In an exciting match this evening at the Jurong East Stadium between the top 2 teams in the Singapore Premier League, it was Albirex who came out tops in a 4-2 victory.
A thunderstorm threatened to derail the start of the game but the lightning warning system was turned off just 5 minutes before the players' warm up at 6.55pm. Hence, the match kicked off on time at 7.45pm despite the drizzle.
Tickets were sold out before the game and both sets of fans packed the grandstand to the brim to get a piece of the action.
It was Lion City Sailors who drew first blood as midfielder Anumanthan's deflected shot deceived the White Swan's GK Koga and went into the net in the 21st minute.
However, the White Swans hit back immediately when right back Masaya Idetsu's deep cross found striker Kodai Tanaka who towered over Sailor's right back Amirul Adli to head the ball in for the equaliser at the 23rd minute.
15 minutes later, Adli gave Tanaka too much space again and Tanaka curled a beautiful shot at the edge of the box to give Albirex a 2-1 lead going into half time.
The Sailors went on the offensive after half time in search of the equaliser. Kim Shin Wook replaced the ineffective Adli in the 53rd minute to signal the Sailor's intent.
However, before the Sailors could find a breakthrough, it was the White Swans who displayed their attacking prowess. Tanaka led a counter attack in the 56th minute and relayed the ball to midfielder Kan Kobayashi who was free on his left. Kobayashi took one touch and smashed the ball into Sailor's National Goalkeeper Hassan Sunny's near post. 3-1 the White Swans extended their lead.
Thereafter, the White Swans tried to slow down the tempo to kill off the Sailor's attacking intent. But a defensive mix-up between Kobayashi and right winger Masahiro Sugita in the 75th minute allowed Sailor's naturalised Singaporean Song Ui-yong to nip in and slip the ball to Kim Shin Wook who made no mistake to sweep the ball into the net. 3-2 game on!
Song had a chance to equalise for the Sailors when he was through 1v1 against Koga. However, midfield Kumpei Kakuta appeared out of nowhere to made a defensive tackle to deny Song. At the other end, Hassan Sunny also made a double save to thwart Kobayashi's attempt of his 2nd goal for the night.
The White Swans were not to be denied though. In the 84th minute, Idetsu swung in a teasing cross to substitute Tadanari Lee whose looping head gave the White Swans a 2 goal cushion again at 4-2. Lee had fractured his left clavicle in late Jun and was expected to be out of action for at least 2 months. However, Lee was determined to get back into the team and returned to action 1 month ahead of schedule, with his doctor's clearance, of course.
The White Swans were adamant not to let this game slipped after their painful loss to Tanjong Pagar 3 games ago. There were heroes aplenty besides the goal scorers and assist providers. Kakuta's crunching tackles; striker Ilhan Fandi's selfless sacrifice to create space for Tanaka; both full backs' energy sapping runs down the flanks; the centre back's shackle of the Sailors' attackers; destroyer Keito Hariya's display of skill at the 65th minute to evade 2 tackles; Koga's command of his box; and a full house crowd of fans fervently cheering the team on despite the heavy rain.
These heroes managed to see out the game for the closing minutes and clinched the vital 3 points for the White Swans to close the gap at the top. With this victory, Albirex cut the Sailor's lead to 2 points with one game in hand. They will need to make this victory count as they will visit Hougang Stadium next Friday, 5th Aug to meet Hougang Utd. Kickoff is 7.45pm.
Detail of the match is here
A thunderstorm threatened to derail the start of the game but the lightning warning system was turned off just 5 minutes before the players' warm up at 6.55pm. Hence, the match kicked off on time at 7.45pm despite the drizzle.
Tickets were sold out before the game and both sets of fans packed the grandstand to the brim to get a piece of the action.
It was Lion City Sailors who drew first blood as midfielder Anumanthan's deflected shot deceived the White Swan's GK Koga and went into the net in the 21st minute.
However, the White Swans hit back immediately when right back Masaya Idetsu's deep cross found striker Kodai Tanaka who towered over Sailor's right back Amirul Adli to head the ball in for the equaliser at the 23rd minute.
15 minutes later, Adli gave Tanaka too much space again and Tanaka curled a beautiful shot at the edge of the box to give Albirex a 2-1 lead going into half time.
The Sailors went on the offensive after half time in search of the equaliser. Kim Shin Wook replaced the ineffective Adli in the 53rd minute to signal the Sailor's intent.
However, before the Sailors could find a breakthrough, it was the White Swans who displayed their attacking prowess. Tanaka led a counter attack in the 56th minute and relayed the ball to midfielder Kan Kobayashi who was free on his left. Kobayashi took one touch and smashed the ball into Sailor's National Goalkeeper Hassan Sunny's near post. 3-1 the White Swans extended their lead.
Thereafter, the White Swans tried to slow down the tempo to kill off the Sailor's attacking intent. But a defensive mix-up between Kobayashi and right winger Masahiro Sugita in the 75th minute allowed Sailor's naturalised Singaporean Song Ui-yong to nip in and slip the ball to Kim Shin Wook who made no mistake to sweep the ball into the net. 3-2 game on!
Song had a chance to equalise for the Sailors when he was through 1v1 against Koga. However, midfield Kumpei Kakuta appeared out of nowhere to made a defensive tackle to deny Song. At the other end, Hassan Sunny also made a double save to thwart Kobayashi's attempt of his 2nd goal for the night.
The White Swans were not to be denied though. In the 84th minute, Idetsu swung in a teasing cross to substitute Tadanari Lee whose looping head gave the White Swans a 2 goal cushion again at 4-2. Lee had fractured his left clavicle in late Jun and was expected to be out of action for at least 2 months. However, Lee was determined to get back into the team and returned to action 1 month ahead of schedule, with his doctor's clearance, of course.
The White Swans were adamant not to let this game slipped after their painful loss to Tanjong Pagar 3 games ago. There were heroes aplenty besides the goal scorers and assist providers. Kakuta's crunching tackles; striker Ilhan Fandi's selfless sacrifice to create space for Tanaka; both full backs' energy sapping runs down the flanks; the centre back's shackle of the Sailors' attackers; destroyer Keito Hariya's display of skill at the 65th minute to evade 2 tackles; Koga's command of his box; and a full house crowd of fans fervently cheering the team on despite the heavy rain.
These heroes managed to see out the game for the closing minutes and clinched the vital 3 points for the White Swans to close the gap at the top. With this victory, Albirex cut the Sailor's lead to 2 points with one game in hand. They will need to make this victory count as they will visit Hougang Stadium next Friday, 5th Aug to meet Hougang Utd. Kickoff is 7.45pm.
Detail of the match is here
