SPL Week 2 Review: Rampant Rovers miss another clean sheet

Home United could barely cope with the home team's onslaught.

Okay, I know it seems like I'm just being negative here, but seriously. What else is there to mention? The Stags are still undefeated in all competitions this season, echoing the commanding performance of Albirexes (Albirices?) gone by.

This round saw three teams sit out: the Young Lions, due to their centralised training camp in Japan. Albirex, because they went on a training trip to Myanmar. Warriors, because reasons. Every other team was involved, giving most of the AIRMARINE Cup players a decent run out.

TAMPINES ROVERS vs HOME UNITED

After dominating the headlines with a 5-1 drubbing of Hougang United in the opening week, Tampines Rovers repeated their feat at home against depleted fellow AFC Cup competitors Home United.

Having lost Hami Syahin to the U-22 training camp and first-choice goalkeeper Rudy Khairullah to injury, the Protectors had a torrid time against the hosts. With Ryutaro Megumi on the right, Jordan Webb on the left, and Shahdan Sulaiman in the centre pulling the strings, the Stags owned the opening 45 minutes.

Taufik Suparno's missed 16th-minute penalty gave the pursuing Abdil Qaiyyim some measure of relief, but when Yasir Hanapi knocked a rebound into the bottom corner on 24 minutes to add to Irwan Shah's opener, things looked bleak.

The introduction of playmaker Zehrudin Mehmedovic at the break signalled Rovers' intent to go further, and it didn't take long for Tampines to stretch their lead to 3-0. A quick counter five minutes in saw Taufik bulge the top corner, making amends for the earlier miss.

You don't need to be beefy to boss midfield, says Zehrudin Mehmedovic.

Hafiz Nor and Juma'at Jantan were brought on to add breadth to Home's attack, but it was through the centre that the visitors picked up their goal. On 57 minutes, Juma'at found Shahril just inside the box, who spotted Adam Swandi's run. Adam slotted the ball into the far corner to give Home a glimmer of hope.

But then Abdil and Taufik reprised their duel, with the Home defender conceding a free kick on the edge of the area. Shahdan swerved it past Nazri Sabri into the bottom right corner, restoring the Stags' three-goal lead faster than the scoreboard could keep up.

Webb sealed the victory with fifteen minutes to go. His through ball met the run of Taufik, whose pace forced a penalty, this time conceded by goalkeeper Nazri. The Canadian midfielder slotted the ball calmly into the corner, sending Nazri the wrong way.

Tampines Rovers followed up their SPL win with a 1-1 home draw against Hanoi FC in the AFC Cup, again failing to keep a clean sheet; Home United continued their poor run with a 5-0 loss at Kaya-Iloilo FC in the Philippines.

BALESTIER KHALSA vs HOUGANG UNITED

Žužul and the Tigers had a much harder time against the Cheetahs.

The Tigers of Balestier Khalsa found the going considerably harder against a bunch of well-drilled Cheetahs than the gang of Young Lions they had brushed aside at Jalan Besar. The star-studded Hougang squad started brightly, clearly trying to erase the memories of their defeat last week.

Hougang had to do without the services of Justin Hui, who was off training in Japan, and started Afiq Noor in his stead. Ridhuan Barudin kept goal, and Fabian Kwok gave his place in the starting eleven to Mahathir Azeman.

Noor did well to complement the attacking duo of Faris Ramli and Stipe Plazibat, visiting Bishan Stadium as a pair for the first time. The front three helped to keep Balestier on the back foot for long stretches, thanks to a healthy supply from Mahathir, Zulfahmi Arifin, and Amir Zalani in midfield.

Balestier's attack went mostly through the pairing of Kristijan Krajicek and Šime Žužul in the centre, as Daniel Goh was kept quiet throughout. Plazibat and Faris each came close in the first half, the former with a close-range header and the latter with a cheeky chip that hit the crossbar, but neither was able to give Hougang the lead.

The visitors pressed harder and faster, but to no avail. It was only after the break when Fazrul Nawaz and Muhaimin Suhaimi were brought on that Hougang made their pressure count.

On 58 minutes, Nazrul Nazari played a long ball back to Kong Ho-Won just inside the Balestier half. The Korean defender floated a pass upfield which Sufianto Salleh only cleared as far as Plazibat.
Plazibat sent the ball to Faris, who had snuck in at the back post, and the Singapore international tucked it home gleefully.

Balestier then brought on Austrian youngster Sanjin Vrebac to boost the midfield, moving Krajicek to the left, where he supplied a pass that would have drawn the Tigers level, had someone in red beaten Nazrul to the ball.

Both Bishan teams, Balestier and Home, will meet next Sunday looking for a win to turn their fortunes around. Hougang, for their part, will host the debuting Warriors FC at Jalan Besar Stadium.

BRUNEI DPMM vs GEYLANG INTERNATIONAL

Like Tampines Rovers, Brunei DPMM FC notched their second win of the season. Unlike the Stags, however, the Wasps made their second clean sheet, defeating Geylang International 3-0 in front of an adoring Brunei crowd. The game went ahead despite some heavy rain before kick-off casting doubt on the playability of the pitch.

Blake Ricciuto opened the scoring with a header on 23 minutes, and the score stayed that way until the dying moments of the match, when substitute Andrei Varankou picked up his second goal of the season and Razimee Ramli added to the tally.

Geylang International forward Fikri Junaidi had to be taken off late in the first half due to an injury.

Brunei DPMM will visit a returning Albirex Niigata on Friday at Jurong East Stadium, whilst the Eagles next face high-flying Tampines Rovers on Saturday in a battle for bragging rights at Our Tampines Hub.

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Yeo Kheng Hui
Writer
The SG Football Podcast