Loyola Meralco Sparks FC 3-3 Tanjong Pagar United
28 July 2013
Jalan Besar Stadium
Scorers Ismael Benahmed ’45, Hafiz Nor ’56, Kamel Ramdani ’75;
Park Min Ho ’37, Jang Jo Won ’68, Chad Gould ’90

By Ong Jiing Yih

Tanjong Pagar United survived a constant orange-and-black onslaught by Loyola Meralco Sparks to progress into the last four of the RHB Singapore Cup.

The two sides led out by Patrick Vallee and Vincent Santos gave as good as they got as the match sprung to life after 37 minutes of the match gone

Park Min Ho levelled the tie on aggregate in the same minute, fighting off advances of the Tanjong Pagar defenders amidst a mix-up to draw first blood.

However, the goalscorer was then sensationally sent off for a second bookable offence, a perceived high challnge on Monsef Zerka doing the damage.

Ismael Benahmed restored the advantage for the Jaguars approaching half time, netting with a typical poacher’s header.

Hafiz then struck on 56 minutes, scoring his first goal in over two months as he punished some non-existent marking from Jeon Byeong Yeol and Roxy Dorlas to put his side ahead.

Surprisingly, Jang Jo Won made it 2-2 on 68 minutes by forcing home after some uncertainty in the backline.

However, he was also to be shown a red card four minutes from the end after an atrocious and malicious tackle on Sazali Salleh.

Subsequently, news of Sazali’s serious injury dampened the mood somewhat, where the midfielder is expected to miss the rest of the season.

In a flash, Kamel Ramdani looked to have put the tie to bed after planting his header into the net 15 minutes from time, only for the late heroics of Chad Gould to provide some frantic stoppage time scenes.

Both teams were relatively unchanged apart from one change for the Jaguars ahead of kickoff.

The inclusion of K. Vikraman in the starting lineup coupled with Walid Lounis on the bench, led Ahmad Latiff to take over the captain’s armband for the night.

Loyola had prepared well and in depth for this match and had the Younghusband brothers taking turns to support Jang Jo Woong up front.

They were certainly up for the challenge, applying some early pressure and keeping tight rein on the likes of Zerka.

21 minutes were all they took to fire off the first warning sign, J. Younghusband letting loose with a long-range strike.

By then, the visitors had managed to conceive the first corner after seven minutes.

Then in the 15th minute, Ramdani’s slide-rule pass sought out Zerka whose resultant shot sailed high over the target.

With both teams taking the initiative to gather possession respectively, there was little in the way of goalmouth action.

Fouls and constant stoppages in play led the way until Jang Jo Won lauched a wayward missile from just outside the centre circle on 33 minutes.

However, the Sparks stole a march on the Jaguars eight minutes before the break with a near-post attempt by Park which creeped over the line.

Minutes later, Herisson had to be quick and alert to punch clear before Jang Jo Woong could reach for a cross by J. Younghusband.

Amidst the constant loud cheers from the Loyola fans, the visitors slowly regrouped and found their way back, getting just reward for their endeavours in the 45th minute.

Instead of opting to shoot first time, Zerka combined with Ramdani to set up Benahmed with the headed equaliser.

The Sparks continued to press on after the break and despite having a man short, Jang Jo Won gleamed Michael Hartmann’s freekick away from the target.

However, Tanjong Pagar nudged themelves ahead when Hafiz took heed from Benahmed’s dummy, appeared swiftly in the box and promptly hooked the ball past Baba Sampana.

Chances came in thick and fast, and when it seemed the visitors were holding their own Loyola scored against the run of play, Jang Jo Won tucking home after his team mate flicked the ball past Anthony Aymard.

Benahmed almost scored his second on the night when his speculative attempt caused Sampana to fluff his catch.

Crucially, Hafiz’s corner then paved the way onto a third Tanjong Pagar strike, Ramdani freeing himself to head home as the nall nestled in the bottom-left corner of goal.

There was to be some drama towards the end and after finding himself in the clear, J. Younghusband made contact only to miskick high and well wide.

The Sparks literally lost their sparkle when in a moment of madness Jang Jo Won became the second player from his side to be dismissed.

That afforded the Jaguars more space and time on the ball and Zerka almost extended the scoreline, firing a straightforward effort at Sampana following good work by Benahmed and Hafiz.

Gould went to head firmly into the bottom-left corner, diving low to connect with a freekick he had won after a duel with Aymard to unseat the Jaguars faithful late on.

Substitute Hanafi Salleh’s late miss mattered little thankfully as his side now march into the semi-finals.

Post-match, Head coach Vallee chose to focus on the unfortunate injury sustained by one of his stalwarts.

“My first concern would be on Sazali, and I’m upset and disappointed with what happened on the field.”

He then proceeded to talk about his team selection and how the match turned out in the end.

“What is most important was we achieve what we want, that is to qualify for the semis. Anything could have happened but now that we have qualified, I’m very proud of my players.

“I’m generally happy with the defence but not because of the three goals conceded. We never panicked, kept calm and managed to come back, while we attacked and defended as a team. It was (a collective effort) offensively and defensively. I’m also happy for the fans as there were (plenty of) goals.”