Never conceded a goal at the stroke of half time - that is one of the golden rules of the game.
Which is something Home United is guilty of when they allowed Citizen AA to gain their psychological advantage by doing so with that clinical strike from the left inside the box by their Japanese import Yuto Nakamura.
Given its recent poor form of late, it was doubtful that many at the Bishan Stadium were optimist of a comeback by the Protectors who in their last league match against their "auld enemy" - SAFFC saw them squandered a 2-0 lead before allowed the Warriors to level at 3-3 at the end at Choa Chu Kang.
Yet, a stunning performance in the second half saw the last season's Singapore Cup winners staged a gallant fightback and overturned the table to beat the reigning Hong Kong Senior Challenge Shield winners 3-1 with goals from Shotaro Ihata, Frederic Mendy and Qiu Li, who is widely seen as the man of the match with his tireless wizardry on the right flank.
However, what is to be mentioned is the collective effort in the later half that saw the hosts pulled themselves through the ordeal with their pressing game right from the restart that left the visitors hardly any space for breather which allowed them to stage the comeback.
"I think we didn't play well in the first half and the opponents got a good game plan by playing counter-attacks at us." said Home United coach Lee Lim Saeng at the post-match press conference.
"And because I don't know much about my opponents, that's why I have to check on them during the first half before worked out a solution for the second half and I'm happy that we won tonight as it's good for S.League." added the former Korean international.
Despite the defeat, coach Chu Kwok Kuen is generally pleased with his charges' performance.
"I'm satisfy with the performance tonight and I thought we had a perfect first half, while it was a difficult second half which I believed we were outplayed by Home United." said coach Chu who also attributed climate as another factor for the outcome.
"Overall, it's a good learning experience for the team in terms of playing on international level and I believe we will play a much better next time we meet again in Hong Kong" he added his thoughts which was translated by a club official in attendance.
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Which is something Home United is guilty of when they allowed Citizen AA to gain their psychological advantage by doing so with that clinical strike from the left inside the box by their Japanese import Yuto Nakamura.
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| Yuto Nakamura (14) scored in 45+1 min |
Yet, a stunning performance in the second half saw the last season's Singapore Cup winners staged a gallant fightback and overturned the table to beat the reigning Hong Kong Senior Challenge Shield winners 3-1 with goals from Shotaro Ihata, Frederic Mendy and Qiu Li, who is widely seen as the man of the match with his tireless wizardry on the right flank.
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| Shotaro Ihata (second from right)'s 62nd goal sparked revival |
"I think we didn't play well in the first half and the opponents got a good game plan by playing counter-attacks at us." said Home United coach Lee Lim Saeng at the post-match press conference.
"And because I don't know much about my opponents, that's why I have to check on them during the first half before worked out a solution for the second half and I'm happy that we won tonight as it's good for S.League." added the former Korean international.
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| Qiu Li had a "man-of-match" display against the "Flag Bags" |
"I'm satisfy with the performance tonight and I thought we had a perfect first half, while it was a difficult second half which I believed we were outplayed by Home United." said coach Chu who also attributed climate as another factor for the outcome.
"Overall, it's a good learning experience for the team in terms of playing on international level and I believe we will play a much better next time we meet again in Hong Kong" he added his thoughts which was translated by a club official in attendance.
PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE MATCH PICTURES
Little did I realize that competition rules actually barred photography at post-match presser and a few of the visiting journalists got into some exchanges of words prior to the start...
ReplyDeleteApparently no food and drinks allowed to be sold at stadium this game, we fans had to go nearby Bishan Sports Hall vending machine!
ReplyDeleteHi Wahid,
ReplyDeleteAs what I understand there's such "no branding" rule applies to this tournament.
As such, you may notice that there's any form of advertisement at the stadium (i.e.: A sign, billboard advertisement, etc.)
Therefore, some may be in a rude shock to see drinks and food are not available so long there's a BRAND on these items.