Yes, they Ken

COACH OF THE MONTH

NAOKI NARUO
ALBIREX NIIGATA

Five matches, five wins, 11 goals scored and just one conceded.

Albirex will be very happy with their haul in April. Naruo deserves credit for having the guts to make drastic changes to his side in a bid to snap a three-game winless run.

He redeployed his star striker as a wing back, moved his wing back to central defence, and replaced a ball-playing central midfielder with one who possesses more battling qualities.

All that certainly did the trick, and the White Swans now sit pretty at the S.League's summit.

KEN ILSO

Home United

The classy Dane followed up a great March with an even better April, scoring four times in five games. At times, he looked unplayable

JERMAINE PENNANT

Tampines Rovers

The S.League’s biggest signing had a hand in three of Tampines’ nine goals last month and often looked their most exciting player going forward.

AZHAR SAIRUDIN

Home United

Returned from a knee injury to play an influential role in Home’s resurgence, as they lost just once in five matches last month.

KENTO NAGASAKI

Albirex Niigata

The Albirex No. 10’s versatility shone through in April, as he excelled as a deep-lying playmaker and also in a more advanced role behind the striker.

CARLOS DELGADO

Geylang Int’l

The Argentine schemer started last month with two goals in two games, and was always a threatening presence in the attacking third.

IZZDIN SHAFIQ

Tampines Rovers

His stabilising presence in the middle of the park gave the Stags a balance that they sorely miss when the 25-year-old is not in the side.

HAFIZ ABU SUJAD

Tampines Rovers

Had a strong end to April, producing a Man-of-the-Match performance in the 1-0 win over Geylang, before bagging a brace in the 4-2 win over Warriors FC nine days later.

SHAKIR HAMZAH

Tampines Rovers

Has played every minute of Tampines’ five matches in April and helped the Stags keep two clean sheets. Also scored in the 2-1 win over the Young Lions.

KENTO FUJIHARA

Albirex Niigata

Brave and uncompromising, the 24-year-old Alessandro Nesta fan has been a rocksolid presence in an Albirex defence that conceded just once in five games.

ATSUSHI KAWATA

Albirex Niigata

The bizarre conversion into a wingback proved to be the tonic the striker needed, as he scored six goals in five games last month to go top of the scorers’ chart.

ZAIFUL NIZAM

Balestier Khalsa

The Tigers’ skipper has stood firm in what has been a tough season for Balestier. His flying saves helped keep the score down in defeats by Tampines and Brunei DPMM.