Vincent Bezecourt returns to stop Geylang International’s bleeding

SINGAPORE – From the trail of blood leading from the corridor to the living room, bedroom and bathroom, Geylang International midfielder Vincent Bezecourt’s condominium looked more sinister than it really was.

While the reason was innocent enough, the ramifications were still pretty serious for the player and his club. The 31-year-old could afford to laugh when he recounted the Jan 31 accident to The Straits Times: “A small glass bottle of deodorant dropped on my left foot, exactly where I hit the ball.

“The wound was quite deep and the bleeding didn’t stop even when I applied pressure with my hands and some Band-Aids, so I had no choice but to go to the hospital.

“I had to call Taka (teammate Takahiro Tezuka) to come back and help clean up because there was blood everywhere. Luckily, he is a great roommate, and Leonard (Koh), our team manager, came to take me to the hospital, where I got four stitches.”

As a result, he missed three matches in February, as the Eagles lost 5-4 to Balestier Khalsa and drew 2-2 with Thai side BG Pathum United in the Singapore Cup, and played out a 1-1 stalemate with Albirex Niigata in the Singapore Premier League (SPL).

Underlying his importance to the team, the Frenchman made a scoring return on Feb 27 with a left-footed free kick, as Geylang thrashed bottom side Tanjong Pagar United 5-0 to end a winless run of four games in all competitions. The win allowed the Eagles, third on 44 points, to close the gap to second-placed BG Tampines Rovers to just four points.

Often used as a deeper-lying central midfielder this season, Bezecourt has been able to feature higher up the pitch since Huzaifah Aziz’s comeback from a knee injury in January.

Ahead of their league match against Balestier at the Jalan Besar Stadium on March 7, Eagles coach Noor Ali said: “Vincent can score, assist and defend. He is a team player and a great leader with experience from playing overseas, so we are happy to have a key player back, especially with important games coming up.”

Bezecourt, who has eight goals and 12 assists in 22 SPL games, added: “I want to help the team as much as I can, and I wasn’t able to do that. It was frustrating for sure, also because the domestic accident wasn’t even something that happened on the pitch.

“The cup is very important for us, but now we are in a very difficult situation. Back to the league, I think top two is still achievable for us if we have a good final round. To be able to qualify for the Asian Champions League (ACL) Two play-offs would be huge for the club.”

The Frenchman has tasted success previously, topping the United States Major League Soccer’s Eastern Conference with New York Red Bulls in 2018 and winning the Armenian Premier League with FC Alashkert in 2021 before playing in the Uefa Conference League and the qualification rounds of the Champions League and Europa League.

However, he has felt most at home with Geylang and could stay on for a fourth season if they manage to get a spot in the continental club competition. If they finish second in the league, the Eagles could get an ACL Two play-off spot reserved for the Singapore Cup winners if a foreign team win the Cup or if any senior local team win the SPL and Cup double.

Despite being on a tight budget, Geylang have done decently to finish fourth and fifth in the last two seasons with a lean squad.

This season, new signings Tomoyuki Doi (38 goals, nine assists) and Ryoya Taniguchi (10 goals, 17 assists) have given them more firepower as they share the top scorers’ honour with SPL leaders Lion City Sailors on 79 goals.

While Noor is pleased with the output in attack, he wants his team to tighten up at the back against the Tigers.

He will have his work cut out, as defensive players Rio Sakuma and Joshua Pereira are major doubts.

The 49-year-old Noor said: “We have met four times already this season and it’s always been high-scoring. We need to cut down on conceding unnecessary goals because there is no point in us scoring four when we let in five and lose.”

Young Lions v Brunei DPMM (March 8, 8.30pm, Jalan Besar Stadium)

The spoils were shared in their last four encounters with two wins apiece, but the Young Lions seemed to be the livelier side going into the match, having scored three goals in each of their last two games.

Hougang United v Lion City Sailors (March 9, 8.30pm, Jalan Besar Stadium)

Interim Hougang coach Robert Eziakor described their 3-0 loss to Young Lions in the Singapore Cup on March 1 as “shameful”. They will need a much-improved performance to avoid a spanking from the Sailors, who are reeling from their ACL Two 6-1 thrashing by Sanfrecce Hiroshima.

Albirex Niigata v BG Tampines Rovers (March 9, 8.30pm, Jurong East Stadium)

Seven wins in their last 10 SPL games have helped defending champions Albirex move up to fourth after a damaging start to the season. They could inflict a fatal blow on the title hopes of Tampines, who failed to score for the first time in domestic competitions this season in their 1-0 loss to the Sailors on Feb 26.