Albirex Niigata beat Young Lions 2-1 tonight at Jurong East Stadium.
Hotshot striker Shingo Nakano opened the scoring at the 2nd minute when he headed Gareth Low's free kick into the net.
The White Swans dominated the first half and had a few chances to extend the lead. However, they were profligate and the final passes into the danger area also went astray.
Albirex took the solitary goal into half time.
Young Lions pushed hard for an equaliser after the break. They were rewarded when Albirex centre back Stevia Egbus Mikuni turned a cross into his own net which left Hassan Sunny stranded. This was Stevia's second own goal against Young Lions.
The momentum seemed to have shifted to Young Lion's favour after the equaliser. But the White Swans were different animals under new Head Coach Keiji Shigetomi as the team did not buckle under pressure.
At the 68th minute, Gareth Low put in another deep teasing cross which reach striker Shuhei "Jumbo" Hoshino. Jumbo planted a hard low shot across the face of the goal and into the net. 2-1, the White Swans regained the lead.
After the goal, Young Lions went all out attack for a second equaliser. However, the defence led by Man of the Match, Koki Kawachi, was resolute and repelled all the balls into the box.
The White Swans held on for victory and moved out from last place on the table to 7th place. Albirex will travel to Brunei on the National Day weekend to play DPMM Brunei on 10 Aug.
Hotshot striker Shingo Nakano opened the scoring at the 2nd minute when he headed Gareth Low's free kick into the net.
The White Swans dominated the first half and had a few chances to extend the lead. However, they were profligate and the final passes into the danger area also went astray.
Albirex took the solitary goal into half time.
Young Lions pushed hard for an equaliser after the break. They were rewarded when Albirex centre back Stevia Egbus Mikuni turned a cross into his own net which left Hassan Sunny stranded. This was Stevia's second own goal against Young Lions.
The momentum seemed to have shifted to Young Lion's favour after the equaliser. But the White Swans were different animals under new Head Coach Keiji Shigetomi as the team did not buckle under pressure.
At the 68th minute, Gareth Low put in another deep teasing cross which reach striker Shuhei "Jumbo" Hoshino. Jumbo planted a hard low shot across the face of the goal and into the net. 2-1, the White Swans regained the lead.
After the goal, Young Lions went all out attack for a second equaliser. However, the defence led by Man of the Match, Koki Kawachi, was resolute and repelled all the balls into the box.
The White Swans held on for victory and moved out from last place on the table to 7th place. Albirex will travel to Brunei on the National Day weekend to play DPMM Brunei on 10 Aug.
