SPL: Defending champions and current leaders Albirex's title hopes in jeopardy, after 0-0 home draw against Tampines Rovers!
(1 minute silence held before kickoff in memory of the late TeamSG football legend, Mat Noh - Image from Live Stream)
By Sadat Osman
Tampines Rovers FC (TRFC), off the back of a massive 6-1 defeat at the hands of Lion City Sailors on Tuesday evening (22 Sep), marched into the tie against Albirex Niigata FC (ANFCS) with a defensive game plan. The Stags’ head coach Gavin Lee ensured that his men kept things tight at the back and tried to push forward with counterattacks.
The first real chance of the game at the Jurong East Stadium came in the 19th minute via an ANFCS corner. Fairoz Hasan found himself with acres of space after several of his colleagues ran towards the near post to draw defenders away. The forward controlled the cross with the right boot at the far post with no one around him, before lashing out a half volley that hit the outside of the right post and went out for a goal kick.
10 minutes later, TRFC lost the ball in their own half as they attempted to play short passes from the back. Andrew Aw was guilty of poor control, giving the ball away just outside his own box, resulting in a spontaneous Albirex attack. Ryoya Taniguchi picked up the loose ball to shoot towards goal, only to have his effort blocked by a sea of TRFC defenders. The ricochet fell to Ryosuke Nagasawa’s feet and he unleashed a shot, but again, it was deflected out for a corner.
(Photo Credit : Football Association of Singapore)
4 minutes from the break, the visitors had their first real chance of the game courtesy of Boris Kopitovic after the forward latched onto Armin Bosnjak’s ball over the top on the left-hand side. The big forward held off his marker to maintain possession of the ball before pulling the ball with his left boot to fire a shot at goal. His effort was on target, and it was the first of the evening that forced a save from Takahiro Koga. Halftime score was 0-0!
The home side continued to drive forward within minutes of the restart, only to be denied by dogged TRFC defending and misfortune. In the 62nd minute, the White Swans found themselves on the ascendency once again. Nagasawa had the ball in the final third before passing it on to Ryoya Taniguchi at the edge of the box. The no.7 spotted Kazuki Hashioka’s overlapping run on the right wing and laid it off to him to cross the ball into the six-yard box. With danger lurking, Syazwan Buhari was forced to parry the ball to safety.
(Photo Credit : Football Association of Singapore)
13 minutes later, the Stags custodian was on hand to save the day once again when he had to stop Kiyoshiro Tsuboi’s glancing header at the near post. Hashioka did well to shrug off his marker on the right flank to cross, but the White Swans were denied once more. The resulting corner saw Reo Kunimoto miss a big chance when his header hit the crossbar before Buhari claimed the loose ball.
The White Swans were still determined to find the winner all the way up to the death, but they were constantly unlucky and were unable to break the deadlock, with the Stags keeping things tight at the back.
With the 0-0 stalemate, ANFCS still remain on top of the SPL table with 45 points — that's 3 points ahead of Lion City Sailors FC who will play Geylang International FC on Sunday (26 Sep) — while TRFC sit in 4th place with 26 points, securing a spot in next season’s AFC Cup. The Stags will host the Eagles in the final day of the season (10 Oct) at Our Tampines Hub, while the White Swans are set to face Tanjong Pagar United FC at the Jurong East Stadium at the same time.
Sadat Osman had a 10-year career in the publication industry, where he covered several beats including current affairs, food, fishing, music, and football. As the former chief editor at Goal.com and a fan of Newcastle United FC since 1996, Sadat also had a trial as a goalkeeper at Tanjong Pagar United FC. But today he remains a frequent social player of the game, who fancies Lionel Messi. However, Sadat's playing style is unfortunately similar to that of Titus Bramble!
