By Song Sung Hai

For the first time ever since the tournament’s inauguration in 2007, the Jaguars have made it through to the final of the Starhub League Cup with a penalty shootout victory after the game ended 0-0 within regulation and extra time. Aurelien Herisson stepped up on the night to make two penalty saves for the Jaguars to win it 4-2.

The Cheetahs were by no means pushovers in the game but their efforts were not enough as the Jaguars once again sent them crashing out of a Cup competition this year.

Diego Gama recovered in time for the game to partner Geison Moura in attack and the duo combined well to cause trouble for the Jaguars but were unable to find the back of the net ni the face of a stout and resilient Jaguars defence.

Jaguars Head Coach Patrick Vallée had opted to start Hanafi Salleh in central defence, ahead of Anthony Aymard, partnering Hafiz Osman at the back. While the move raised some concerns, it did not take Hanafi Salleh long to show everyone just why he started. Both Hanafi and Hafiz Osman resisted everything the Cheetahs threw at them, closing down attacks with courage and ferocity.

The Jaguars suffered an early scare when Geison Moura sneaked in a header in the box in the third minute to find an unmarked Igor Ferreira but Monsef Zerka was in place to clear the ball away.

It was a half of chances for both sides and the game flew by at electric pace, with both sides barely having room to breathe but the Jaguars, only having two days of rest prior, were up for it and matched the Cheetahs in every department.

The Jaguars came very close to scoring in the 30th minute, after enduring onslaughts by the Cheetahs, when Kamel Ramdani stole the ball from Geison Moura. He floated the ball over to Sebastien Etiemble who released Monsef Zerka with a nice touch but Monsef only managed a weak shot and Fadhil Salim had no troubles saving.

The last five minutes of the first half then saw the Jaguars pressing hard and coming close on two occasions but Sebastien Etiemble was denied by Fadhil Salim’s legs on the first try and saw his next effort blocked by a defender.

Both teams began the second half pretty much the same way they ended the first one but the tempo stepped up a notch and both teams came close with overhead kicks.

The first was from the Cheetahs in the 68th minute with Igor Ferreira executing it. The shot went beyond Aurelien Herisson but smacked right into the post and was subsequently cleared.

Not to be outdone in the skills department, up stepped Monsef Zerka six minutes later. A cross in from Sebastien Etiemble was headed down by Kamel to Firdaus Idros who managed to flick the ball up with the back of his heel. Monsef Zerka’s overhead attempt was superbly parried out by Fadhil Salim this time and both teams ended the game scoreless to bring it into extra-time.

No goals came from the additional thirty minutes of play though and the dreaded penalty shootout was the only means to separate the two sides who were very even on the night.

It was the moment that Aurelien Herisson showed his class as he saved two shots from Fazli Jaffar and Fairoz Hassan. Monsef, Sebasien, Kamel and Anthony Aymard all converted their kicks and the Jaguars made it through to the final with that 4-2 penalty shootout win.

An ecstatic Patrick Vallée praised his players once again for the way they carried themselves and fought in the game.

He said, “It was a very tough game but during this game, we handled the rhythm and pace the best we can. Both teams had a lot of chances to score but tonight, my goalkeeper[Aurelien Herisson] showed everybody why he is one of the best keepers in Singapore.”

Patrick emphasised though that it was not just Aurelien who made the difference on the night but that the whole team performed superbly over 120 minutes.

“It is superb for the club and I am delighted with the way the team played. This is the second final in two years and it is a good chance to win a title,” he continued. “We will be happy tonight, we will rest and after that we will prepare for the important game on Friday.”

The Jaguars will play DPMM FC, who also beat Geylang International via penalty shootouts in the other semi-final, for the Starhub League Cup Final at Jalan Besar Stadium this Friday.

See you there!

Lineups:

Tanjong Pagar United: Aurelien Herisson, Hafiz Osman (C), Hanafi Salleh, Zahid Ahmad, Nor Azli Yusoff, Tengku Mushadad (Anthony Aymard 112′), Sazali Salleh, Sebastien Etiemble, Kamel Ramdani, Firdaus Idros (Ruzaini Zainal 117′), Monsef Zerka
Substitutes: Shamsudin Hashim, Anthony Aymard, Shafiq Noh, Asraf Rashid, Ruzaini Zainal, K Selvendhran, Marcus Wheeler
Head Coach: Patrick Vallee
Cautions: Hanafi Salleh (6′), Zahid Ahmad (37′), Hafiz Osman (67′), Kamel Ramdani (87′)

Hougang United: Fadhil Salim, Nakatake Shunsuke, Geison Moura, Lau Meng Meng, Fazli Jaffar, Faizal Amir, Azhar Sairudin, Hurhilmi Jasni, Wahyudi Wahid, Diego Olivera, Igor Ferreira
Substitutes: Syaqir Sulaiman, Firman Hanif, Fairoz Hasan, Benedict Chua, Faiz Salleh, Basil Chan, Nazirul Islam
Head Coach: Amin Nasir
Cautions: Faizal Amir (16′), Fazli Jaffer (108′)

Referee: W Ravisanthiran
Asst Ref 1: Ronnie Koh
Asst Ref 2: Er Swee Ann
Fourth Official: Lim Kok Heng