Dominant Eagles soar again with 3-1 win over the Tigers
The Eagles returned to their winning ways with a resounding 3-1 victory over Balestier Khalsa at Our Tampines Hub (OTH) on Sunday.
It was a welcome relief for Head Coach Noor Ali and his charges as they had suffered three consecutive losses prior to the match against the Tigers. The international break could not have been more timely as it gave Noor the opportunity to revise his strategy and strengthen his squad which clearly paid off.
The Eagles piled the early pressure in the opening 10 minutes but it was the Tigers who seized the initiative against the run of play after Sime Zuzul slotted home from the edge of the box to put Balestier Khalsa ahead.
Geylang continued to control much of the ball possession after that early setback and they were duly rewarded with a well-deserved equalizer after Amy Recha finished off a pinpoint pass from Brazilian forward Matheus Moresche in the 39th minute.
The Eagles could have even gone into the break with the advantage had Moresche’s shot had not gone agonisingly wide off the far post in the 40th minute.
When the second half resumed, it did not take long for Geylang to pull ahead for the first time in the match when Moresche flicked the ball pass Riki Kimura to put the Eagles ahead in the 54th minute.
Recha ensured victory for the Eagles eight minutes later when he doubled Geylang’s lead by latching onto a brilliant pass from Barry Maquire before slotting the ball calmly into the back of the net in the 62nd minute.
Noor said: “Credit to the boys. They were fantastic throughout the game and it was good to see all of them putting up a very good performance today. I always believe this group of boys even though we were not getting the results earlier in the season. But they have shown great character today and we can only get better.”
With this victory, the Eagles move up to sixth place on the Singapore Premier League and will take on a resurgent Tanjong Pagar United in an away fixture at the Jurong East stadium next Sunday.
Lineup: Hairul Syirhan, Danny Kim, Amy Recha (Faareez Farhan 89), Barry Maguire, Matheus Moresche, Harith Kanadi, Asshukrie Wahid (Christopher van Huizen 75) , Faizal Roslan, Azri Suhaili (Umar Akhbar 46), Yuki Ichikawa, Afiq Yunos