Eagles suffer heavy defeat away from home

Geylang International’s winless run continued after they fell to an 8-2 defeat by Albirex Niigata at the Jurong East Stadium on Friday. 
 
The Eagles remain in seventh place in the Singapore Premier League with six points from 10 games.
 
Geylang International fired the first salvo as early as the fourth minute when Vincent Bezecourt made a precise pass on to the run of Sime Zuzul, who just could not get enough control over the ball to steer it into the back of the net.
 
The deadlock was broken in the 10th minute when Albirex Niigata’s Zamani Zamri swung a cross into an unmark Kodai Tanaka, who made no mistake with his header from close range. 
 
The Eagles then drew level off a set-piece where Bezecourt found Takahiro Tezuka on the far right in the 27th minute. The Japanese nodded the ball into the path of Abdil Qaiyyim, who calmly headed the ball into the open goal.
 
A lapse in concentration at the back saw the White Swans score twice in five minutes just before the break. Another header by Tanaka off a corner by Masaya Idetsu in the 39th minute pulled Albirex ahead before Zamani extended their advantage by slamming the ball home after a scramble inside the six-yard box. 
 
It appeared to be game on just four minutes after the break when Zuzul scored his fifth goal of the season with a powerful finish off a corner. However, the White Swans restored their two-goal advantage in the 63rd minute when Idetsu picked out Masahiro Sugita from the right flank, who slotted the ball into the back of the net.
 
Kan Kobayashi then got his name onto the score sheet after another header off a corner from Idetsu in the 69th minute before Kodai Tanaka scored the sixth goal for Albirex Niigata by firing the ball into the corner of the net after a neat backheel by Ilhan Fandi three minutes later.
 
In the 80th minute, Kobayashi scored his second goal of the evening with a fierce volley before the Eagles conceded their eight-goal five minutes later when Ilhan slotted the ball past Zaiful Nizam. 
 
Geylang International Head Coach Noor Ali said: “We could not deal with most of their set pieces and paid the price for our defensive mistakes. It has been a disappointing evening, and we need to reflect and work on ways to improve during the international break.”