By Song Sung Hai

It was a glorious showcase of football played on the wet pitch of Hougang Stadium as the Jaguars came close to scalping the Cheetahs but fell short in the final ten minutes and had to settle for a 1-1 draw.

The Cheetahs began the game brightly and it took under a minute for Diego Gama to register a header at goal which went straight into the palms of Aurelien Herisson. From then on though, the Jaguars took control and kept the Cheetahs busy defending their fortress.

Monsef Zerka came close in the 5^th minute with a header off a cross by Firdaus Idros, who also had a brilliant outing. Monsef’s header though, whizzed just wide off the post and his goal will have to wait.

Another close attempt saw Sebastien drilling in a low cross hard and M Arvin managed to slice it off his foot but the ball swerved just wide, this time off the right side. Monsef and Ruzaini both found openings in the 30^th and 34^th minute respectively but their shots went straight at Hougang custodian Fadhil Salim.

A long awaited Kamel Ramdani magic in the 37^th minute then had the Jaguars finally taking the lead and breaching the Cheetahs’ tight defence. Firdaus Idros had gotten the ball right outside the box where he was brought down by Nurhilmi Jasni. The referee immediately blew for the obvious foul.

Kamel Ramdani let loose a delicate curler over the wall of bodies and the ball floated sweetly into the right corner of goal, evading the diving Fadhil Salim along the way.

The Cheetahs had their share of sporadic chances and six minutes into the scond half, Shunsuke Nakatake headed wide with only Aurelien to beat. The Jaguars once again resumed their attacking forays and the Cheetahs had to fight hard in the middle in order to stay alive.

It took all of 84 minutes for the Cheetahs to claw their way back. Diego Gama held the ball well outside the box and spotted a lurking Lau Meng Meng. A perfectly weighted through-pass later saw Lau Meng Meng ghost in from behind Ruzaini Zainal and he did not falter with only Aurelien left to beat and the Cheetahs drew level.

The last five minutes saw several scares and the closest were two chances by Lau Meng Meng. One saw him heading the ball over the bar at point blank and his other attempt was intercepted by Ruzaini Zainal right on the line.

Head Coach Patrick Vallee hailed the fighting spirit of his lads, especially coming back after the disappointing defeat against Harimau Muda last week. He was impressed by his team’s desire to win even if it was not to be.

“If we had scored two or three goals in the first half then things would have been different,” he said. “We did not have a two goal lead so with only one goal to defend, things can happen. This time, it happened in the last ten minutes and they equalised but I am sure my team will start winning soon.”

Patrick Vallee also mentioned that the team will focus now on the Singapore Cup, with it being a different competition requiring different approach, and hopes the team can get good results in the Cup competition.

The Jaguars will now face Hougang United again next Monday at Queenstown Stadium for the first round of the Singapore Cup and if tonight’s game was anything to go by, it is bound to be an explosive affair.

Till next time!

LINE UPS:

Tanjong Pagar United: Aurelien Herisson, Hafiz Osman, Tengku Mushadad, Ahmad Latiff(c), Ruzaini Zainal (Shafiq Noh 90’), Asraf Rashid, Firdaus Idros, M Arvin (Justin Khiang 64’), Kamel Ramdani, Sebastien Etiemble, Monsef Zerka

Head Coach: Patrick Vallee

Substitutes: Shamsudin Hashim, Shafiq Noh, Zairul Rahmat, Lucas Jester, Firdaus Ali, Justin Khiang, Seah Si Hao

Hougang United: Fadhil Salim, Igor Cerina, Wahyudi Wahid, Firman Hanif, Nakatake Shunsuke, Fazli Jaffar, Azhar Sairudin, Nurhilmi Jasni, Erwan Gunawan, Diego Gama, Geison Moura

Head Coach: Mohd Amin Nasir

Substitutes: Nazri Sabri, Syaqir Sulaiman, Fairoz Hassan, Benedict Chua, Haidil Sufian, Durica Zuparic, Lau Meng Meng

Referee: Muhd Taqi

Asst Referee 1: Manoj Kalwani

Asst Referee 2: C M Subash

Fourth Official: Ahmad A’Qashah