Related Articles
Related Topics
Related Events & Programmes
Related Articles
Related Topics
Related Articles
View AllRelated Topics
[BlogPost 164749641842 NSG 2024 Netball: Senior Div Girls League 3 Preliminary Round 2, BlogPost 163985727414 Beyond the Field: Exciting Sports Careers for Non-Athletes, BlogPost 164438712123 NSG 2024 Badminton: Senior Div Girls Quarter-Finals, BlogPost 164238055490 Evergreen Aleksandar Duric Still Making Headlines at 53, BlogPost 164170080646 NSG 2024 Rope Skipping: Junior Div Girls Freestyle Team Finals, BlogPost 162884973666 Move and Rest Better With Data From Your Own Body, BlogPost 163393049482 Life Comes Full Circle For Serangoon Garden Secondary School's Fahrish Khan, BlogPost 163258797651 Making Golf a Sport for All, BlogPost 162512222328 NSG 2024 Sepaktakraw: Senior Div Yuhua Primary School vs Qihua Primary School, BlogPost 162233592997 Gritty Lions Suffer Loss to China, BlogPost 162089384371 On Your Mark, Get Ready, Go Running, BlogPost 161670652697 Lions' Excellent Showing Against China, BlogPost 161435270031 Ogura Optimistic for Exciting Clash against China, BlogPost 161127614758 The Future of Basketball in Singapore: Why 3x3 is Here to Stay, BlogPost 161033673012 The Active Lifestyler's Guide to the New ActiveSG Delta Sport Centre, BlogPost 161128356680 Grand New Champions Crowned at WTT Singapore Smash 2024, BlogPost 160844835218 NSG 2024 Table Tennis: C Div Boys Pool Round, BlogPost 160210745115 NSG 2024 Basketball: Senior Div Girls Tampines Primary School vs Frontier Primary School, BlogPost 159881180544 Whirlwind Return to Women's Football, BlogPost 159633541417 Singapore Smash to Elevate a New Legacy, BlogPost 158983580420 NSG 2024 Rugby: B Div Damai Secondary School vs Peirce Secondary School, BlogPost 159003960202 SFA Fiesta: Kicking off 2024 to a Roaring Start, BlogPost 158830735126 NSG 2024 Football: B Div Girls Preliminary Round Meridian Secondary School VS Bowen Secondary School, BlogPost 158536989718 Team Nila Volunteers Recognized At Awards Ceremony, BlogPost 158270107806 NSG 2024 Hockey: B Div Boys Preliminary Round Raffles Institution VS St. Hilda Secondary School, BlogPost 157966862615 NSG 2024 Floorball: B Division Preliminary Rounds Kick Off!, BlogPost 157562433712 What Is Safe Sport?, BlogPost 157559446197 Sengkang Secondary: Cultivating Well-Rounded Footballers, BlogPost 157368261167 New National Training Centre for Cricket at West Coast Ground, BlogPost 155340164987 Active Ageing with Joey Bonifacio, BlogPost 155930815517 Inaugural Singapore Youth League kicks off from 24th February 2024, BlogPost 155340164727 Bukit Canberra : the Coolest Spot in the North, BlogPost 155368905255 How Padang Fandi Inspired Ayden to Chase his Dream, BlogPost 154755572826 Ageing Backwards with Elizabeth Cheang, BlogPost 154094657315 Running For Fitness, BlogPost 153318636178 Excitement Builds for FIBA 3x3 Asia Cup 2024, BlogPost 153198644247 World's Top Four Confirmed for 2024 HSBC Women's World Championship, BlogPost 149413941770 Cultivating Your Kids’ Interest in the Outdoors, BlogPost 149413941163 Making Sport More Appealing for Our Kids, BlogPost 149412549409 Solo Or Team Sport – Choosing the Best for Your Child, BlogPost 151197478798 Former Lions Stalwart Baihakki Khaizan Sheds Light on New Accreditation to Elevate Grassroots Football and Youth Development, BlogPost 80703591291 New Year, Fitter You! Here are the top 3 workouts for the New Year, BlogPost 81171151456 7 Reasons Why Sports are Great for Children’s Mental Health, BlogPost 80542065330 17 Best Yoga Classes & Studios in Singapore [+ Rating & Prices], BlogPost 149404351798 From Brush to Lens: A Student's Journey in the World of Art and Sports Photography, BlogPost 149402825063 The Benefits of Active Parenting, BlogPost 149397832009 Sweden Claim 9th Straight Gold at the Women's World Floorball Championship, BlogPost 149397831449 Lion City Sailors Win 2023 Singapore Cup, BlogPost 148511324266 Pitch Perfect with Jonathan Teo, BlogPost 148511724402 Seniors: Increase your flexibility bit by bit with these stretches]