SINGAPORE - They were touted as darkhorses for this year's Singapore Premier League (SPL) title but, after the first week of the season, Hougang United find themselves in the same place they were at the end of last term - bottom of the table.
The Cheetahs crashed to a 5-1 defeat by Tampines Rovers at the Jalan Besar Stadium on Sunday (March 3) after playing most of the second half with 10 men, following the 50th-minute sending-off of Justin Hui.
The 21-year-old midfielder picked up two yellow cards in the space of just three minutes and 40 seconds to receive the marching orders from referee G. Letchman.
Tampines had led 1-0 at that point, thanks to a first-half goal by Irwan Shah and, even though the Stags were pegged back by Faris Ramli's 56th-minute penalty, they went on to assert their dominance and rack up a handsome win.
Â
Hougang head coach Clement Teo, who felt there was no "ill intent" in the challenge that earned Hui his second yellow card, was sanguine after the game.
"Yes, the match was frustrating in terms of the result," said the coach.
"But, if you're talking about effort, I can't fault my players. When you are a man short against a quality team like Tampines, you have to face the consequences. I'm not worried about this result."
Revealing he was filling out the substitution card to replace Hui just before the player committed his second offence, Teo added wryly: "We were just a little too slow."
The first half proved to be a cagey affair, but it was Tampines who drew first blood after full-back Irwan Shah charged into the box on the stroke of half-time and fired home.
National winger Faris then earned and converted the penalty that levelled the score, but the goal proved a false dawn for the Cheetahs.
Tampines made full use of the extra man and scored three times in 12 minutes through Ryutaro Megumi (64th min), an own goal by Hougang skipper Zulfahmi Arifin (71st) and substitute Zehrudin Mehmedovic (76th). Jordan Webb added a fifth in injury time.
Stags' first-team coach Gavin Lee admitted that Hui's red card gave his team "greater control of the game", but, while he was happy with the win, he was not completely satisfied with his team's performance.
"We got the points we wanted, but we can't... overlook certain phases of performance which should have been better," said the rookie SPL coach.
While he praised his team's pace on the counter-attack, Lee insisted he would not get carried away by Sunday's result.
"Our challenge is to stay consistent in our thinking and action and, hopefully, we can sum it up at the end of the season and see (a positive outcome)," he said.
In the other match on Sunday, striker Andrei Voronkov scored the winner in the 22nd minute as Brunei DPMM beat Home United 1-0 at the Bishan Stadium.
Guardiola stressed the need for calm during the title run-in, saying the quality of their Premier League opponents means there will be plenty of surprise results between now and the end of the campaign. "Three or four days ago we were already done, the champions were Liverpool," Guardiola told reporters on Tuesday. "Now we can be leading.
Premier League: Pep Guardiola predicts roller-coaster title
About; Privacy; Terms; Cookie Policy; Careers; Help; Feedback © 2019 IAC Publishing, LLC
Newspapers | Media | Virginia Bus
virginiabus.info/business/uob-chief-says-why-not-let-someone-outside-the-family-succeed-him/
"I will always, as I said, take in people with the right values," Wee Ee Cheong, 66, who took the reins from his father in 2007, said in an interview. "If they can do the job, why not?" UOB is the only Singapore bank that's still run by a family after OCBC Bank and others chose outsiders as their CEO or merged.
Newspapers | Media | Virginia Bus
virginiabus.info/business/samurai-2k-aerosals-full-year-profit-down-10-8-on-weaker-sales/
The Catalist-listed company declared a final dividend of S$0.005 per share, compared to a S$0.006 per share dividend payout a year ago. Revenue dropped 19.3 per cent to RM72.6 million from RM90 million on weaker exports to Indonesia.
The Legalisms of the Law, the Leader and Latheefa ― M
Maurizio Sarri is a top manager and his methods can and potentially will still work at Chelsea but, for Chelsea to succeed, Maurizio Sarri needs more time. Maurizio Sarri Needs More Time Deja Vu? Almost one year ago to the day, Chelsea lost 3-0 at home to Bournemouth under Antonio Conte. The following week they went away to Vicarage Road and
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink names the two players - metro.co.uk
Football: Watford's Gray strikes to sink Everton, pile pressure on Silva WATFORD, England (REUTERS) - Substitute Andre Gray scored a second-half winner as Watford beat Marco Silva's Everton 1-0 in the Premier League on Saturday (Feb 9) to heap the pressure on their former manager.
Watford's Gray strikes to sink Everton, pile pressure on Silva
Football: Ikhsan Fandi the match-winner as Singapore Under
Josh Brownhill netted the only goal of the game to dump the Terriers out of the world's oldest football competition and extend Town's losing streak to nine matches across the Premier League and FA Cup. The national media gathered at Ashton Gate to watch the clash, with many leaving unimpressed with the Terriers' "toothless" display.
My Fantasy Football Failings: Glenn Murray is on fire and I
MIAMI (AFP) - Fifa moved a step closer on Friday (March 15) to expanding the 2022 World Cup in Qatar to 48 teams and hopes to confirm the plans in June if a suitable co-host can be found.. Read
World Cup Streaming
AD
fanical.com/Womens-World-Cup
Report Ad
US Women's World Cup. Women's Soccer Blogs, Forums & News
Football: Jurgen Klopp hails his 'talented giants' for stunning win against 'maybe the best team in the world' Related Story Football: Liverpool stun Barcelona 4-0 in second leg to reach Champions
Champions League: These boys are giants, says Jurgen Klopp
Real Madrid have knocked Manchester United off the top of Deloitte's Football Money League, but the Premier League still flexed its financial muscle, with all of England's 'Big Six' featuring in
Real Madrid take top spot from Man Utd in 'money league'
Liverpool ease past Bayern 3-1 to reach last eight their unbeaten run in Champions League last-16 matches to eight following a 1-0 loss at home to Barcelona in
Champions League: Liverpool ease past Bayern Munich 3-1 to
David Beckham called his former team LA Galaxy his 'family' and thanked Los Angeles for embracing him at the unveiling of his statue before the Major League Soccer club's season-opener on Saturday
Beckham salutes LA Galaxy and Los Angeles as statue unveiled
0 comments:
Post a Comment