SPL Team of the Week

Fashah Iskandar (Tanjong Pagar United)

The shot-stopping prowess of the man known as “The Bear” was on full display against the Lion City Sailors. In a first half that saw a flurry of chances for the Sailors, it took nothing short of heroics from Fashah to keep his side level heading into half-time. He twice denied Adam Swandi from point-blank range. He came up trumps in two separate one-on-one situations against Sailors’ new man Richairo Zivkovic. After the break, he added to his impressive list of saves when he tipped Lionel Tan’s glancing header over the bar in the 58th minute.

Abdil Qaiyyim (Hougang United)

After last week’s fine performance against Geylang International, the 34-year-old made it back-to-back Team of the Week appearances, as he was part of a combined defensive effort to stifle a typically free-scoring Balestier side. Against the Tigers, the centre-back often found himself in the right place at the right time, blocking off the threat of Balestier’s front three throughout the game. He also covered the spaces left by right-back Nazrul Nazari, allowing him to roam freely down the right wing. If Hougang were to keep up their winning run, Abdil would surely play a key role in it.

Shunsaku Kishimoto (Albirex Niigata)

Kishimoto has played every minute of Albirex Niigata’s league campaign thus far, and he once again showed his importance in Kazuaki Yoshinaga’s side on Saturday. When Syahadat Masnawi looked through on goal in the 27th minute, Kishimoto came through with superb defending, catching up and muscling the Young Lions’ forward off the ball. Capping off an excellent evening for him and his team, Kishimoto found the back of the net with a looping header in the 82nd minute for his first goal of the season.

Amirul Adli (Geylang International)

Having returned after nursing an ankle injury in the past five games, Amirul gave Geylang their first win in eight matches against Tampines Rovers. The former Sailors man was a rock at the back, keeping a tight leash on Boris Kopitovic for 42 minutes before the Tampines striker was subbed off for a shoulder injury. Boris’ replacement, Taufik Suparno, similarly found little luck against the 27-year-old, with his last-ditch effort for a winner being denied by Amirul at point-blank range. Geylang went on to win 3-2.

Kristijan Krajcek (Hougang)

Topping his side in the goal-scoring and assist charts, the Croat has been at the heart of the good things Hougang United have done this season. Against Balestier Khalsa on Friday, the 30-year-old contributed two goals and one assist to give his side their second straight victory. In the 53rd minute, the midfield maestro showed brilliant vision to find teammate Dorde Maksimovic on the break with a lofted pass, providing the Serb with his first goal for his new side. Twenty minutes later, Krajcek exploited space down the left flank to whip the ball into the bottom corner before turning to lose Masahiro Sugita and finding the top corner to make it 3-1 and put the game to bed in the 86th minute.

Joshua Pereira (Geylang)

Dictating the Eagles’ midfield, Pereira was often the link between Geylang’s attack and defence. With Noor Ali encouraging his charges to press a shaky Tampines defence, Pereira won the ball for Geylang’s opener, which ultimately fell into the path of Akmal Azman, who scored his first goal in professional football. Towards the end of a dramatic second half, Pereira won the ball off Kyoga Nakamura, sparking Geylang to fly on the counter-attack, in a move finished on the rebound by Rio Sakuma.

Yasir Hanapi (Tampines Rovers)

While the Tampines captain might have counted himself unlucky for Geylang’s opener, Yasir spurred on his teammates to mount a commendable comeback, having been a man and two goals down. He scored an unstoppable penalty in the 61st minute before curling an 83rd-minute free-kick into the top left corner to level the game. The 34-year-old now has six goals this season and has been in fine form, with four goals and one assist in the last three matches.

Akram Azman (Tanjong Pagar)

A mere five days after he scored his first professional goal, Akram found the net again against the Lion City Sailors on Thursday, nestling the ball with pinpoint accuracy into the bottom corner. His goal had put the underdogs up 2-1 with less than 30 minutes of regulation time remaining. Earlier in the game, he was also responsible for winning a penalty for his side when he showed great effort chasing down a long ball from the back. The penalty was scored by Syukri Bashir, which restored parity at 1-1.

Yushi Yamaya (Geylang)

Bereft of Bezecourt’s brilliance due to the Frenchman’s season-ending injury, Geylang International will rely more than ever on Yamaya to keep the wheels turning in attack. On Saturday, his runs down the wing often proved too hot for Tampines’ defence to handle. Capitalising on the advantage of an extra man, Yamaya found space in the box, allowing him to turn and curl a neat finish into the bottom corner in the 53rd minute. Seven minutes into stoppage time, the 23-year-old easily flew past Glenn Kweh, playing an-inch perfect cross onto the head of Takahiro Tezuka. Ridhuan Barudin denied Tezuka but could not stop Rio Sakuma on the rebound. Yamaya could have gotten himself a goal two minutes earlier if not for the brilliance of Ridhuan, who deflected Yamaya’s curling effort onto the post.

Keito Komatsu (Albirex)

The match against Young Lions was the first time Komatsu played the full 90 minutes this season, but the 23-year-old needed just 23 minutes to leave an overwhelming impact on the game. The No. 11 got the White Swans out to a blazing start after six minutes, rising high to head the ball off the crossbar. In the 15th minute, the striker doubled Albirex’s lead, coolly slotting the ball home from a Masaya Watanabe pass moments after the latter had caught Young Lions’ skipper Jun Kobayashi dawdling on the ball. Komatsu put the icing on the cake when he smashed his 23rd-minute penalty into the top corner, completing his 17-minute hat-trick.

Maxime Lestienne (Lion City Sailors)

Lestienne’s value to this Lion City Sailors’ side cannot be overstated, as the Belgian propelled his team back to winning ways after two successive defeats. He was on hand to pounce on the rebound from Diego Lopes’ initial effort early on to open the scoring. Later, with the Sailors trailing by a goal, he won a vital penalty, which he duly converted in the 81st minute. This penalty was the match’s pivotal moment, turning the tide and spurring a comeback for the Sailors. After his brace on Thursday, the winger now has a league-high 20 goals this season.