Eagles’ wings clipped with defeat to Brunei DPMM

Geylang International was unable to maintain their winning momentum in the Singapore Cup, succumbing to a 4-1 defeat against Brunei DPMM at Our Tampines Hub on Sunday evening.

The Eagles got off to a promising start as early as the ninth minute, with Iqbal Hussain beating goalkeeper Kristijan Naumovski from the spot after being fouled inside the penalty area.

However, Geylang International couldn’t sustain the advantage, as DPMM equalised in the 23rd minute with a shot from Hakeme Yazid that deflected off Joshua Pereira and found the back of the net.

Fifteen minutes later, DPMM doubled their lead when an unmarked Farshad Noor unleashed a close-range shot, giving Rudy Khairullah no chance.

Just two minutes before half-time, Andrey Voronkov inadvertently deflected Farshad Noor’s effort into the net, granting the visitors a commanding two-goal lead.

The odds continued to mount against Geylang International as they were reduced to 10 men following the dismissal of Naufal Azman.

Naufal was shown a straight red card after the referee deemed he raised his elbow in an off-ball incident in the 54th minute.

With the numerical advantage, Hanif Farhan extended the lead to 4-1 in the 68th minute with a strike from outside the box, securing DPMM’s second win and propelling them to the top of Group A with seven points.

As for the Eagles, they face an uphill battle after falling to fourth in the group with three points.

Head coach Noor Ali expressed disappointment with the result but remains optimistic about their chances of advancing to the next round.

“It’s certainly disheartening to lose the match after such a strong start. Our defensive efforts need significant improvement, and conceding goals the way we did tonight is simply unacceptable,” remarked Noor.

“With two games still ahead of us, everything remains at stake. We’ll regroup and come back even stronger in our next match against Tampines.”

ends.