Courts Young Lions 0-4 TanjongPagar United 
 (Ismael Benahmed 35’/52’/74′,  Monsef Zerka 71′)
17 April 2013
Jalan Besar Stadium

by Ong Jiing Yih

Photo Gallery     |     Match Highlights

Tanjong Pagar United recordedtheir second biggest victory of the 2013 campaign with a resounding 4-0 success over CourtYoung Lions at the Jalan Besar Stadium on Wednesday evening.

Perhaps in a show of motivationpre-match, the hosts decided to show videos of their two encounters against theJaguars last year, which included their 5-0 win at Queenstown Stadium no less.

How it backfired in spectacularfashion.

The away side drew firstblood after 35 minutes of toil, with Ismael Benahmed turning in Ahmad Latiff’s invitingcross to put his side in the lead.

One then became two as theFrench forward punished loose marking with a poacher’s finish seven minutes intothe second half.

Monsef Zerka put paid toany lingering chances of the hosts’ comeback with a diving header in the 71st minute,after brilliant hold-up play by Hafiz Nor set Ahmad Latiff free to plant the ballfirmly onto the head of the Moroccan hotshot.

Benahmed eventually completedhis hat trick on 74 minutes with a cool finish over the stranded Rudy Khairullah.

Otherwise, Aurelien Herissonwas untested in goal apart from potshots from range.

With this result, the Jaguarsmove into second place in the league standings ahead of Albirex Niigata (S) forthe next 48 hours at least.

Tellingly, the Jaguars arenow elevated to the status of the league’s outright top scorers.

As expected pre-match, CourtsYoung Lions had to made do without skipper Al-Qaasimy Rahman and Emmeric Ong, whois now out for the remainder ofthe campaign, leaving head coach Aide Iskandar withfew options.

Amidst several changes, EddieChang, Raihan Rahman and Iqbal Hussain were all included.

For Tanjong Pagar, one bigplus was the availability of Hafiz Nor.

Next to him, the midfieldduo of Sazali Salleh and Asraf Rashid also made their return to the starting eleven,with Hanafi Salleh and K. Vikraman on the bench.

The home side have yet towin a single league match and their task would not get any easier against the visitorson the night.

The Jaguars on the otherhand have taken to Jalan Besar Stadium like fish to water with two splendid winsin their last two trips there.

However, it was the youngones who threatened initially, with Fareez Farhan slicing wide off a cutback bySherif El-Masri.

Moments later Chang, in noreal pressure, stashed the ball out for a corner when dealing with a cross fromHafiz Nor.

But despite a nervy startTanjong Pagar United were able to compose themselves before embarking on a forwardrampage, with Hafiz steadying himself to send a rasping half volley above the bar.

Zerka then made a hash ofhis attempt by placing the ball beyond the target in the 13th minute.

The hosts were not undoneand had their moments with Raihan firing over the top off Shamil Sharif’s pullbackdown the right.

A heavily-bandaged Fareezthen went alone in his bid to break the deadlock – going for goal where a pass toan unmarked team mate might have been a better option.

That was about as good asit got as the clock ticked onto the half-hour mark, with little in way of goal attemptsand stoppages owing to apparent injuries.

Undeterred, Tanjong Pagarsurged upfield and in a flash, struck the opening goal on 35 minutes.

Having mostly attacked downthe left a cross by Asraf fell at the feet of Latiff on the right, who acted quickestto deliver the ball into the box.

If the hosts thought by concentratingon Zerka was sufficient, they simply forgot about Benahmed, leaving the latter tonudge the ball past Rudy Khairullah and into the net.

However, there was much workto be done, as the presence of the pacy duo of Iqbal and Fareez along the channelscaused substantial concern.

The latter tried to turnprovider but M. Anumanthan could only blast his effort onto the post just beforethe break.

And how the young ones weremade to pay for not taking the few chances that came their way in the 52nd minute.

Kamel Ramdani did well toretrieve possession as Benahmed then Zerka took turns to caress the ball, with Asrafthe eventual receipient shaping to cross.

How immaculate it turnedout, leaving Benahmed to roam clear of a static backline to tease the ball intogoal from inside the six-yard box.

The same goalscorer almostrepeated the trick 120 seconds later with a rising shot at Rudy’s near post.

Fareez then had an opportunityto launch an instant riposteout for his team, but Herisson was up to the task witha low save.

The Jaguars’ French stopperwas kept busy as he had to dive at Fareez’s feet before the latter could profitfrom any potential toe-assist by El-Masri, approaching the hour mark.

The subsequent loose ballwas deflected off Azhar Ahmad and out of play following Shamil’s hopeful drive.

Danger was never out of theequation for Tanjong Pagar as the home side continued to press, only for El-Masrito scuff chances of pulling back a goal.

Power rather than placementmeant that the ball could only balloon into space.

Zerka proceeded to ensurethere was no way back for Courts Young Lions with a majestic diving header 19 minutesfrom time.

Further gloss wad added tothe scoreline on 74 minutes after Benahmed raced clear of Firman Hanif to latchonto a gloriously lofted through ball from the twinkling feet of Hafiz.

It was class personifiedas the Frenchman simply dinked the ball over the head of Rudy and into the bottom-leftcorner of the goal.

Four nearly became five asa thunderous 25-yard stunner from Ramdani cannoned off the bar.

There was even time for Rizawan Abdullah to make his appearance off the bench.

With wind firmly in their sails, Hanafi took aim with a rasping drive that veered just wide.