Shawal Anuar comes back to haunt former side as Sailors go six points clear at the top of SPL table

SINGAPORE – Shawal Anuar has Geylang International coach Noor Ali to thank for plucking him from obscurity and putting him on the path to professional football.

Being a true professional, the Lion City Sailors striker put personal sentiments aside as he scored the winner to cap their comeback 2-1 win over his former club Geylang in a Singapore Premier League (SPL) match at the Jalan Besar Stadium on Jan 26.

The victory was a crucial one too as the Sailors went six points clear at the top of the SPL table – with a game in hand – after second-placed BG Tampines Rovers (42 points) lost 4-2 to Hougang United a day earlier.

This was also the Sailors’ first win over Geylang this season after their two previous encounters ended in draws.

In 2014, Shawal was an amateur playing in the lower-tier National Football League, now known as Singapore Football League, for Keppel Monaco when he was spotted by Noor, who was the Eagles’ Prime League assistant coach then. The following year, Shawal received his first professional contract from Geylang.

Since then, the fleet-footed attacker has blossomed into one of Singapore’s top forwards. He was the Lions’ top scorer at the 2024 Asean Championship with four goals.

The 33-year-old was in a jovial mood after scoring the winner against Geylang, chuckling as he said: “Of course I am thankful to him (Noor), but I cannot be missing the goal, right?”

Shawal, who has set his sights on winning his first league title, added: “It’s not been easy for me. There are always different strikers coming in, so I just have to go out there and always give my very best when I have the opportunity to play. I am feeling very good at the moment.”

Starting 2025 the way he left off in 2024, Shawal’s goal against Geylang was his fourth in five matches this year and takes his season’s tally to 15 goals, making him the league’s top local-born goalscorer.

Geylang took the lead in sublime fashion in the 13th minute, when Vincent Bezecourt thumped in an opener from long range.

But the Sailors equalised in the 29th minute when defender Toni Datkovic headed in from a corner. Eleven minutes into the second half, Shawal scored the winner by latching on to Lennart Thy’s headed flick before finishing past Rudy Khairullah.

While Shawal made the difference up front for the Sailors, their backline also played a key role by shackling Geylang’s SPL top scorer Tomoyuki Doi, who came into the game with 34 goals from 21 matches.

The bittersweet nature of the defeat was not lost on Eagles coach Noor, who had identified Shawal as the Sailors’ danger man. The 49-year-old said: “I think he’s already now one of the best local players, so I’m very happy for him.”

While Noor rued his team’s lapse in concentration for the first goal, he said he was proud of his side’s overall display.

Sailors coach Aleksandar Rankovic hailed Shawal’s impact, although he added that his forward could have scored more.

The Serb said: “He is playing regularly with me and sometimes we rest him because of his fatigue and age… but he is an incredibly important player for us.”

On the hard-fought win, Rankovic, 46, said: “I knew it’s going to be a tough match... we had a lot of travelling the last couple of months, so the most important thing today was three points.”

Meanwhile, Tanjong Pagar United, who are bottom of the nine-team SPL, claimed their first victory in 14 matches when they beat Brunei DPMM 3-0 at the Jurong East Stadium.

Syahadat Masnawi and Salif Cisse scored in the 21st and 79th minutes respectively before substitute Izrafil Yusof added the third in stoppage time, as the Jaguars also secured their first clean sheet in 45 competitive games.

Analysis

The Sailors have started 2025 with three wins out of three in the SPL and have developed a habit of being efficient at both ends of the pitch. On this form, it will be tough to see them dropping too many points from now till the end of the season in May. A first title since 2021 beckons.