Tanjong Pagar, both teams meet again as they kick off their cup campaigns. The Tigers are on a three-match unbeaten run while the Jaguars will look to avoid a third straight defeat.