We’ve shown character: Noor
Eagles’ Head Coach Noor Ali was thrilled with his side’s reaction as they secured a morale-boosting 3-0 win against Balestier Khalsa with a dominant display at the Jalan Besar Stadium last night.
Noor got the much-needed response after The Eagles went down 6-1 at home to reigning champions Albirex Niigata to mark their heaviest defeat yet this season.
Goals from former Balestier Khalsa’s men Iqbal Hussain and Gareth Low, and Yushi Yamaya ensured Geylang International are back trending in the right direction as they head into the first-round break in fourth spot on 13 points.
“This is very important three points, it was nice to score three goals and keep a clean sheet,” said Noor.
“The team also really understand that after the 6-1 loss, we have to bounce back and show a bit more character.
“Credit to Balestier, they were playing good football, moved the ball around very well and made things hard for us.
“But I think we’re fired up and driven by our objective to finish the first round on a positive note.”
It wasn’t until the 31st minute that The Eagles managed to break the deadlock through Iqbal when he pounced on the loose ball in the penalty box after his initial strike was denied by the crossbar.
Geylang International’s top scorer, Yamaya, doubled the advantage in the 40th minute to bring his season tally to five.
The former Yokohama Marinos man outpaced his marker before unleashing a low left-foot shot to beat Hairul Syihan for the second time.
Midfielder Gareth made it a night to remember in the 77th minute after capitalising on Hairul’s poor clearance that went direct to him before powering the ball into an unguarded goalpost.
Noor was in full praise of his players, particularly those observing the Ramadhan month, as they managed to sustain a high-intensity performance for the entire 90 minutes.
“That’s the way I want my team to play, it’s a bit difficult because you need a certain level of fitness. You can see the players start lying down a bit and we also understand that the Muslim boys are fasting.
“I think they were brilliant and fantastic throughout the game.”
Ends.