Golden Boot duel goes down to the wire

The Singapore Premier League (SPL) title race may be done and dusted with Albirex Niigata securing their fifth crown on Oct 7, but the fascinating fight for the top scorer award continues.

Leading SPL marksmen - Tampines Rovers hitman Boris Kopitovic and Albirex striker Kodai Tanaka - looked to have grabbed their 33rd and 32nd goals of the season respectively as the Stags won 5-3 at Our Tampines Hub on Saturday.

But the drama continued post-match as Tanaka, who scored the White Swans' second goal, could be seen checking the replays to see if he could be credited for their third goal as well, while Kopitovic told The Straits Times: "I saw it as an own goal."

It is understood that the contentious goal was listed as a Ryaan Sanizal own goal in referee Ahmad A'Qashah's report, and Albirex confirmed that they will appeal against this decision to the Football Association of Singapore as they feel that "Ryaan's touch was a deflection and it should be Tanaka's goal".

With all eyes on the two forwards, it was Ilhan Fandi who opened the scoring with his 17th goal of the season less than 35 seconds into the match after Tanaka had flicked on Masaya Idetsu's long ball.

That set the tone for an open and fluid game between two of the SPL's best passing sides, with the early setback stirring the hosts into action in front of a boisterous 1,359-strong crowd.

As Yasir Hanapi's 10th-minute corner was headed back into the danger area, the ball was allowed to bounce and Kopitovic punished the visitors as he controlled the ball with his chest before scoring off a delightful bicycle kick to take a temporary lead in the Golden Boot race.

The lively Taufik Suparno continued his fine season when he latched on to Ong Yu En's through ball, which took out four Albirex players, and slotted in his 12th goal this term to give Tampines the lead in first-half added time.

Tanaka levelled the scores and his individual duel with Kopitovic when he polished off Ilhan's lovely pass in the 54th minute.

A minute after Yasir headed in a loose ball to make it 3-2 in the 67th minute, Kopitovic bullied Keito Hariya as he turned his man before firing in his second goal of the evening.

Then came Tanaka's 85th-minute effort, but Kyoga Nakamura ended the champions' resistance and a six-match winless run against Albirex with a 25m bullet four minutes later.

A frustrated Tanaka, 22, said: "For me, the team come first and my goals don't mean anything if we lose the match. It is a good challenge with Boris to see who finishes as top scorer, and it would be a bonus if I can win this individual honour."

Kopitovic added: "I'm excited about this challenge and I think I deserve to win it with what I have done the whole season. It's great that we have scored 65 goals between us and I'm ready to fight to the end to win it."

The deadly poachers have one more chance to add to their league tally - Tampines host Tanjong Pagar on Thursday, while Albirex end their campaign at Geylang International the next day - and will share the award if they remain deadlocked. Even their track record against these teams suggest things are finely poised.

While Tanaka has scored thrice against the Eagles, who have conceded 45 goals in 27 games, these came in a hat-trick in an 8-2 win and he fired blanks in the other two 2-2 draws.

Meanwhile, Kopitovic scored two goals in three matches against the Jaguars, who have leaked 65 goals.

The result of Albirex's appeal, as well as similar marginal decisions in the final round of fixtures, could prove decisive.