Eagles reclaim fourth place with 4-2 win over the Tigers

Geylang International reclaimed their fourth spot in the AIA Singapore Premier League after defeating Balestier Khalsa 4-2 at Toa Payoh Stadium on Friday night.

With Tanjong Pagar United falling to a 3-1 defeat against Lion City Sailors in the corresponding fixture, the Eagles now hold a slender point lead over the Jaguars with one game remaining.

Sime Zuzul could have got the Eagles off to a dream start within a minute of the match.

However, he lost control of the ball after trying to toe-poke it past Rudy Khairullah.

After another two missed opportunities, the Croatian made no mistake this time around as he broke the deadlock in the 22nd minute with an easy tap-in from inside the six-yard box.

Zulfairuuz Rudy, who was deputising for the injured Zaiful Nizam, then pulled off a superb save from Shuhei Hoshino to deny the Tigers their equaliser five minutes later.

The Eagles continued to dominate possession but could not convert many of their chances. They were made to pay when Ryoya Taniguchi got Balestier back into the game after firing in a loose ball with four minutes left in the first half.

Ilhan Noor rewrote the script again as he rose above the Tigers’ defence to head in a cross from Hazzuwan Halim, restoring Geylang International’s advantage right at half-time.

Tajeli Salamat pulled the Eagles further ahead four minutes after the restart as he fired his second goal of the season with a powerful drive into the bottom left corner.

Tajeli then got his brace with another shot that found the roof of the net in the 90th minute before Daniel Goh got the home side their late consolation goal in stoppage time.

Noor Ali, Head Coach of Geylang International, said: “We could have doubled the score had we been more clinical in front of goal. Nevertheless, it is a good result for us as we are now back in fourth place, considering we were languishing near the bottom of the table in the middle of the season.”

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