By Song Sung Hai

Swift counter-attacks were the order of the day as the Jaguars succumbed 4-2 to the Stags from Clementi in the first-leg of the RHB Singapore Cup Quarter-Finals at Jalan Besar Stadium last night.

The Jaguars took control of the game from the get go but some lack of concentration at the back allowed the far from superior opponents to stick four in.

There were few chances in the first half as Tampines Rovers FC played it cautious against the ever marauding Jaguars outfit. The Stags were clearly out of depth in midfield but defended well at the back to prevent the classy offensive quartet of Firdaus Idros, Sebastien Etiemble, Kamel Ramdani and Monsef Zerka from breaking through.

Sebastien Etiemble came close to taking the lead twice for the Jaguars but could not finish the opportunities presented to him. First, a gifted cross in from Kamel Ramdani was headed wide with only the Stags custodian to beat and in the 24th minute, he raced in front of his defenders to receive Sazali Salleh’s cross in from the left but his touch bounced safely into the arms of Justin Pasfield.

Two minutes later, the Stags’ only real attack of the first-half resulted in Miljan MrDakovic finding himself with only Aurelien Herisson to beat, which he did, after some scrappy work in midfield saw him receive a through-ball from the talented Jozef Kaplan. It was a cool finish and Aurelien had no chance at all against MrDakovic who did the only thing he knew how to do best, scoring with only the keeper to beat.

The lead did not last for long as the Jaguars once again took play into the opponents half and Firdaus Idros scored his first goal of the season right at the stroke of half-time. Monsef Zerka found himself with the ball on the left side after some intricate passing moves in midfield left the Stags at sixes and sevens. Monsef drilled a low ball into the box and Firdaus needed only one touch to send the ball into goal for the equaliser.

Uncharacteristic defending in the second half saw a horrific way to concede a goal after some good work by the Jaguars. Miljan MrDakovic had managed to bring the ball into the box and let a shot loose at goal which was parried by Aurelien. The ball bounced towards Ruzaini Zainal but a seemingly loose spell had hit him and rendered him enchanted for a brief moment which was enough for Jamil Ali to sneak in from behind to slot the ball into goal and restore the lead for his team.

The Jaguars equalised ten minutes later after yet another mazy run into the box by Firdaus Idros saw him getting hacked down by Jozef Kaplan. The referee did not hesitate to point to the spot and Monsef Zerka stepped up to send Justin Pasfield the wrong way and equalise for the team.

It took only four minutes for the Stags to go ahead again. This time Jamil Ali sped down the middle after being released by Jozef Kaplan and took a gamble with a weighted lob which managed to catch Aurelien Herisson off his line.

The Jaguars tried hard to get back in and were the more attacking side but Jozef Kaplan made the difference again for the Stags late into injury time. Receiving the ball in the box, Jozef shrugged his markers off and blasted in a low shot past Aurelien to end the game at 4-2 for the Stags to bring into the second-leg next Tuesday.

Head Coach Patrick Vallée refused to accept that the defeat will mean their exit out of the Singapore Cup and expressed pride at the way his lads carried themselves in the game.

He said, “The most important is that everything will be settled only on Tuesday. It is only the first leg and what is interesting is that I know now we can score against them [Tampines Rovers] and we will have to focus to avoid some mistakes, which is part of football, in order to come back.”

Patrick also expressed confidence for the return leg and took positives from the match.

“Tonight is only the first-half of this tie and they are two goals up. We can score against them and we will have to concentrate harder to win,” he added. “We will prepare very well, the lads will give one hundred percent and they know after this game, we will be in the semi-finals if we win.”

The score-line clearly is one which flatters the Stags and the Jaguars, at their best, can most certainly bounce back from a tie they were hardly bested at.

Till next time!

Lineups

Tanjong Pagar United: Aurelien Herisson, Anthony Aymard, Hafiz Osman, Ahmad Latiff(c), Sebastien Etiemble, Ruzaini Zainal, Kamel Ramdani, Firdaus Idros, Sazali Salleh, Nor Azli Yusoff, Monsef Zerka
Substitutes: Shamsudin Hashim, Tengku Mushadad, Hanafi Salleh, Zahid Ahmad, Shafiq Noh, Asraf Rashid, Hafiz Rosli
Head Coach: Patrick Vallee
Cautions: Ahmad Latiff (49′), Nor Azli Yusoff (77′)

Tampines Rovers: Justin Pasfield, Jufri Taha, Kunihiro Yamashita, Miljan Mrdakovic, Anaz Hadee, Ismadi Mukhtar, Fahrudin Mustafic(c), Shahdan Sulaiman, Jacob Butler, Jamil Ali, Jozef Kaplan
Substitutes: Ridhuan Barudin, Shariff Samat, Matthew Abraham, Ang Zhi Wei, Abdil Qaiyyim, Imran Sahib, Noh Alam Shah
Head Coach: Rafi Ali
Cautions: Kunihiro Yamashita (31′), Jufri Taha (40′), Justin Pasfield (65′)

Referee: Sukhbir Singh
Asst Ref 1: Muhd Syahir Samad
Asst Ref 2: John Doo
Fourth Official: Lim Kok Heng