Stalemate at Eastern Derby

Geylang International Football Club Head Coach Noor Ali was pleased to clinch a point as the Eagles and Tampines Rovers battled to a 1-1 draw in the AIA Singapore Premier League season opener at Our Tampines Hub (OTH) on Saturday.

French hotshot Vincent Bezecourt gave the eagles a dream start as early as the second minute when he volleyed home inside the penalty area from Akmal Azman’s right-wing cross to swiftly spark the Eastern Derby into life.

But a lapse of concentration by the Eagles’ defence proved costly as Tampines managed to draw level through Faris Ramli in the 16th minute.

Faris, the Stag’s marque signing from Lion City Sailors, made the most of the through pass by Kyoga Nakamura as he calmly controlled it before beating Hafiz Ahmad from close range.

Geylang proved they were the better side for the most part of the game and nearly secured their second strike through attempts from Bezecourt, Takahiro Tezuka and Iqbal Hussain in the 56th, 77th and 79th respectively, with two of them being denied by Tampines custodian Syazwan Buhari’s brilliance.

Said Noor after the match: “The Eastern Derby is always bound to be physical and closely contested, today was no exception.

“I’m happy with the team performance, it was a good start to the season. Even with just one point, it’s very important for us to move into the next game.

“I’m very happy with Danish Haziq, who worked really hard after he came on. I thought Naufal (Azman) also did very well as the striker. It’s not easy to be a local number nine in the SPL, he was brilliant.

“We can expect him to get even better as the season progresses.

“Our defence led by Sakuma also did a good job to keep Boris Kopitovic, the last year’s SPL top scorer, quiet throughout the game.

“All in all, it’s nice to see a very good team effort. The boys put in a lot of hard work to play against Tampines knowing that they are one of the league contenders.”

There will be little time to rest as Geylang will host the Young Lions next on Tuesday.

Added Noor: “It’s not going to be easy against any team in SPL this season, not even the Young Lions.

“They have strengthened up with two foreigners and have nothing to lose, so it makes it even tougher to play against them.

“We want to bring the same kind of intensity into the next game and we want to score our first win of the season.”