Tampines Rovers beat Tanjong Pagar United 3-0 in head coach Noh Rahman’s debut

SINGAPORE – Despite having just a few days to prepare for his first game as BG Tampines Rovers head coach, Noh Rahman got off to a winning start on Sept 13, when the Stags posted a comfortable 3-0 Singapore Premier League win over Tanjong Pagar United at the Jurong East Stadium.

The 45-year-old was pleased to see his team showing no negativity from the coaching changes – they have also had to work with Gavin Lee and Akbar Nawas – in the last four months.

He told The Sunday Times: “I’m very pleased with the performance. We found it a little bit difficult to get the first goal, but we maintained our actions and got the breakthrough.

“The players are professional enough (to deal with the coaching changes), and it’s important to stay focused on our performances on the pitch. We definitely can build on this, and the AFC Champions League Two and Asean Club Championship matches will actually help us improve.

“We have the players and, with the new imports adapting well, I’m sure we will have a good go at challenging for the league title.”

The former Lion, who stepped up from his previous roles as Tampines assistant coach and head of youth development, did not rock the boat as he stuck with the 4-2-3-1 system used by his predecessor Akbar.

The latter parted ways with the club on Sept 11 after just 83 days into his second stint which yielded the Community Shield and a three-game unbeaten start to the season.

But they ran into early resistance against Tanjong Pagar, who were looking to put last season’s bottom finish behind them, as coach Noh Alam Shah got them to press high instead of sitting back like before.

Still, the hosts required new signing, 38-year-old goalkeeper Zaiful Nizam, to keep them in the game by denying Seiga Sumi and Takeshi Yoshimoto.

But peroxide-blond left-back Yoshimoto was undeterred, as he fired a left footer into the bottom corner in the 43rd minute after receiving a pass from Shah Shahiran, who won the ball off Syahrul Sazali.

The Jaguars squandered a fine chance to equalise after Fathullah Rahmat and Shodai Nishikawa combined to set up an unmarked Zenivio Mota, who volleyed over in the first minute of first-half added time.

The visitors doubled their advantage five minutes after the restart. After beating the press, Koya Kazama took his time to pick out Glenn Kweh, who side-footed home.

With the likes of Australian midfielder Jesse Daley and Brazilian midfielder Bruno Dybal injured, Spanish forward Youssef Ezzejjari cut an isolated and service-starved figure up front as Tanjong Pagar offered little attacking threat.

At the back, they were also missing injured Australian centre-back Aaron Evans and suspended left-back Faizal Roslan.

It was only a matter of time before Tampines added a third, as Shah played one-twos with substitute Faris Ramli and Kazama, who tucked in to seal the win.

Alam Shah said: “The lack of depth was not in our favour, as our squad was done by 50, 60 minutes.

“But I’m happy with the first-half performance... We were organised and we tried to possess the ball more. We just need to understand how to make the progressive runs behind the defensive line, which we will work on.”

Tampines’ first league victory of the season, after an opening 0-0 draw with Geylang International, helped them leapfrog Albirex Niigata to the top of the table on goal difference with four points from two games.

Champions Lion City Sailors play Balestier Khalsa at Our Tampines Hub on Sept 14.

Tampines custodian and captain Syazwan Buhari, who won the Golden Glove for most clean sheets in the past two seasons, said: “What happened in the past week is on the management level, so there’s nothing we can do as players except to block out the noise... what matters most is what we give on the field, and that showed in the win today.

“Coach Noh Rahman was with us previously too, so there’s not much changes, to be honest. The system is the same, the way we play – building up from the back – is the same.

“Winning with a clean sheet is positive, because we tend to start slow after coming back from international breaks.

“It’s still early, but there are positive signs. It’s about being consistent in every game, and hopefully we can build something with this team.”

ANALYSIS

The win and clean sheet would seem to justify the Tampines management’s decision to part ways with Akbar and trust Noh Rahman with the reins for the rest of the season. But sterner tests await in their title challenge, especially with the Stags also involved in the Singapore Cup, AFC Champions League Two and Asean Club Championship this season.

Tanjong Pagar, on the other hand, are back at the bottom, but have shown some signs that they can be proactive and competitive if they have their full complement of players.