By Song Sung Hai

As expected, nothing went way out of norm tonight in the Starhub League Cup group tie between the Jaguars and Police SA with the law-enforcers finding themselves at the sorry end of a 7-1 massacre over at Queenstown Stadium earlier.

Head Coach Patrick Vallée opted to bench Kamel Ramdani, Sebastien Etiemble and Anthony Aymard for the tie, preferring not to risk but still had them on the bench just in case. Their services were not needed though as the first half ended with the scoreboard reading 6-0 in our favour.

Captain Ahmad Latiff was once again started upfront to support Monsef Zerka and the dynamic duo were in a class of their own as they tortured the Police defence again and again such that the only way the defending NFL Division 1 champions could have stopped their onslaught was to erect a police line enclosure around the box. Ahmad Latiff got two goals and and assist to his name while compatriot Monsef Zerka garnered a goal and an assist.

It took a mere ten minutes for the first goal to come with Monsef Zerka sending a pass to Ahmad Latiff into the box who had no hesitation in executing a fancy kick which sent the ball in low and past the Police custodian.

Ten minutes later, Ahmad Latiff turned provider to Asraf Rashid who got his name onto the score-sheet with a shot from outside the box which left the goalie rooted. The impressive Ahmad Latiff then went on to get his second of the night in the 42nd minute, slotting in a cross from Zahid Ahmad, who had run all the way down the left flank, leaving the Police defenders for dead in his wake.

Another stellar showing from Firdaus Idros also saw him grabbing his first hat-trick in all competitions. His first came in the 25th minute with a simple follow-up after his initial shot was parried away, his second coming in just seconds before the break, slotting a beauty of a cross in by Nor Azli Yusoff and his third was the team’s seventh which came seven minutes after the restart, this time slotting in a parried Monsef Zerka header.

Another player who showed his class was Nor Azli Yusoff, with his tireless running down the right flank and got two assists to his name for his trouble. One was for Firdaus Idros’ earlier goal and the other came in the 38th minute for Monsef Zerka to nod home.

The Jaguars appeared to take their paws off the gas in the second period of the game, looking more concerned at ending the game without any injuries but still kept some pressure up nonetheless. It gave the Police lads some room to breathe however and they managed to bring the ball into the Jaguars’ half on occasions.

The only Police player to impress on the night, Danial Razali, son of ex-Singapore International Razali Saad, also managed to get a goal for his team in the 69th minute, which is scant consolation for their Starhub League Cup adventure this year.

Danial sighted a through ball in from midfield, chased and got to the ball before any Jaguars did. Sensing Jaguars custodian for the night, Shamsudin Hashim, off his line, Danial took a pot shot from about 20 yards out and his shot rocketed into the top right corner of goal for a solid finish.

An insightful Jaguars Head Coach Patrick Vallée expressed satisfaction at the victory and with the team finishing top of the group but still mused over the challenges that the tournament have provided thus far.

He added, “We can be very happy for reaching the Quarter-Finals of the Starhub League Cup which is the main objective. Police SA, after their 13-0 loss against Albirex, I thought they will find it difficult to come back and play against us but we must congratulate them with their football. They did well and tried their best.”

Patrick also expressed happiness at the way his lads played and managed the game. He thought it was good that the team was able to score 7 goals via various players.

“Different players scored and assisted so it is positive for the team,” he continued. “Now we will look forward to our next game, against who I don’t know yet. Be it Geylang or Warriors, we will play them and we will try to go through to the semi-finals.”

We now await the result of the Geylang International and Warriors FC clash before we know who our opponents will be for the Starhub League Cup Quarter-Finals this coming Friday. It was a morale boosting result and display against Police SA and will definitely have the Jaguars in good stead for our next match.

Till next time!

Tanjong Pagar United: Shamsudin Hashim, Nor Azli Yusoff, Hafiz Osman, Hanafi Salleh, Zahid Ahmad, Tengku Mushadad, Sazali Salleh, Firdaus Idros, Asraf Rashid, Ahmad Latiff(c), Monsef Zerka
Substitutes: Shafiq Noh, Anthony Aymard, Kamel Ramdani, Sebastien Etiemble, Ruzaini Zainal, Justin Khiang, Aurelien Etiemble
Head Coach: Patrick Vallée

Police SA: Raimi Misnam, Farhan Shamsudin, Noor Haleem Hanifa, Feroz Hussien, Farhan Nabrawi, Firdaus Tohari, Danial Razali, Ali Razali, Zulkarnain Adam, Suhaimi Maskun, Sharil Amin
Substitutes: Gavin Antonio Adrian, Asyraf Shalinuddin, Abdul Aziz Dolgani, Azam Hamim, Syah Ridzuan Rahim, Iqbal Junaidi, Khyruddin Khalid
Head Coach: Azmi Othman

Referee: Ahmad A’Qashah
Asst Ref 1: Muhd Syarqawi
Asst Ref 2: Er Swee Ann
Fourth Official: Daniel Wong