In the end, neither a motivational talk by a retired global legend nor the return to the action of a much younger local starlet could do enough to inspire the Courts Young Lions as they slumped to a 0-2 defeat at home to Geylang United on Thursday evening.

Playing on their Jalan Besar turf, incidentally the designated venue for all ‘live’ telecast matches – as this one was – the Young Lions were fuelled by a pep talk from former Denmark and Manchester United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel, who had been in town earlier this week.

They also welcomed forward Shahfiq Ghani, who played out the entire second half after returning from a long military training stint in Thailand, while Sherif El-Masri was also playing in Singapore for the first time since completing Canada’s Olympics qualification campaign.

But all that was not enough to fend off Geylang, who won the game thanks to goals from Michael King and Jozef Kaplan either side of the half-time break.

The Young Lions came into this match wanting to wipe off the disappointment of their last game, where the largely inexperienced team fought till the bitter end before losing to Brunei’s DPMM FC due to a late solitary strike.

A win against the Eagles, who were badly thrashed by Tampines Rovers going into this game, would have catapulted the hosts into eleventh place.

Doing that would have required them to find a goalscorer other than Jonathan Toto, though, the former Etoile FC man facing an enforced absence due to new problems with his work papers.

“Toto is having some issues with his registration with MOM (Ministry of Manpower), and for that reason we could not field him for tonight’s game and future games until they are resolved,” explained Young Lions coach Robin Chitrakar at the post-match interview.

“And he is definitely one of the many players we missed.”

If the hosts missed players, their opponents were simply missing shots, and Korean striker Mun Seung Man could have given Geylang the lead after only six minutes.

Pouncing onto a loose ball that came as a result of a slip-up by Al-Qaasimy Abdul Rahman and Sirina Camara, the former South Korea youth international fluffed his chance and sent the shot over the bar.

A few exchanges came after that attempt, but the Eagles would only come close again after 25 minutes when King’s piledriver from just outside the box rattled the crossbar.

It was a moment that drew evident agony from Geylang general manager Lim Tong Hai, who was seated on the bench alongside the club’s caretaker coach Kanan Vedhamuthu.

The hosts did have their flirtation with glory two minutes earlier, as El-Masri served up a moment of wing wizardry that had been sorely missed while he was away serving his country.

Drilling down the left flank and approaching the goal-line, the former Home United starlet placed a pinpoint ball that was met by Benjamin Lee’s head, but that effort skimmed the crossbar.

Lee could consider himself unlucky not to be able to give his team the confidence that was badly needed, and that miss proved costly when King struck the opener ten minutes before the break.

A free kick outside the penalty area was awarded by referee Leow Thiam Hoe for a foul by Sheikh Abdul Hadi on Mun, and up stepped the Englishman to handle the situation.

With a wicked change of pace, King’s ball deflected off the defensive wall as an error in judgment by Syazwan Buhari left him watching the ball land in goal.

It was a shot in the arm for the men in white and green, who have been enduring a rough patch this season, having lost three of the four matches under Kanan’s charge before this one.

With Kaplan and King linking up nicely in attack, Geylang seemed in a position to promise goals from open play and give something for the 464 spectators gathered in the stands something to remember.

It was thus something of a pity that it took a second dead-ball effort for them to double their lead, the former applying a mild headed touch to divert substitute Basil Teo’s indirect free kick beyond Syazwan on 76 minutes.

Chitrakar was left wondering how the goal was allowed to happen, as Teo’s delivery from the left should have been defended much better in his opinion.

“I can’t really see what happened from my position, whether anyone touched the ball or if it went straight in,” remarked the 35-year-old.

“It was really unfortunate to concede such a goal. As a whole, the team should have done a better job in defending a free kick from such a distance.

“It didn’t help that Geylang had started to play with ten men behind the ball in the second half. It was a difficult task to break them down.”

Kanan was meanwhile clearly relieved after snapping a two-game losing streak.

