The Reviewer: Keep those goals coming

The Reviewer: Keep those goals coming

Tam Cheong Yan
info@sleague.com

If anyone is into watching football purely for the goals, then the past week of action would have been a most rewarding one for those who turned up for all the games.

After all, a grand total of 22 hits over five games, averaging out to a very decent 4.4 per night of football, is an exceptionally good return. Taking into account the fact that, off the top of this writer’s head, most European top flights average lower than three goals a game, you have to admit that this has been one bumper week.

And yes, that includes the Friday. After two consecutive goalless draws in front of the television cameras, there were whispers that whoever handled the fixtures might have been deliberately looking to mess with television viewers’ minds. Heck, there were even calls for big games like Tampines Rovers vs SAFFC to be moved to Fridays instead, just so you could see a few goals.

But it looks like Balestier Khalsa coach Salim Moin really meant it when he said he did not want to see his side turn into draw specialists. They came out all ready to bare the claws against Geylang United, and even after the dismissal of Anaz Hadee for a professional foul, there was just no curbing their desire to attack.

It was thus kind of nice to see Kim Young Kwang prove that you can score on Fridays by netting the opener just before the half-time break, and Vitor Borges got his season going with a brace in the second half that made Geylang’s famed defensive line look like papier-mâché.

And oh, in case no one noticed, the Tigers now have the league’s best defensive record, having conceded just one goal in four matches – although that could change when they cross paths with SAFFC in the coming week.

Certainly the Warriors made sure they gave ample warning with a 5-0 demolition of Woodlands Wellington. Indra Sahdan Daud finally broke the 200-goal barrier on his fourth try this season, and Mislav Karoglan grabbed a brace himself.

So it looks like normal service has finally resumed at Choa Chu Kang. Why, the ‘feuding duo’ even made up after the Croat set up Indra’s milestone-reaching first goal of the night!

Woodlands might have sunk to the bottom following that defeat, but they did not spend too much time there after Tanjong Pagar United were thoroughly outclassed by Tampines Rovers two days later.

Weird as it may first seem to suggest it, the Jaguars were lucky to concede just four goals, because despite assertions to the contrary, it did look like many of the Tampines players were consciously holding back on a slick pitch that could have yielded a couple of unwanted injuries.

Steven Tan’s men were denied a clean sheet for the third time in four league games after a Takaya Kawanabe shot from a long way out took an unfortunate deflection off Akihiro Nakamura, leaving Hassan Sunny stranded as the ball looped into goal.

That is one statistic that ought to have the Stags concerned, because on paper they have one of the strongest defences around, even if the numbers do not seem to reflect it. Four goals conceded in as many games is an awkward fact to work with, although it certainly beats Hougang’s 14.

Hougang’s problem, some suggest, is that they do not know how to defend. When you have a former national defender as your senior team coach, that may appear a little odd at first, but porous performances like the one they had put up against Etoile FC on Monday were not at all helpful towards their chase for points. They are third from bottom, and they need results, fast.

And what of Etoile? Well, it would be a little flattering to suggest that four goals against the Cheetahs are proof of the team gelling nicely. But one or two individuals are beginning to stand out for the Stars, not least Maxime Belouet, who is now on three league goals. Watch the boy.

Wrapping up the week, we go to Bishan Stadium, where the atmosphere is getting better even though the pitch is getting worse. Seriously, those whitish patches near the technical areas are bringing back memories of Choa Chu Kang Stadium last season, and with no Youth Olympic Games this time around to enforce a three-month stadium closure, how Home United can bear with the state of the playing field is anyone’s guess.

Bear with it they did, though, and they did enough to cobble together a 2-1 victory over Albirex Niigata (Singapore) on Sunday. Frederic Mendy’s first goal for the Protectors was predictably the talking point for most folks, but in truth Albirex practically gifted their hosts the two goals when critical lapses in concentration allowed Mendy and then Shi Jiayi to profit from improbable situations.

Home were without Kim Dae Eui for this match, although he is expected to return to action the next time they have a game at Bishan. That won’t be for another week, though, so he will probably have to settle for a place in the stands on Friday when the Protectors meet Tanjong Pagar.

Anyone counting on that match to finish goalless?

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and are not intended to represent the views of FAS and the S.League

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