Geylang International adapting to life without top scorer as they beat Hougang United 2-0

SINGAPORE – After misfiring in their first two Singapore Premier League (SPL) games this season, Geylang International finally took flight with a 2-0 win over nine-man Hougang United at Our Tampines Hub on Sept 19.

Following their first victory of the season, Eagles coach Noor Ali said: “The most important thing was getting the win. It has not been easy as we have players playing with injury and getting injured. We can still get better, but we will take the three points and build from here.”

The Eagles, who were the SPL’s top-scoring team last season with 97 goals in 32 games en route to a third-placed finish, sorely missed 44-goal Golden Boot winner Tomoyuki Doi, who left for Thailand’s BG Pathum United.

They made a stuttering start to the new term with a 0-0 draw with BG Tampines Rovers and a 2-0 loss to Albirex Niigata.

In place of Doi, Noor drafted in Shuhei Hoshino and Riku Fukashiro to form a Japanese attacking triumvirate with Ryoya Taniguchi.

While it took a couple of games for them to gel, they did not take long to combine to deadly effect against the Cheetahs.

After a bright start from hosts Hougang, it was Geylang who scored the opener in the seventh minute as Taniguchi fed Fukashiro, who finished clinically past Zharfan Rohaizad.

Farhan Zulkifli and Yotsakorn Burapha tried to haul Hougang back into the game, with the latter forcing Rudy Khairullah into a fine save in the 27th minute.

The action swung to the other end immediately as Anders Aplin was sent off after a video assistant referee check for fouling Vincent Bezecourt as the last man.

The visitors capitalised on their numerical advantage and a defensive mix-up to extend their lead as Kaisei Ogawa’s lofted pass created havoc and Taniguchi stole in to score in the 39th minute.

Although Serbian defender Nikola Ignjatovic hobbled off injured just before half-time, Geylang’s Japanese legion continued to be a thorn in Hougang’s flesh.

Robert Eziakor’s side went down to nine men in the 71st minute after Yuta Kikuchi headbutted Fukashiro, who had an effort ruled out for offside five minutes later, before Hoshino was similarly denied in added time.

Noor is expecting more from his Japanese attackers, saying: “I think they can still play better together, especially when Vincent and Kaisei get fully fit. We still have work to do, but it’s good to see us back scoring and winning.”

Eziakor cut a frustrated figure as his team are still searching for their first win after two straight losses, which are compounded by suspensions for Aplin and Kikuchi.

He said: “It was a very poor performance from us, and we got caught a few times in transition. We are not very good in position in transition, and we were not clinical in attack.

“In addition, we were ill-disciplined and unable to control our emotions, getting unnecessary cards, which is very unacceptable. We need to play with our heads and not our hearts.

“We have to bounce back. We dug ourselves into a hole, and we have to get ourselves out of it.”

Analysis

Any team will miss a 44-goal striker like Doi, but the Eagles have adapted by spreading the goalscoring responsibilities across the front trio, all of whom are proven scorers in the SPL.

Eyeing another top-three finish, Noor knows he will need a stronger defence than the one that conceded two goals per game last season and will be encouraged by the two clean sheets in three matches, compared with just five in 32 games last term.

Hougang, meanwhile, have scoring problems of their own and need someone to play off Farhan and Yotsakorn, who are fine attackers but are unlikely to fetch 10 goals each a season.