SINGAPORE PREMIER LEAGUE
Albirex Niigata 2
Young Lions 1
They were just moments away from holding Singapore Premier League (SPL) defending champions Albirex Niigata to what would have been a richly deserved 1-1 draw.
But, despite the valiant effort from the Young Lions, they were dealt a sucker punch in the 96th minute after goalkeeper Kenji Rusydi fumbled Hiroyoshi Kamata's strike to concede an own goal at the Jurong East Stadium yesterday.
While Young Lions coach Fandi Ahmad was disappointed with the result, he praised his team's effort and refused to pin the blame on Kenji, highlighting the custodian's crucial saves in the second half.
"The boys did very well holding Albirex till the end and I thought the goalkeeper did very well until that slip off his palm," said Fandi.
"I thought we deserved at least a point, but this is just our luck. Football is about scoring goals. We need to improve on that because we're not scoring enough now."
After a slow start from both sides, Albirex broke the deadlock after 14 minutes when Naruki Takahashi headed home from Kyoga Nakamura's corner.
The Young Lions went in search of the equaliser, but long-range strikes from Syahrul Sazali and Sharul Nizam Anwar went wide. In the 32nd minute, they pulled level through a Haiqal Pashia penalty after Albirex goalkeeper Kengo Fukudome brought Sharul down.
The evening match was then delayed for about an hour at half-time owing to the lightning warning system being activated.
When play resumed, the Young Lions came close to taking the lead with narrow misses from captain Joshua Pereira and Nur Luqman Rahman.
The Albirex duo of Nakamura and Daizo Horikoshi were a constant threat to the Young Lions' defence, but crucial saves by Kenji kept the score level.
The away side looked to have done enough to secure a precious point until the 96th minute, when Nakamura dribbled past three Young Lions players and passed to Kamata, whose strike slipped through Kenji's fingers to hand Albirex their third straight win.
Fandi said: "It happens when a cross comes and someone is free and you just take the shot. One shot, one goal and he (Kamata) took a really good shot there."
Albirex coach Keiji Shigetomi was delighted with the result.
He said: "Today was a very difficult game for us. Although we scored the first goal and tried to get a second in the first half, they scored a penalty instead.
"After the long delay, I thought it'll get more difficult, but our players kept up their aggression. They fought for every ball and didn't give up all the way until the winning goal."
Ahead of their next match against Hougang United on Wednesday, Shigetomi said: "Until now, all the goals we've conceded have been from set pieces so we will look at them and try to defend the set pieces better."
Albirex moved up one spot to fourth on 11 points after the win, while the Young Lions, who will face league leaders Brunei DPMM on Wednesday, remain eighth in the nine-team SPL.
In yesterday's other match, Balestier Khalsa drew 1-1 with Tampines Rovers at Bishan Stadium.
Football: Tributes pour in for Stoke's England World Cup
Tampines Rovers Football Club, commonly known as Tampines Rovers or simply Rovers, is a professional After many name changes, they finally decided on "Tampines Rovers" as the official club name. Former player Isa Halim was brought in to be the fitness coach, together with goalkeeper coach Team Manager: Leonard Koh. Head Coach: Kadir Yahaya. First Team Coach: Gavin Lee.
Tampines Rovers Fc | World News
Spurs blasted for lacking hunger, mental strength. Wizard Hazard rescues a point for Blues. China could be dethroned: Ryu. Quah wraps up Pac-12 with second individual gold. Leaving it all on the
Mauricio Pochettino accuses Tottenham of 'arrogance' and
Shape up or ship out: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer warns his Manchester United squad they must be fit before pre-season or they will not go on tour. dailymail.co.uk - Joe Bernstein. Manchester United players have been given strict training programmes for their summer holidays — and been told to reach peak fitness before they …
Step Up or Ship Out - YouTube
Liverpool Held at Everton to Surrender Top Spot in Premier League Fabinho was also guilty of wasting a big opportunity 21 minutes from time as Lucas Digne cleared when the Brazilian took an age to control Virgil van Dijk's knockdown.
Liverpool held at Everton to surrender top spot in Premier
Football: Double injury blow for Spurs ahead of Liverpool clash Eric Dier sustains an injury during the Euro 2020 qualifier between England and the Czech Republic. PHOTO: EPA-EFE
Double injury blow for Spurs ahead of Liverpool clash | SBS News
Leicester welcome Rodgers with win, Newcastle end Burnley run. New boss in the stands after agreeing terms earlier in day
Leicester welcome Rodgers with win, Newcastle end Burnley run
Jurgen Klopp believes his Liverpool squad could not have done more to take their first ever Premier League title after falling just short to Manchester City on the last day of the season.
Jun 10, 2019 · Joseph Chipolina's own-goal and a late effort from substitute Robbie Brady handed the Republic of Ireland a Euro 2020 qualifying victory over Gibraltar. On a night when 36,281 turned up at the
Own goal helps Ireland edge Gibraltar 2-0 | Reuters.com
5 things to know about Liverpool's 4-0 Champions League win
The Cubs are also known as "the North Siders", a reference to the location of Wrigley Field within the city of Chicago, and in contrast to the Chicago White Sox, whose home field, Guaranteed Rate Field, is located on the South Side. Chicago Cubs won the MLB World Series 3 times but have 17 National League Pennants.
Chicago Cubs News, Scores, Status, Schedule - MLB
Young Lions stay in hunt for finals. Mar 25, 2019, 5:00 am. Brains over brawn. Mar 25, 2019, 5:00 am. Football: Singapore Under-22s hold group top seeds North Korea to keep AFC Championship hopes
Lions learning to hunt - Africa Geographic
0 Kommentare:
Kommentar veröffentlichen