Eagles put to the sword by Sailors

Geylang International were thumped 8-0 by Lion City Sailors at the Singapore Premier League match at Our Tampines Hub on Sunday night.

The match was evenly poised at least up to the half-time mark. In fact, the score-line could have been vastly different within the opening minute had Christopher van Huizen scored from Sailors left-back Nur Adam Abdullah’s careless centre.

The Eagles were then made to pay when Gabriel Quak tapped in the opener after seven minutes from Justin Hui’s cut back.

The Eagles had their chance to equalise minutes later but Amy Recha’s instinctive header off Nur Luqman’s potshot landed on the right side of the post in the eighth minute. He was left to rue another missed chance after firing straight at Hassan Sunny three minutes later.

The Eagles continued to look dangerous and Hassan Sunny was once again up to the task, pulling off a double save from Luqman’s point-blank header and Firdaus Kasman’s follow-up from a Fareez Farhan’s corner in the 13th minute?

The Eagles were made to pay for their profligacy as the Sailors quickly made it 3-0 through goals from $3 million man Diego Lopes and 2020 Young Player of the Year Saifullah Akbar by the 23rd minute.

A defensive error in the 37th minute ended what’s left of the Eagles resistance as Lopes slammed in his second.

By the final whistle, Lopes had completed his hat-trick, while last season’s topscorer Stipe Plazibat and 2020 Player of the Year Quak both bagged a brace, and if not for at least half a dozen good saves by Zainol Gulam, Geylang could have suffered a bigger loss.

The result meant Geylang slip to seventh in the eight-team SPL with four points from six games, ahead of winless Young Lions by two points and behind Tanjong Pagar on goal difference.

Eagles head coach Noor Ali said: “We just got to stay positive and move on from here. There is no way to go but up. It has been a very bad spell. We just got to start all over again and focus on what we need to do to start winning again.”

Lineup: Zainol Gulam; Darren Teh, Yuki Ichikawa, Izzdin Shafiq, Harith Kanadi (Matheus Moresche 46); Nur Luqman (Azri Suhaili 78), Elijah Lim, Firdaus Kasman, Christopher van Huizen; Amy Recha, Fareez Farhan (Sylvano Comvalius 58)