Eagles remain in hunt for top-4 finish after crucial victory over Brunei DPMM

Geylang International intensified their pursuit of a top-half finish in the Singapore Premier League by securing a crucial 2-1 victory over Brunei DPMM at the Jalan Besar Stadium on Friday.

While remaining in fifth place, the Eagles’ second successive win brought them to within just three points of fourth-placed Balestier Khalsa.

Iqbal Hussain set the tone for Geylang International in the 16th minute when his powerful low shot from outside the box hit the left post.

The Eagles continued to heap pressure on DPMM’s defence and found success five minutes later through Gareth Low’s opening goal.

Positioning himself well in the six-yard box, Gareth headed in a brilliant cross from Yushi Yamaya.

DPMM had one glorious chance to pull one back when they got the spot kick in the 32nd minute, but Hafiz Ahmad came to the Eagles’ rescue with a brilliant block on Hakeme Yazid’s attempt on the left.

Geylang continued their dominance and took just three minutes after the restart to double the advantage.

Yamaya was the provider again and it was Naufal Azman who capitalised on the delightful pass with an easy tap-in for his fifth goal of the season.

Iqbal could have made it 3-0 but he got unlucky for the second time in the evening with a fine long-range effort struck the top right corner of the post this time.

Geylang’s failure to secure a bigger deficit nearly cost them dearly as they had to endure a late scare in the last 10 minutes of the game.

Hakeme finally got DPMM’s first goal in the 83rd minute through a swift counter-attack before nearly equalising in the second minute of the stoppage time.

Fortunately for The Eagles, Hakeme could not reach the low cross from his teammate in front of the unguarded post.

DPMM had one golden opportunity to pull one back when they were awarded a spot kick in the 32nd minute, but Hafiz Ahmad came to the Eagles’ rescue with a spectacular block on Hakeme Yazid’s attempt to the left.

Geylang continued their dominance, taking just three minutes after the restart to double their lead.

Yamaya was the provider again, with Naufal Azman capitalising on the exquisite pass with an easy tap-in, his fifth goal of the season.

Iqbal could have extended the lead to 3-0, but he was left frustrated for the second time that evening when his fine long-range effort struck the top right corner of the post.

Geylang’s failure to secure a more substantial lead nearly cost them dearly as they had to endure a tense finale in the last 10 minutes of the match.

Hakeme finally scored DPMM’s first goal in the 83rd minute with a swift counter-attack before nearly equalising in the second minute of stoppage time.

Fortunately for the Eagles, Hakeme couldn’t reach the low cross from his teammate in front of the unguarded post.

Complicating matters further for Geylang, they had to play the final three minutes a man down after Amirul Adli was sent off upon receiving a second booking. However, they managed to hold on to the 2-1 scoreline until the final whistle.

Head coach Noor Ali said: “I’m pleased with the result, but not the first-half performance because we were very scrappy.

“We played to DPMM’s momentum and tempo because they were trying to hit the ball behind us and then we started to follow what they’re going to do.

“The second half was much better in terms of keeping the ball. Actually, we made things difficult for ourselves in the last 10 minutes especially when we should have killed the game at 3-0, with Iqbal missing two chances and Yamaya too.

“The last five minutes almost gave me a heart attack!

“There’s still three more games to play, I’m glad that we managed to keep the winning ways.”