SINGAPORE - They were touted as darkhorses for this year's Singapore Premier League (SPL) title but, after the first week of the season, Hougang United find themselves in the same place they were at the end of last term - bottom of the table.
The Cheetahs crashed to a 5-1 defeat by Tampines Rovers at the Jalan Besar Stadium on Sunday (March 3) after playing most of the second half with 10 men, following the 50th-minute sending-off of Justin Hui.
The 21-year-old midfielder picked up two yellow cards in the space of just three minutes and 40 seconds to receive the marching orders from referee G. Letchman.
Tampines had led 1-0 at that point, thanks to a first-half goal by Irwan Shah and, even though the Stags were pegged back by Faris Ramli's 56th-minute penalty, they went on to assert their dominance and rack up a handsome win.
Â
Hougang head coach Clement Teo, who felt there was no "ill intent" in the challenge that earned Hui his second yellow card, was sanguine after the game.
"Yes, the match was frustrating in terms of the result," said the coach.
"But, if you're talking about effort, I can't fault my players. When you are a man short against a quality team like Tampines, you have to face the consequences. I'm not worried about this result."
Revealing he was filling out the substitution card to replace Hui just before the player committed his second offence, Teo added wryly: "We were just a little too slow."
The first half proved to be a cagey affair, but it was Tampines who drew first blood after full-back Irwan Shah charged into the box on the stroke of half-time and fired home.
National winger Faris then earned and converted the penalty that levelled the score, but the goal proved a false dawn for the Cheetahs.
Tampines made full use of the extra man and scored three times in 12 minutes through Ryutaro Megumi (64th min), an own goal by Hougang skipper Zulfahmi Arifin (71st) and substitute Zehrudin Mehmedovic (76th). Jordan Webb added a fifth in injury time.
Stags' first-team coach Gavin Lee admitted that Hui's red card gave his team "greater control of the game", but, while he was happy with the win, he was not completely satisfied with his team's performance.
"We got the points we wanted, but we can't... overlook certain phases of performance which should have been better," said the rookie SPL coach.
While he praised his team's pace on the counter-attack, Lee insisted he would not get carried away by Sunday's result.
"Our challenge is to stay consistent in our thinking and action and, hopefully, we can sum it up at the end of the season and see (a positive outcome)," he said.
In the other match on Sunday, striker Andrei Voronkov scored the winner in the 22nd minute as Brunei DPMM beat Home United 1-0 at the Bishan Stadium.
Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino fears Harry Kane could miss the rest of the season with an ankle injury sustained against Manchester City. The striker had to be helped down the tunnel by Spurs
Premier League's Watford were made to sweat to beat lowly Championship club Queens Park Rangers 1-0 on Friday and book their spot in the FA Cup quarter-finals for the second time in four seasons. Watford had possession in the first half but struggled to make any inroads against the solid home defence until Etienne Capoue swept a low shot into
Watford squeeze past QPR into FA Cup last eight - dawn.com
Here, AFP Sports looks at five things we learnt from the Premier League's final fixtures of 2018. Liverpool's title to lose? The league leaders haven't lost all season and unless City end their
Five things we learned from the Premier League this weekend
Ryan Giggs has hit back at Zlatan Ibrahimovic after the Swede criticised the Class of '92 over their complaints about Manchester United, joking "obviously he knows more about the club than us".
Ryan Giggs hits back at Zlatan Ibrahimovic after slamming Man
Real the same team even without Ronaldo: Ramos. Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric (right) and defender Sergio Ramos in training before today's Club World Cup semi-final clash with J-League side
We're the same team even without Zizou, CR7, says Ramos
Football: Reds can be 'Invincibles' this season, says Unai
Mesut Ozil will return to the Arsenal squad for Saturday's Premier League visit of Burnley, with manager Unai Emery saying he believes the midfielder has a future at the Emirates Stadium.
Unai Emery says Mesut Ozil has a future at Arsenal | Football
Liverpool wasted another chance to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League as a sub-par performance from Jurgen Klopp's men was punished in a 1-1 draw at West Ham on Monday.
Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has vowed to sign the right players for the club when the transfer window reopens in the summer. Solskjaer made this known during his pre-match press conference ahead of the weekend's game in the Premier League.
United are level on points with fourth-placed Tottenham and two points behind Arsenal in third, but have now played a game more than both London clubs. Wolves beat United 2-1 in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup on 16 March, but Solskjaer will be wondering how they managed to throw away three points here.
Hungry Wolves beat 10-man Manchester United 2-1 | New Straits
Chelsea reach Europa League semi-finals after beating Slavia Prague sport culture. sport (13) Chelsea reach Europa League semi-finals after Salah football
Chelsea vs Slavia Prague: Chelsea Survive Fright Night To
'Manchester United is a huge rebuilding job and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is not up to it': Paul Ince insists new boss must 'get over Sir Alex Ferguson' as he sticks the boot in.
Manchester United's rebuilding job: who should stay and who
0 Kommentare:
Kommentar veröffentlichen