“This win is very important for us, since after beating Balestier (Khalsa), we had two straight losses, and that included the 1-5 loss at home to Tampines last week,” noted the 47-year-old.

“I believe this win will bring them up in terms of morale. They were a bit down before today, and the lift in morale will help our cause when we take on Gombak (United) in our next game.”

Kanan also defended his approach to this match, which saw his team concentrate more on stifling his opponents than on going on the offensive.

“I know how the Young Lions played in their last few games, which was mainly dependent on long balls,” he pointed out.

“We have to be patient, and that means we must not open ourselves up and allow them to come at us. That explains the defensive approach we took tonight.”

Article taken from sleague.com, written by Ko Po Hui

CYL Line up:
Syazwan Buhari, Al-Qaasimy Rahman, Faritz Abdul Hameed, Sinira Camara, Sheikh Abdul Hadi, Hafiz Abu Sujad (C) (Sufianto Salleh 80″), Faris Ramli, Aqhari Abdullah (Shamil Sharif 61″) , Benjamin Lee, Hanif Sidique (Shafiq Ghani 46″), Sherif El-Masri

Balestier frustrated as late goals cancel out

For 80 long minutes on Sunday evening, Balestier Khalsa were wondering just what they had to do to take the lead against the Courts Young Lions as they comfortably held their hosts at Jalan Besar off.

They must therefore have thought they had done the job when Patrick Paranjody slammed a shot home from off a corner, but there was to be no joy for them in the end as a Faris Ramli free kick just two minutes later restored parity.

Parity is seldom the same as equality where football is concerned, and in many ways this match was one such, Balestier looking the better side in terms of both skill and purpose.

Yet Tigers coach Darren Stewart had a point when he remarked that his team would not have deserved the win had they got it, as his charges failed to show the superior organisation that would have taken their opponents apart.

The Young Lions came into the match dead short on personnel, as National Football Academy trainee Anumanthan Mohan Kumar was brought in to shore up the midfield alongside Shamil Sharif.

Balestier meanwhile had first-time starters in Yusiskandar Yusop and Paranjody, the latter making the first eleven for the first time after five substitute appearances.

Yusiskandar filled in at rightback as Jaslee Hatta switched to the left to cover for the suspended Syed Thaha, but the Tigers captain did not have the most alert of starts as he misjudged a long pass seven minutes in and allowed Faris Ramli to tear away.

Faris played a poor ball back inwards, however, and two minutes later the Young Lions were left to rue another wasted chance as Shamil fired narrowly wide from just outside the area.

Hamqaamal Shah quickly responded at the other end when he pulled a thunderous first-time shot off a high ball that reached him unchallenged, leaving Syazwan Buhari scrambling as the ball zipped inches away from the post.

For all the early scares, though, this had the look of a Sunday morning kickabout rather than an organised ball game, more so when the hosts looked like they had never previously played with one another.

Danish starlet Benjamin Lee was a lost presence on the field, as was Aqhari Abdullah, playing under the watchful eyes of his father Abdullah Noor, who had mixed loyalties in this game owing to a previous coaching stint with Balestier.

And as the game unfolded, the Tigers gradually gained control despite not being at the top of their game, with Park Kang Jin often showing glimpses of his form from his Super Reds days.

Moments of skill and close control while running at the opposition were married with an eye for the useful pass, as Park put the Young Lions defence under considerable pressure.

At the back, Jaslee recovered from his jittery start to break up any enemy move that crossed his path, while strong work from Paul Cunningham and Goran Subara meant Joey Sim had almost nothing to do.

Cunningham and Subara were often spotted at the other end attacking free kicks and corners, of which the visitors had more than a few, and on one occasion the Tigers skipper was inches away from connecting with Tengku Mushadad’s useful delivery.

Subara then steered wide off a corner just before half-time, and the second period started with Syazwan needing to intervene to prevent an own goal from another dead-ball play by Tengku.

