Geylang fight back for another draw
Winless run extends to five games, but Geylang coach Hasrin is happy enough
GEYLANG INT'L 2
(Stanely Ng 24, Amy Recha 46)
HOME UNITED 2
(Ken Ilso 14, Al-Qaasimy Rahman-og 38)
They went behind twice last night, but showed great resolve in fighting back to end their Great Eastern-Yeo's S.League clash with Home United with a 2-2 draw at the Jalan Besar Stadium.
Geylang coach Hasrin Jailani thought a draw was a fair result.
The result means the Eagles have now drawn four and lost one of their last five games, and speaking after the game, Hasrin said: "I think a point for us, after looking at our first-half performance, is good enough. We came back strong in the second-half but we could not put away our chances.
"Although I'm pleased with today's result, we can't always draw because it's not good for us in the long run.
"If we want to be among the best teams in the S.League, we need to win."
In a game of two halves, Home dominated the first 45 minutes, displaying free-flowing football as they stretched the Eagles.
The Protectors' sustained pressure paid off in the 14th minute.
A moment of individual brilliance from Khairul Nizam near the penalty box was followed up by a neat lay-off to Shamil Sharif, who whipped in a delicious cross which was met well by Ken Ilso, who powered home his header off the crossbar.
But the lead lasted only 10 minutes as Home's defensive frailties returned.
BOTCHED CLEARANCE
A botched clearance in the Home penalty box fell kindly to Stanely Ng, who made no mistake from three metres out.
The equaliser jolted Home and Philippe Aw's men pushed forward again.
They were rewarded for their adventurous play with a goal in the 38th minute.
After a nice passage of play, Nizam rose high to meet Sirina Camara's perfectly weighted cross, and his effort was turned into goal via an unfortunate deflection by Al-Qaasimy Rahman.
The second half was nothing like the first as Geylang showed great intensity.
Moments after the restart, they equalised via Amy Recha.
With his back to goal, the 23-year-old did well to control a cross by Safirul Sulaiman, and after an instinctive turn, fired home to restore parity.
From that point on, both teams threw caution to the wind as they went in search of the winner.
Geylang came close in the 80th minute when substitute Sahil Suhaimi did brilliantly to race past three defenders before firing at goal. But he was denied by Abdil Qayyim's last-ditch block.
A better chance fell to Nizam, who was put through on goal by an inch-perfect pass from substitute Aqhari Abdullah. But, with only the goalkeeper to beat, the Singapore international scuffed his shot.
Speaking after the match, Home coach Aw said: "What's important for the boys is they learn from their mistakes and improve for future games.
"We are a very young team and we need to give them time and they will come of good for sure.
"If you look at our performance today, it was good but a few defensive mistakes cost us the three points.
"We will keep plugging away and hopefully our fortunes will change."
GEYLANG INTERNATIONAL: Syazwan Buhari, Fareetz Hameed, Shariff Samat (Yuki Ichikawa 46), Daniel Bennett, Al-Qaasimy Rahman, Isa Halim, Stanely Ng (Sahil Suhaimi 79), Carlos Delgado, Safirul Sulaiman, Gabriel Quak, Amy Recha
HOME UNITED: Hyrulnizam Jumaat, Jumaat Jantan, Sharin Shaberin (Zulfahmi Arifin 72), Abdil Qaiyyim, Sirina Camara, Ambroise Begue, Azhar Sairudin (Aqhari Abdullah 76), Shamil Sharif, Syahiran Miswan, Khairul Nizam (Amir Zahid 87), Ken Ilso
TNP MAN OF THE MATCH: AMY RECHA (Geylang International)
OTHER RESULT:
- Brunei DPMM 3 Balestier Khalsa 1
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