【Match Report】 Lee's Double Propels White Swans to Top
Ex Japan National Team striker, Tadanari Lee's double helped Albirex overcame a bad start and propelled the team to the top of the Singapore Premier League table.
Young Lions, who were whipping boys in previous matches, took a surprise lead in the 12th minute when centre back Harhys Stewart scored in a melee in the box from a corner kick.
The goal woke the White Swans up and they started to pile on the attack. 8 minutes later, Kodai Tanaka headed a free kick from the right wing into the path of Lee, who had the simplest task of tapping the ball into an empty net.
However, Albirex could not build on the goal as they were tentative in attack in the face of Young Lion's compact defence, or the attackers were too anxious and rushed their shots.
The first half ended 1-1.
Yoshinaga obviously instructed his charges to up the tempo during the half time talk and there were more urgency in the White Swan's attack after the break.
However, the attacking players were profligate with Ilhan Fandi and Kan Kobayashi being the chief culprits. Ilhan had a header parried by the Young Lions keeper and a casual shot cleared off the line by the defender, while Kobayashi shot straight at the keeper when he was through on goal.
It was left to veteran striker Lee who showed the kids how to score a goal. Coming in from the blind side on the right, Lee beat the offside trap and chested a long ball out of defence from Keito Hariya. He took one touch and shot the ball passed the Young Lions keeper into the net in the 69th minute. 2-1, the White Swans have turned the match around.
However, the Young Lions kept the defence tight despite going behind and denied the White Swans of clear attacking chances.
In the 94th minute, almost 30 seconds before the final whistle, the Young Lions could even have scored an equaliser when White Swans keeper Takahiro Koga tried to dribble out of defence and fumbled a routine clearance.
The White Swans fans' hearts skipped a beat from Koga's howler but referee Farhad blew the final whistle moments later to give a sigh of relief to the Albirex bench and supporters.
With this victory and Lions City Sailors losing 2-1 in Tampines Rovers on the same evening, Albirex now leads the table with 54 points, 3 points ahead, with 4 games left.
The White Swans will travel to Our Tampines Hub next Friday, 16 Sep, to meet the in-form team of Geylang International at 7.45pm.
Young Lions, who were whipping boys in previous matches, took a surprise lead in the 12th minute when centre back Harhys Stewart scored in a melee in the box from a corner kick.
The goal woke the White Swans up and they started to pile on the attack. 8 minutes later, Kodai Tanaka headed a free kick from the right wing into the path of Lee, who had the simplest task of tapping the ball into an empty net.
However, Albirex could not build on the goal as they were tentative in attack in the face of Young Lion's compact defence, or the attackers were too anxious and rushed their shots.
The first half ended 1-1.
Yoshinaga obviously instructed his charges to up the tempo during the half time talk and there were more urgency in the White Swan's attack after the break.
However, the attacking players were profligate with Ilhan Fandi and Kan Kobayashi being the chief culprits. Ilhan had a header parried by the Young Lions keeper and a casual shot cleared off the line by the defender, while Kobayashi shot straight at the keeper when he was through on goal.
It was left to veteran striker Lee who showed the kids how to score a goal. Coming in from the blind side on the right, Lee beat the offside trap and chested a long ball out of defence from Keito Hariya. He took one touch and shot the ball passed the Young Lions keeper into the net in the 69th minute. 2-1, the White Swans have turned the match around.
However, the Young Lions kept the defence tight despite going behind and denied the White Swans of clear attacking chances.
In the 94th minute, almost 30 seconds before the final whistle, the Young Lions could even have scored an equaliser when White Swans keeper Takahiro Koga tried to dribble out of defence and fumbled a routine clearance.
The White Swans fans' hearts skipped a beat from Koga's howler but referee Farhad blew the final whistle moments later to give a sigh of relief to the Albirex bench and supporters.
With this victory and Lions City Sailors losing 2-1 in Tampines Rovers on the same evening, Albirex now leads the table with 54 points, 3 points ahead, with 4 games left.
The White Swans will travel to Our Tampines Hub next Friday, 16 Sep, to meet the in-form team of Geylang International at 7.45pm.