By the time Park saw his dipping shot come down too late to sneak beneath the crossbar on 52 minutes, it was clear Balestier were overwhelming their opponents, especially in the midfield department.

Robin Chitrakar responded by bringing Hafiz Abu Sujad into the fray, the 21-year-old having missed out on a starting place due to his inability to regularly train with the squad.

It was another substitute who almost opened the scoring on 58 minutes, though, Balestier’s Ruhaizad Ismail sending his shot well wide from a central position from about 20 yards out.

The seasoned winger then had a headed effort chalked off for offside ten minutes later, and by then all 511 in the stands were crying for a goal from either side to end the standoff.

Balestier answered the plea with ten minutes remaining, when Tengku’s corner delivery managed to reach the far post, where Paranjody was waiting to slam the ball into the net.

Young Lions forward Jonathan Toto, having rushed back to assume his place on the line, tried to block the effort, but could only clap in grudging respect as the ball went into the net off his head.

A 1-0 lead coming this late should have been a precious gift for the Tigers, who were looking to bounce back from a shock defeat against a floundering Geylang United side last week.

But they contrived to squander it within all of two minutes, when the Young Lions earned a free kick on their left flank that Faris was looking to loft into the danger area for Toto or anyone else wearing a red shirt.

The curler fooled Cunningham and Subara, neither of whom was sure whether to attack the ball, and Sim, himself showing a rare moment of indecision, was horrified to see the ball land in the back of the net without anyone getting a touch.

So it came to be, then, that Balestier had to settle for a draw against opponents they had outplayed; for all their superiority, though, the Tigers never quite did enough to leverage on it.

Stewart: Victory would not have been deserved

Balestier Khalsa coach Darren Stewart felt it would have been flattering for his team to beat the Courts Young Lions, after they were made to settle for a 1-1 draw.

A late goal from Patrick Paranjody appeared to deliver the points after the Tigers had contained their opponents for much of the match, but Faris Ramli restored parity for the Young Lions within two minutes with a curling free kick.

“It happens a lot in football, doesn’t it?” he commented at the post-match interview.

“But it’s just one of those things, maybe the boys switched off a bit when the free kick came in. But we didn’t deserve to get three points anyway; in the end it’s a fair result.

“I don’t think we created enough chances tonight, definitely not. The effort and hard work was no problem, we just didn’t create enough with the ball.

“It’s usually something we do well at; even last week, with ten men we created some chances. But no one at our club thinks we are above draws and losses, so we’ll take the point.”

Stewart was however more positive when speaking on the performances given by Paranjody and Yusiskandar Yusop, both of whom were given their first starts in this match.

“They did well, both of them, really well,” said the Australian.

“It puts pressure on the other people now, and that is a good thing for everyone. It was a tough ask for Yus, especially, but he came through with flying colours.”

Young Lions coach Robin Chitrakar was relieved to see his charges collect their first point of the campaign after five attempts, but admitted they fell short of their own expectations.

“It was not bad, finally we got a point,” he said, being careful not to paint too rosy a picture.

“But then again, we were coming out for three points. We wanted to win the match, although we could do better, of course.

“In terms of getting forward and creating chances, we did not create as much as in our previous games, definitely. The boys tried their very best, but it was not easy playing against Balestier.

“We were only left with 14 players from our regular squad preparing for this match, and it was hard to get the team to play with any real shape. If any team were to come out to play in the S.League with 14 players, it’s not going to be easy for anyone.”

Article taken from sleague.com, written by Tam Cheong Yan

CYL Line up:
Syazwan Buhari, Al-Qaasimy Rahman, Faritz Abdul Hameed, Sinira Camara, Sheik Abdul Hadi, Faris Ramli(Tajeli Salamat 91′), Shamil Sharif (Hafiz Abu Sujad 54′), Aqhari Abdullah(Sufianto Salleh 81′), Benjamin Lee, Anumanthan Kumar, Jonathan Toto