By Song Sung Hai

A thrilling match was on the cards after just eighteen minutes of play but some erratic decision making turned the tide against the Jaguars late in the second half and Home United left Queenstown Stadium with a 2-1 victory in a match which the Jaguars controlled.

The Jaguars took the game to the Protectors in a continuation of impressive attacking display since the Starhub League Cup journey, proving to everyone that the run to the final was not a fluke. Home United took the lead though against the run of play in the 12th minute when Camara took advantage of a defensive mix-up and scored.

That lead lasted only six minutes though when Sebastien Etiemble was put through on goal by Tengku Mushadad’s precise through-ball and the Frenchman snuck the ball in past an onrushing Shahril Jantan.

Several more chances came the Jaguars way but the likes of Ahmad Latiff and Firdaus Idros simply could not put the ball past the Protector’s custodian, who put in a decent shift.

The game had always threatened to boil over as players from both sides committed themselves equally and it became clear that referee Sukhbir Singh’s decisions were not helping the case.

Firdaus Idros however came very close to taking the lead for the Jaguars in the 55th minute but his chip sailed over Shahril Jantan and ricocheted off the post.

The game was finally marred in the 75th minute when Kamel Ramdani slid in late from behind and nicked Yasir Hanapi’s heels just barely but it was enough for Sukhbir Singh to show Kamel Ramdani the red card which came as a surprise given that the late challenges and constant fouls by the opposition had been received warmly by him.

Three minutes later however, Yasir Hanapi himself picked up his second yellow card and was given the marching orders but he was the only Protector to pick up cards in the physical contest.

Monsef Zerka had been given a hard time throughout the match by Song Inyoung and the classy targetman was hardly protected on the pitch by the match official with hardly any fouls given for late challenges made on him.

So it was the same case in the 81st minute when both Monsef and Song Inyoung jumped for the high ball and Sukhbir completely missed Song Inyoung’s elbow on Monsef but did not hesitate to send Monsef to the shower when the forward grazed Song Inyoung’s leg right after with the Korean sending himself sprawling to the ground as though shot by an invisible sniper.

It was now ten against nine and the stage was set for the Protectors to grab the winner which they duly did, in the 87th minute when Bruno Castanheira evaded Anthony Aymard’s tackle and drilled the ball in low.

A disappointed Patrick Vallée made it clear that the only team that deserved to win the encounter was his lads.

“The way my team handled the game after going down, never giving up and we came back into the game. In the second half we pushed them hard to win the game but sometimes things happen you cannot control and we lost this game,” he added.

Patrick also expressed firmly that his Jaguars performed very well like they did in the Starhub League Cup.

“We cannot blame them for the defeat and after what happened tonight, there will be some difficulties for our next two game but it will test our mentality now I am sure my team will fight to get a good result for Tanjong Pagar,” he continued. “The season is not finished and we must work and work and play well like tonight. I am sure the result will come for the team.”

The Jaguars will now have a short break and the next match will be a friendly game on the 15th of August against Metro Gallery Sun Source of Hong Kong.

Till next time!

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

Home United FC: Shahril Jantan, Juma’at Jantan, Noh Rahman, Sirina Camara, Masrezwan Masturi, Yasir Hanapi, Lee Kwan Woo, Bruno Castanheira, Kwon Dakyung, Song Inyoung, Qiu Li
Substitutes: Farhan Amin, Precious Emuejeraye, Izzdin Shafiq, Fazli Ayon, Fazrul Nawaz, Indra Sahdan, Ahmad Fahmie

Referee: Sukhbir Singh
Asst Referee 1: Muhd Syarqawi
Asst Referee 2: Er Swee Ann
Fourth Official: Farhad Mohd