The RHB Singapore Cup dream is over for the Jaguars. A 4-1 defeat for a nine-man Jaguars side after Ahmad Latiff and Hafiz Osman were given their marching orders at Queenstown Stadium sent the Jaguars out of the tournament.

More than lapses in concentration at the back which once again cost us the game, yet more dubious refereeing decisions marred the night.

The first half was devoid of much action but it was the Jaguars who threatened early and what seemed like a legitimate goal when Firdaus Idros chested in a curling Ruzaini Zainal cross was ruled out for offside.

Mistakes at the back allowed Anaz Hadee to slip in and score the first goal for his team in the 33rd minute with a curler into the top corner leaving Aurelien Herisson no chance at all. A mere six minutes later, Mrdakovic raced clear of all defenders amidst suspicions of being offside and had no trouble sidestepping Aurelien for his goal.

The Jaguars came on strongly in the second half with Ahmad Latiff assuming an attacking role upfront alongside Monsef Zerka and the move paid off in the 61st minute. Jinking past the defenders, Ahmad Latiff made his way into the box and was brought down. The referee had no choice but to point to the spot and Sebastien Etiemble scored to narrow down the gap.

Alas it meant nothing when in the 70th minute, Anthony Aymard took an elbow from Noh Alam Shah when both jumped for an aerial challenge. It resulted in Anthony having a gash on his forehead but the referee saw nothing wrong with the challenge. Anthony could not continue after that and was subsequently replaced by Tengku Mushadad.

A livid Ahmad Latiff took out the legs of Mustafic Fahrudin a minute after game resumed and received a straight red for his troubles. In the ensuing discussion with the referee, Hafiz Osman earned himself a second yellow card and hit the showers alongside Ahmad Latiff.
With nine men on the pitch, it was no surprise then that the Stags hit twice more through Jozef Kaplan in the 83rd minute and Noh Alam Shah in injury time.

A resigned Jaguars Head Coach could not hide his disappointment at the manner of his team’s exit but did not blame his players for lack of trying.

He said, “They did very well in the first-leg. They followed the game plan and tonight they also stuck to it well. Unfortunately if the luck is not for you, everything will go against you like their first goal. It was a bad bounce for us but a good one for them and it resulted in a goal for them. That is football.”

Patrick however stressed the importance of not giving up for his team and looks forward to the Starhub League Cup.

“We can always come back better next season and now we look forward to the League Cup which begins next Monday. We must also look to performing better for the remaining games of the league,” he added.

Lineups:

Tanjong Pagar United: Aurelien Herisson, Anthony Aymard, Hafiz Osman, Ruzaini Zainal, Asraf Rashid, Ahmad Latiff(C), Sazali Salleh, Sebastien Etiemble, Kamel Ramdani, Firdaus Idros, Monsef Zerka
Substitutes: SHamsudin Hashim, Hanafi Salleh, Tengku Mushadad, Zahid Ahmad, Shafiq Noh, Nor Azli Yusoff, Zairul Bin Rahmat
Head Coach:Patrick Vallee
Cautions: Sebastien Etiemble(64′), Hafiz Osman (11′,70′)
Sent offs: Ahmad Latiff, Hafiz Osman

Tampines Rovers: Justin Pasfield, Kunihiro Yamashita, Anaz Hadee, Matthew Abraham, Ismadi Mukhtar, Fahrudin Mustafic (C), Shahdan Sulaiman, Miljan Mrdakovic, Jacob Butler, Jamil Ali, Jozef Kaplan
Substitutes:Ridhuan Barudin, SHariff Samat, Abdil Qaiyyim, Imran Sahib, Aleksandar Duric, Noh ALam Shah, Ang Zhi Wei
Head Coach:Rafi Ali
Cautions: Jacob Butler(15′)

Referee: Farhad Mohd
Asst Ref 1: Lim Kok Heng
Asst Ref 2: Mohd Ridwan Ali
Fourth Official: Jansen Foo