Champions! The White Swans regained their crown tonight, and won their fifth title in seven years to continue their trophy hunt, by beating the Lion City Sailors 2-4 tonight at Jalan Besar Stadium.
Hotshot striker, Kodai Tanaka, showed that he is the scourge of Lion City Sailors as he put a hattrick past Singapore National Team goalkeeper, Hassan Sunny; and romped to the top of the goalscoring chart with 31 goals.
His partner in crime, Ilhan Fandi, set the early tone when he volleyed a weak clearance by Sailors debutant, Bill Mamadou, into the net. Sailors were missing their first choice centreback pairing of Pedro who was unavailable due to a long term injury and Hariss Harun who was serving a 2 match suspension from his red card in the last game against Balestier Khalsa.
However, Kim Shin Wook, ex Korean international striker, equalised for the Sailors in the 16th minute when he chested a fine through ball from ex White Swan, Adam Swandi and fired into the net.
Both sides had good chances to score but it was Albirex who made their mark again. From a corner by Masaya Idetsu, the ball was punched around like a pin-ball until Tanaka heads it into the goal in the 37th minute.
Kim Shin Wook and Hafiz Nor nearly equalised for Sailors again before half time, but both of them put their header and shot respectively over the crossbar.
Albirex went into half time with a 1-2 lead.
Sailors came out of the 2nd half looking to score to maintain their title hopes. Gabriel Quak replaced the ineffective Faris Ramli and the team looked more threatening with Quak's direct running at Albirex defence.
However, they did not make their chances count as Tanaka was left 1v1 with Hassan Sunny in the 78th minute. Their collision left Hassan writhing in pain but the ball somehow trickled towards the goal. It looked like an age has past when the ball rolled over the goal line but the Sailors defenders could not get back in time. Referee Mohd Taqi ruled that the goal was legitimate amid Sailors' protest. Albirex extended their lead to 1-3.
Right back Idetsu was caught napping in the 84th minute as Sailor's Belgian winger Maxime Lestienne stoled the ball from behind and Idetsu tripped him. The referee pointed to the penalty spot straight away and Gabriel Quak gave the Sailors a glimmer of hope as he converted the penalty.
However, Tanaka extinguished any hope from the Sailors and their fans as he was left one vs one with Hassan Sunny in the 93rd minute again. He took a touch and swept the ball into the right corner. Albirex players and fans knew straightaway the match was effectively over at 2-4 with less than 2 minutes left in additional time.
The celebrations went long after the final whistle was blown as the White Swans and their fans savoured a sweet victory after a long and hard season.
The victory meant that the White Swans are 7 points ahead of Lion City Sailors with 2 games left. Albirex will travel to Our Tampines Hub next Saturday, 15 Oct to face Tampines Rovers.
[Click Here for Match Details]
Hotshot striker, Kodai Tanaka, showed that he is the scourge of Lion City Sailors as he put a hattrick past Singapore National Team goalkeeper, Hassan Sunny; and romped to the top of the goalscoring chart with 31 goals.
His partner in crime, Ilhan Fandi, set the early tone when he volleyed a weak clearance by Sailors debutant, Bill Mamadou, into the net. Sailors were missing their first choice centreback pairing of Pedro who was unavailable due to a long term injury and Hariss Harun who was serving a 2 match suspension from his red card in the last game against Balestier Khalsa.
However, Kim Shin Wook, ex Korean international striker, equalised for the Sailors in the 16th minute when he chested a fine through ball from ex White Swan, Adam Swandi and fired into the net.
Both sides had good chances to score but it was Albirex who made their mark again. From a corner by Masaya Idetsu, the ball was punched around like a pin-ball until Tanaka heads it into the goal in the 37th minute.
Kim Shin Wook and Hafiz Nor nearly equalised for Sailors again before half time, but both of them put their header and shot respectively over the crossbar.
Albirex went into half time with a 1-2 lead.
Sailors came out of the 2nd half looking to score to maintain their title hopes. Gabriel Quak replaced the ineffective Faris Ramli and the team looked more threatening with Quak's direct running at Albirex defence.
However, they did not make their chances count as Tanaka was left 1v1 with Hassan Sunny in the 78th minute. Their collision left Hassan writhing in pain but the ball somehow trickled towards the goal. It looked like an age has past when the ball rolled over the goal line but the Sailors defenders could not get back in time. Referee Mohd Taqi ruled that the goal was legitimate amid Sailors' protest. Albirex extended their lead to 1-3.
Right back Idetsu was caught napping in the 84th minute as Sailor's Belgian winger Maxime Lestienne stoled the ball from behind and Idetsu tripped him. The referee pointed to the penalty spot straight away and Gabriel Quak gave the Sailors a glimmer of hope as he converted the penalty.
However, Tanaka extinguished any hope from the Sailors and their fans as he was left one vs one with Hassan Sunny in the 93rd minute again. He took a touch and swept the ball into the right corner. Albirex players and fans knew straightaway the match was effectively over at 2-4 with less than 2 minutes left in additional time.
The celebrations went long after the final whistle was blown as the White Swans and their fans savoured a sweet victory after a long and hard season.
The victory meant that the White Swans are 7 points ahead of Lion City Sailors with 2 games left. Albirex will travel to Our Tampines Hub next Saturday, 15 Oct to face Tampines Rovers.
[Click Here for Match Details]
