Noor demands more even as Eagles top league table

Geylang International Football Club Head Coach Noor Ali has demanded more from his side despite notching their first win of the season with a 4-2 victory over the Young Lions on Tuesday to move to the top of the AIA Singapore Premier League table.

Playing in front of the passionate home fans at the Our Tampines Hub (OTH), including invited guests from Extra Ordinary People- a charity organisation that supports people with special needs, Geylang staged an impressive comeback thanks to an unlikely quick double salvo from centre-back Rio Sakuma in the 64th and 70th minutes.

The Young Lions drew the first blood in the seventh minute when left-back Harith Kanadi’s strike inside the penalty box took a deflection off Sakuma before finding the top left corner of the net.

Former Yokohama Marinos striker Yushi Yamaya then put the home side back into the game as he calmly converted from the spot in the 25th minute after he was brought down by Jared Gallagher.

Ending 1-1 at half-time, the crowd had yet to see the best of the match.

Seven minutes after the break, the Young Lions regained the lead courtesy of Jun Kobayashi’s header but the visitors’ joy was shortlived when Naufal Azman easily tapped in a low cross from Yamaya from the right wing to make it 2-2.

Just when Geylang needed one player to make a difference, it was Sakuma who rose to the occasion.

The Japanese star proved that he can be deadly too by converting both corner kick set-pieces in a short span of six minutes – one each with his head and right foot.

Said Noor after the match: “I wasn’t too happy with the first-half performance, I thought we could have done better.

“But at the start of the game, the pitch (condition) made it hard for us to play our game. Credit to the Young Lions for giving us a very good fight in the first 60 minutes.

“What matters most to us is the crucial first three points of the season.

“I’m happy with the three points, but in terms of performance we definitely have to be better than this game because against Hougang next (on Sunday), we’re not going to have it easy.”

Meanwhile, Noor also raised his concerns over his side’s disciplinary record in the early season following the sending of Akmal Azman in the 80th minute, after he appeared to have hit his opponent with the elbow.

Akmal was initially given a yellow card, only for the referee to overturn the decision and show him a direct red instead after a VAR review.

“It’s definitely a big concern as we too have many yellow cards and it’s only two matches into the season,” lamented Noor.

“With a very thin squad, we can’t afford many suspensions. Akmal is a very important player for us, but we have to move on and give other Under-21 players a shot to fill his void.”

Ends.