By Song Sung Hai

A sense of foreboding may have clouded the atmosphere over at Queenstown in the light of a recent patchy run which culminated in last week’s capitulation at the hands of the Protectors. The Jaguars, this time, surprised everyone on the night, perhaps even themselves, at Jalan Besar Stadium as they conjured up a brilliant attacking masterpiece which had the Stags scampering wildly in defence. The game ended one apiece but the general sentiments point to the Jaguars being unlucky to not have brought home the three points.

Things got rather nervy at the start with Captain Hafiz Osman and Tengku Mushadad needing a bit of time to get reacquainted with each other and there were some scares for sure, the notable being Miljan Mrdakovic’s attempt which rocked the crossbar after muscling off the two. The situation got a lot more calmer after the defensive pair settled down and the Jaguars never looked back.

Frenchman Sebastien Etiemble, now famous for roaming all over the field and dishing out crucial contributions, showed signs of immense familiarity with the S.League now and always knew what needed to be done. Establishing himself somewhat as a set-piece supremo, he came close to scoring in the fourth minute from a free-kick but Hyrulnizam zealously slapped the ball away to safety.

His work in midfield was complemented superbly by the lively and stout Sazali Salleh who, like a cruel step-father, smashed any dreams of castles in the clouds the Stags’ midfield might have harboured. Nor Azli Yusoff played the part of the evil step-mother well in the defensive half of midfield as he studiously swept away any joy the Stags had hoped to find in that area.

Sazali’s performance was such that it was his vision that put Monsef Zerka through in the 45th minute. Picking up the ball in his own half, he executed a through-ball, one which was weighted with such a perfection you normally only get from a Karang-Guni man scrutinising the weight of your old newspapers (before giving you mere cents for it), that it caught the Stags’ backline flat-footed and Monsef raced into the box unchallenged.

Monsef Zerka had only Hyrulnizam to beat but he selflessly laid the ball on for Sebastien Etiemble who would find it to be a tall task to miss from that distance and so he chose the easy way out; which was to score.

The normally reliable but safe Ruzaini Zainal suddenly developed a taste for adventure last night. A totally inspired performance saw him turn into a real menace down the flanks and even daring to risk the ire of his opponents by attempting shots at goal. One such attempt was engineered by a partnership with Sazali ‘SuperSaz’ Salleh early on in the game at the 7th minute and his vicious shot from the lay-off would have gotten his team three points had it been a rugby game. Another notable attempt was in the 25th minute with a stinging grounder which forced the Stags’ custodian to stretch and push out for a corner kick.

Firdaus Idros also came out last night and showed more venom in his movements and speed. He had a great chance of scoring in the 30th minute when the Stags’ defence fumbled a clearance and the ball fell at his feet. With only the backtracking Stags custodian to beat, Firdaus ignited a rocket into the atmosphere but it was a good attempt nonetheless.

Masrezwan Masturi also showed his class, making several crucial interceptions in defence and occasionally casually outmuscling the likes of the near immortal Aleksandar Duric and Miljan Mrdakovic.

His partner on the other side of defence, Hanafi Salleh was also equally responsible for cancelling Jamil Ali out of the game. Both Hanafi and Masrezwan supported the attack well with timely runs that the Stags could never calculate.

Concerns about Monsef Zerka not scoring a lot this year should not be raised. His high work rate and ability to win high balls in the final third will always cause problems and cause problems it did. His tireless running and off the ball link-ups were of a higher standard and the Stags assigned Abdil Qaiyyim to wrestle him down to the turf whenever possible, which Qaiyyim did to good effect.

Monsef had come close to scoring just a minute after the break but the zeroing was a bit off and it missed the goal only just. Another attempt in the 55th minute, after holding off his defenders superbly, forced Hyrulnizam to make a heroic save with his face and the Stags were rescued by their goalie’s handsome features.

The Stags got their equaliser through a Noh Alam Shah header in the 67th minute and threatened a bit more henceforth but Captain Hafiz Osman was steering a pretty rugged ship amidst the stormy waves and the Jaguars stayed afloat.

It was then in the final minute that a contentious call was made by the referee. A poor clearance by Hyrulnizam slammed into Monsef Zerka and the ball swerved towards M Arvin who had absolutely nothing between him and the goal. The referee blew for a handball on Monsef Zerka even though it looked like it hit Monsef in the back.

Head Coach Patrick Vallee was delighted with the performance of the team and described the draw to be as delightful as a victory.

He added,”The mentality of my players made me very happy. They fought hard, started the game well and created so many chances. We had opportunities to get the second goal but was unlucky not to do so.”

Patrick was especially heartened to see the players fighting hard for each other on the pitch and for the club.

“We will keep up this mentality and look forward always,” he said. “When players who are not available today come back from suspension and injuries, hopefully the squad will get stronger and we will hopefully get better results.”

It was overall a positive experience for the fans and the likes of M Arvin and Seah Si Hao who came on for Masrezwan Masturi and Ruzaini Zainal also impressed with their willingness to take on the opponents with no fear.

Surely the mood at Queenstown will be much brighter after last night!

Till next time!

LINE UPS:
Tanjong Pagar United: Aurelien Herisson, Hafiz Osman, Tengku Mushadad, Masrezwan Masturi(M Arvin ’71), Hanafi Salleh, Nor Azli Yusoff, Sazali Salleh, Sebastien Etiemble, Ruzaini Zainal(Seah Si Hao 60′), Firdaus Idros, Monsef Zerka
Substitutes: Shamsudin Hashim, Shafiq Noh, Seah Si Hao, K Selvenduran, M Arvin, Hafiz Rosli, Firdaus Ali
Cautions: Ruzaini Zainal (32′)

Tampines Rovers: Hyrulnizam Juma’at, Jufri Taha, Fahrudin Mustafic, Shahdan Sulaiman, Aleksandar Duric, Miljan Mrdakovic, Anaz Hadee, Norihiro Kawakami, Jamil Ali, Noh Alam Shah, Abdil Qaiyyim
Substitutes: Ismadi Mukhtar, Ridhuan Barudin, Matthew Abraham, Roberto Martinez, Ang Zhi Wei, Luis Closa, Joseph Taylor

Referee: Muhd Taqi
Asst Referee 1: Edwin Lee
Asst Referee 2: Manoj Kalwani
Fourth Official: Daniel Wong