SINGAPORE COMMUNITY SHIELD

Tampines Rovers 3
Hougang United 0

After a club-record third-place finish in the Singapore Premier League (SPL) last season, Hougang United had an unexpected shot at their first piece of silverware in yesterday's Community Shield clash with Tampines Rovers.

But coach Clement Teo showed where his priorities lie, choosing to rest key players like striker Stipe Plazibat and right-back Nazrul Nazari ahead of Tuesday's AFC Cup fixture against Ho Chi Minh City.

A full-strength Tampines side proved too much for Hougang, as the Singapore Cup champions cruised to a 3-0 win at the Jalan Besar Stadium.

Teo said: "Every game is important. Unfortunately, we need to prioritise, although that is not an excuse. We have a game on the 25th and a game against Young Lions on the first, so that's basically (back-to-back-to-back) games."

After a slow start, Tampines came to life in the 25th minute but were thwarted twice by Cheetahs goalkeeper Khairulhin Khalid.

But their persistence paid off in the 56th minute when Irwan Shah fired into the bottom-left corner after a neat exchange with Yasir Hanapi.

The Stags doubled their lead eight minutes later when Boris Kopitovic, who had several chances, latched on to Irwan's cross and smashed the ball into the roof of the net.

It did not take long for Tampines to add another goal. In the 70th minute, Yasir laid off the ball for the lively Jordan Webb, who rifled his shot into the back of the net.

Hougang were filling in for last season's SPL champions Brunei DPMM, who skipped the game due to precautionary travel restrictions because of the coronavirus outbreak. It left both teams with just four days to prepare for the match, but Teo refused to blame that for the result.

While Tampines coach Gavin Lee felt that preparations were rushed, he praised his charges for their performance.

"It definitely was a big factor. We had to rush through our analysis and be prepared to plan the strategy for this game," he said.

"We did well in terms of sticking to the plan and keeping our style and identity."

But Tampines will also turn their attention to their AFC Cup game against Kaya FC at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum on Wednesday, before next Sunday's SPL game against Balestier Khalsa.

He said: "Every win counts and this helps us get the momentum. It will definitely help with our morale but now we have to rest, recover and think about the next game.

"Credit to the boys, but it's only the start of the season and it's a long journey ahead for us."