Stoppage-time goals rescue BG Tampines Rovers’ Singapore Premier League title hopes

SINGAPORE – When the fourth official indicated that five minutes of stoppage time will be added to the match, the scoreboard at Our Tampines Hub on April 11 read: BG Tampines Rovers 2 Geylang International 3.

The live Singapore Premier League table at that time showed that defending champions Lion City Sailors would end the night eight points clear at the top, as Tampines fans and officials in the stadium cut frustrated figures.

With six games to go, it looked like the Stags’ title challenge was all but over.

But within several dramatic minutes of stoppage time, the entire picture changed.

Goals in the fifth and eighth minutes of added time saw Tampines snatch a last-gasp 4-3 victory as players and fans celebrated with wild abandon.

Suddenly, the Stags were back in the title race as they ended the night five points behind the Sailors, with two clashes to come between the league’s top two teams.

In a flash, a toxic environment – sections of Tampines supporters were heard lambasting Stags’ new coach Katsuhito Kinoshi earlier – turned into a celebratory atmosphere.

Japanese forward Hide Higashikawa, who scored the winner eight minutes into stoppage time to bag a hat-trick, said through a translator after the dramatic win: “We didn’t give up when it was 3-2. We showed our mentality. We did it through teamwork, not just because of me.”

Kinoshi, meanwhile, breathed more than a sigh of relief.

He said in his post-match interview: “We never lost the motivation to get the three points. This kind of result can help us to unite the fans. We are in a transition moment. We must adapt and move forward.

“This win is a sign that we can still be champions, mathematically. There is a chance, so we must chase it.”

It had looked earlier that this would be a second consecutive game where the Stags would throw away a two-goal lead. On April 4, in Kinoshi’s first match in charge, the Stags were defeated 3-2 by Albirex Niigata.

Just as they did the previous weekend, Tampines took the lead inside the first five minutes when Higashikawa headed in a Koya Kazama cross.

There was then an almost two-hour halt to proceedings after the lightning-warning system was activated. But the Stags picked up where they left off when the teams returned to the pitch at close to 9.40pm.

In the 12th minute, Higashikawa notched his second goal of the night after turning in a cross from his compatriot Yuki Kobayashi.

Nine minutes later, after a set piece was not cleared effectively by Tampines, Kaisei Ogawa headed in from close range for Geylang’s first goal of the night.

The Eagles equalised on 29 minutes when Shodai Yokoyama burst down the right flank before turning the ball past Stags goalkeeper Syazwan Buhari.

Tampines looked shell-shocked as they headed in for the break. It got worse two minutes after the restart, as Shuhei Hoshino prodded home from a Nazrul Nazari cross for the Eagles to take the lead.

Geylang looked like they would hold on for a shock victory but in the 95th minute, Tampines defender Jacob Mahler – who had thrust himself up front in the latter stages – headed in an equaliser from a Shah Shahiran cross.

Play was halted temporarily as Eagles captain Joshua Pereira received treatment as it seemed the Stags had snatched a point.

But there was still enough time for a winner. In the 98th minute, substitute Taufik Suparno waltzed past several Geylang players and sent a cross to the far post for Higashikawa to head into the net as Tampines players and fans erupted in euphoria.

Geylang coach Noor Ali was crestfallen after the late loss. He said: “We were a few minutes away from victory but there was just too much quality.

“They could bring players off the bench to change the game. We will learn from this.”

Analysis

The late comeback could spur Tampines on to end the season strongly. But first, the Stags will need to tighten up at the back. Six goals conceded in their last two matches is hardly a reassuring statistic.