Defeat at home for Eagles against the Sailors

The Eagles were made to pay for their defensive lapses as they were beaten 3-0 at home by Lion City Sailors.

The match was evenly poised in the first half until a mistake by Afiq Yunos in the 32nd minute gifted Faris Ramli with a clear shot at goal, which he duly converted to give the Sailors the lead at Our Tampines Hub (OTH).

Song Uiyoung then doubled the Sailors’ lead seven minutes later when he slammed the ball home after a deflected cross from Tajeli Selamat.

The Eagles tried to stage a fightback after the break with Matheus Moresche coming close in the 53rd minute. However, his shot was well blocked by Hassan Sunny. They continued to press hard for their breakthrough but could not find a way past the Sailor’s resolute defence.

With five minutes of regulation time left, Moresche threatened the Sailors goal again but saw his header flew just inches over the bar after a fine cross by Fareez Farhan.

The Sailors struck again a minute later when substitute Hafiz Nor smashed home Sailor’s third goal to seal all three points for the away team.

Geylang International Head Coach Noor Ali said: “We were made to pay for our defensive mistakes but that’s football. Credit to Lion City Sailors and good luck to them in the title race.”

With their win, Lion City Sailors lead the Singapore Premier League on goal difference over Albirex Niigata with one game left to play for the current league leader.

Lineup: Zaiful Nizam, Ilhan Noor (Danny Kim 76’), Umar Akhbar, Amy Recha, Barry Maguire, Matheus Moresche, Harith Kanadi, Asshukrie Wahid (Fareez Farhan 63), Izzdin Shafiq (Darren Teh 72), Yuki Ichikawa (C), Afiq Yunos