Travel woes fail to deter Geylang as they beat Tanjong Pagar 3-1 in Singapore Premier League
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Ryoya Taniguchi (No. 9) celebrating with Geylang International teammates after scoring the opening goal in the 3-1 Singapore Premier League defeat of Tanjong Pagar United on Feb 6.
ST PHOTO: GIN TAY
SINGAPORE – Despite being stuck in traffic for nearly three hours before their match, Geylang International notched their fourth win of the Singapore Premier League (SPL) season, beating Tanjong Pagar United 3-1.
At the Jurong East Stadium on Feb 6, the match was delayed by 15 minutes as the Eagles arrived just 10 minutes before the scheduled kick-off time of 7.30pm.
The visitors, who had scored only eight league goals this season before the match, found three through top scorer Ryoya Taniguchi, Shodai Yokoyama and Vincent Bezecourt, as they snapped a three-match losing streak.
Eagles coach Noor Ali had left in his car after the team meeting but arrived before the players, and he believed that the traffic jam affected their start.
The 50-year-old said: “They left at 4.30pm and I think the boys felt like they were travelling to KL, you know… They were stuck until about 7.20pm. We didn’t expect the jam, so it was hard.
“You could see at the start of the game, we were struggling in the first 15 to 20 minutes because we did not have any proper warmup.
“But I think in the second half, the boys came back stronger, and what’s important is the three points.”
Taniguchi added: “Today was very hard, very tough. Before the game, we were on the bus for over two hours.
“The body was very tired but on the pitch, I didn’t care and I’d just play.
“We lost the last three games, so we had to win this game and I’m very happy to get the three points and score.”
Both sides looked sluggish from the start, but it was Geylang who threatened first.
Shuhei Hoshino had the ball in the net in the ninth minute, but the forward was deemed to be offside.
Two minutes later, Geylang had the ball in the net again and this time the goal stood.
Following a corner, there was confusion in the box and the ball fell kindly for Taniguchi to smash home his fourth league goal of the season from close range.
Geylang International's Nichola Ignjatovic challenging Tanjong Pagar United's Sahil Suhaimi for the ball during their Singapore Premier League match at Jurong East Stadium on Feb 6. Geylang won 3-1.
ST PHOTO: GIN TAY
The Jaguars nearly equalised three minutes later as Emilio Estevez Tsai’s cross was deflected to Sahil Suhaimi, but the latter saw his header cleared off the line by Yokoyama.
It took the Eagles just seven minutes after the break to double their lead.
Substitute Amy Recha sent a low cross looking for Taniguchi, but the ball was cleared back to Amy, who found Yokoyama, whose left-footed effort flew into the far corner.
Geylang then added a third in the 67th minute when Shakir Hamzah crossed for the unmarked Bezecourt to slam home.
There were more woes for Tanjong Pagar as captain and defender Aaron Evans had to be stretchered off with a broken ankle in the aftermath.
Bezecourt said: “I didn’t see my goal. Because when I made contact with the ball, I also landed on Evans and I heard a crack.
“The first thing I looked for was him and I saw the fracture… It was very bad.
“It was an eventful night. We got here and changed straightaway to our jerseys and pretty much had five to 10 minutes to warm up. It was already kick-off, so credit to the team for keeping focus.”
The Eagles were down to 10 men in the 84th minute, when Japanese goalkeeper Yu Kanoshima was sent off by referee Jansen Foo for handling the ball outside the box.
They conceded a penalty in stoppage time after skipper Joshua Pereira fouled Sahil.
Despite getting a hand to the ball, substitute goalkeeper Rudy Khairullah could not keep out Taiwanese Estevez’s consolation effort.
The win allowed Geylang, with 13 points, to close the gap on third-placed Albirex Niigata (16 points), while Tanjong Pagar remain seventh in the eight-team SPL on four points.
Jaguars coach Noh Alam Shah said that the “delay hurt us a lot”, adding: “The 15 minutes difference is very crucial, because we were prepared for the kick-off time as per normal.
“A delay at the last minute like this is not good for any team, but I’m not making any excuses.
“The players performed to what they are capable of, but the clinical finishing from Geylang by converting three goals from our mistakes is something we need to work on now.”
Analysis
Despite initial sluggishness as a result of a traffic jam, Geylang managed to find their scoring boots in the comfortable win. The Jaguars’ struggles continued as they sorely miss the recently departed striker Youssef Ezzejjari up front.
