Resilient Young Lions claw back to draw 4-4
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Goalscorers Kan Kobayashi (top) and Fathullah Rahmat celebrating during the Young Lions' 4-4 draw with Hougang United.
ST PHOTO: DESMOND WEE
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SINGAPORE – Once again, the Young Lions found themselves staring down the barrel of defeat in the Singapore Premier League (SPL), when Hougang United led 4-2 at half-time on Sept 21.
But just like they have done twice this season, they rallied, this time earning a point against the Cheetahs with a 4-4 draw at the Jalan Besar Stadium.
While it was not enough to leapfrog Hougang into fifth spot in the nine-team league, coach Nazri Nasir commended his side’s fighting spirit.
He said: “I’m very proud of my boys and I’m very happy with the result. I told them that in the second half, you have to believe in yourselves, be confident and then take one goal at a time, and that’s what we saw.
“Self-belief is very important, just being confident, composed and in control. (I told them) no rush because in 45 minutes, anything can happen. The discipline was there, they thought about defending first and we tried to create (chances).”
Captain and centre-back Ryaan Sanizal, 22, added: “Kudos to the team. The first half wasn’t great, but in the second half, we showed great character, every single one.
“When you talk about performance, yes, I’m satisfied, but result, no, because we’re here to win... (but) I’m happy to see everyone fighting, everyone pushing.”
Ryaan noted that the team showed they are no longer the whipping boys in the league, as the players used their experience and played to one another’s strengths.
But the inspired second half could not mask their shoddy defending in the first period, as Nazri highlighted the “silly mistakes” they have to work on.
The Young Lions drew first blood in the ninth minute when Kan Kobayashi curled his shot into the far corner but Hougang equalised two minutes later through Shodai Yokoyama’s volley at the back post.
The Cheetahs went ahead in the 19th minute when Stjepan Plazonja’s cross was tapped in by Dejan Racic, but were pegged back in the 34th minute through Fathullah Rahmat’s piledriver.
Racic scored again on the stroke of half-time before Plazonja slotted the ball home seven minutes into first-half stoppage time.
In the 76th minute, Yokoyama’s handball was penalised and Itsuki Enomoto converted the spot kick. Kobayashi then headed Kaisei Ogawa’s corner past Zaiful Nizam seven minutes later to salvage a draw.
Hougang coach Marko Kraljevic lamented his team’s inability to hold on to possession in the second half. He said: “Scoring four goals and coming away with one point is very disappointing. It was too easy for them.
“We need to train hard, and work on our set-pieces.”
Analysis
While the Young Lions showed great character at the end, their defensive performance was poor and they were saved by their comeback. They will need to remain compact, minimise individual errors and stay focused at the back if they want to climb up the table.
