By Song Sung Hai

It was a valiant effort that the Jaguars put up against a much fancied DPMM side but once again for the second time in a row, the Jaguars fell short in a Cup Final. DPMM FC were the more clinical side and they were crowned the Starhub League Cup 2014 champions with a 2-0 win over the Jaguars.

Thing could have been so much more different however. The Jaguars had several chances to finish off the game but simply could not find their mark. There also was a bit of a refereeing controversy when Firdaus Idros was denied a goal after the linesman dubiously ruled Monsef Zerka to be in an off-side position when feeding Firdaus the ball.

Ahmad Latiff and Monsef Zerka both had chances to score even though under heavy marking but the ball refused to go past the stubborn DPMM FC goalie.

It took only two minutes for the Jaguars to register a shot at goal when Sebastien Etiemble skipped past his marker and prodded the ball into the path of Ahmad Latiff but the Jaguars captain sent the ball wide off.

Another golden opportunity arrived in the 17th minute and this time with Sebastien Etiemble once again breaking free down the right flank to drill a cross in to an unmarked Monsef Zerka but Monsef dummied the ball with no one to receive it.

Anthony Aymard and Hanafi Salleh partnered well enough to keep Roy O’ Donovan at bay with timely interceptions and winning the physical challenges when it mattered. Nor Azli Yusoff and Zahid Ahmad also made several overlapping runs down the flanks which troubled the DPMM defence on several occasions but their efforts only came close to being assists.

Tengku Mushadad and Sazali Salleh dug in deep in midfield and supported both attack and defence well. Tengku Mushadad himself came close to scoring in the 27th minute from a free-kick but the Bruneian custodian tipped the ball over at the last second.

It was against the run of play that DPMM FC got their opening goal. A corner kick in was met by Boris Raspudic, the only player in the air, whose header spun down and into goal.

DPMM’s second goal came a mere two minutes into the second half when a deflected pass in the box somehow found Adi Said who blasted the ball into goal with no hesitation.

The introduction of Firdaus Idros in the second half, who came in for Tengku Mushadad, added an extra attack option and the Jaguars were the ones doing all the attacking from then on. Asraf Rashid was another who made a difference as soon as he came on in the 73rd minute for Zahid Ahmad.

Firdaus’ speedy runs created opportunities for Monsef and Ahmad Latiff and he himself had several opportunities to score, with one seemingly legitimate goal called for offside. Another golden opportunity for Firdaus Idros came in the 72nd minute. Zahid Ahmad had done well to bring the ball into the left flank and powered a cross in. Firdaus Idros met the ball with his foot, redirecting it with speed towards the top part of goal but Wardun Yussof stretched well to tip the ball over.

Several more chances came along for the Jaguars but it simply was not to be.

A seemingly disappointed Head Coach Patrick Vallée expressed sadness for the club and his team at the second cup final defeat in two years but also praised his lads.
He added, “At the end we cannot achieve what we want but I need to congratulate my team for what they did in this tournament. They fought very hard to reach the final and we wanted to win this game and we played our best.”

Patrick also noted that the first goal made the difference in the game as the plan was to end the half with a goalless draw.

“Brunei[DPMM FC] won tonight but we put them under a lot of pressure. They had one set-piece and they managed to score that goal,”he added. “I cannot blame my players. They played a very good game tonight. Both teams played well and one team had to win tonight. It is very good football and is good for Singapore football. We will still keep on trying and try to reach another Cup final again for Tanjong Pagar United.”

The team did certainly play well but it was not to be. It is an amazing feat though for the Jaguars to have made two Cup finals in two years, which is testimony to the quality of the team. Thank you to everyone as well for supporting us for this Starhub League Cup Final.

Till next time!

Tanjong Pagar United: Aurelien Herisson, Nor Azli Yusoff (Ruzaini Zainal 57′), Zahid Ahmad(Asraf Rashid 73′), Hanafi Salleh, Anthony Aymard, Tengku Mushadad(Firdaus Idros 62′), Sazali Salleh, Sebastien Etiemble, Kamel Ramdani, Ahmad Latiff(c), Monsef Zerka
Substitutes: Shamsudin Hashim, Firdaus Idros, Shafiq Noh, Asraf Rashid, Ruzaini Zainal,Justin Khiang, Marcus Wheeler
Cautions: Monsef Zerka (’40), Zahid Ahmad (63′)
Head Coach: Patrick Vallée

DPMM FC: Wardun Yussof, Roberto Alviz, Hendra Azam, Boris Raspudic, Roy O’Donovan, Joseph Gamble, Abdul Aziz, Azwan Ali, Azwan Saleh, Rosmin Kamis, Adi Said
Substitutes: Azman Ilham, Shahrulrizal Abd Rahman, Sairol Sahari, Awangku Fakharozzi, Subhi Abdillah, Najib Tarif, Shahrazen Said
Head Coach: Steve Kean

Referee: Jansen Foo
Asst Ref 1: Muhd Syarqawi
Asst Ref 2: Ong Chai Lee
Fourth Official: Muhd Taqi Jahari