Lionel's top-notch performance puts Home in pole position Syahrom Sulaiman
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“We basically took our chances well and we were lucky to win in the end. They had half a dozen chances to score but credit to Lionel (Lewis), he kept them at bay.” - Vincent Subramaniam, HUFC Coach.
Home United custodian Lionel Lewis played a major role in earning his side a hard-fought 2-0 victory over their fiercest rivals SAFFC at the Jalan Besar Stadium on Friday. The result means that the Protectors are now in pole position as they lead the rest of the S.League with 25 points from ten matches played. In the post-match interview, Protectors’ coach Vincent Subramaniam acknowledged that his side had the rub of the green in the game.
“We basically took our chances well and we were lucky to win in the end. They had half a dozen chances to score but credit to Lionel (Lewis), he kept them at bay.”
The Warriors controlled the tempo of the game in the early going. As a result, Man-of the Match Lionel was the busier of the two keepers as compared to the Warriors’ custodian Toh Guo’An. Toh may have been the less active 'keeper, but his first bit of action was unfortunately, to pick the ball up from the back of the net in the 19th minute. Cameroonian striker Kengne Ludovick initiated a quick counter attack on the right flank and he passed the ball to Shi Jiayi. Faced with Daniel Bennett, in the left-back position in place of Shaiful Esah, Jiayi placed his cross to perfection beyond Razif Mahamud and onto Ludovick lurking at the far post. The Cameroonian produced a crisp finish which beat Toh at his near post and it was 1-0 to the Protectors - the worst type of sucker punch SAFFC, who had been dominant up to that point in the match, could have suffered.
The Warriors launched wave after wave of attacks into the Protectors’ half but found either Lionel to be a major stumbling block or the defensive trio of S Subramani, Diakite Fode Bangaly and Rosman Sulaiman to be solid in their tackling and reading of the game. The Protectors relied heavily on their counter-attacking strategy and they could have easily doubled their lead in a five-minute spell of Home United pressure. Their best chance fell to Ludovick again in the 36th minute. Receiving a pass from Shi Jiayi, the stocky 24-year old turned his marker Razif Mahamud well and shot instantly. This time though, Toh’s brilliant reflex save meant that the Warriors would still be trailing by only a goal at the interval. The Warriors started the second half brightly but Lionel was yet again equal to whatever efforts that his opponents could muster.
The Protectors yet again used their counter-attacking strategy to good effect and they reaped their rewards in the 67th minute. Left-back Juma'at Jantan went on a mazy run on the left flank and he managed to foray deep into Warriors’ territory in the penalty box. Shifting the ball to his favored right foot, he unleashed a shot which Toh could only parry into the path of Shahril Ishak. The attacking midfielder pounced on the rebound to punish Toh’s mistake and doubled his side’s advantage. The frustration of not converting possession into goals was evident on the Warriors. Even a looping defensive header by Shahril Ishak was acrobatically averted by Lionel to save his colleague’s blushes. The Warriors then quickly picked up five cautions in the space on 15 minutes.
Two players were also given their marching orders. Defender Kenji Arai was dismissed by referee Abdul Malik for a professional foul on Ludovick as he raced clear towards goal. While midfielder Mustaqim Manzur was shown his second yellow card a minute from stoppage time – for an aggressive foul on Juma'at.
Warriors’ coach Richard Bok felt that his players should have maintained their composure when facing adversity. “We had a very good first half but we couldn’t score. In the second half, we lost the game because we were not disciplined. “We tried to get wide and attack through the flanks. They (Home United) also played well enough to contain us. “Indiscipline caused us to lose this game. We let emotions rule over us and commit silly fouls. “But we’ll just have to look forward and not think too much about this game. We’ll learn from our mistakes and make sure that we can catch up with the leaders,” added Bok.
Home United custodian Lionel Lewis played a major role in earning his side a hard-fought 2-0 victory over their fiercest rivals SAFFC at the Jalan Besar Stadium on Friday. The result means that the Protectors are now in pole position as they lead the rest of the S.League with 25 points from ten matches played. In the post-match interview, Protectors’ coach Vincent Subramaniam acknowledged that his side had the rub of the green in the game.
“We basically took our chances well and we were lucky to win in the end. They had half a dozen chances to score but credit to Lionel (Lewis), he kept them at bay.”
The Warriors controlled the tempo of the game in the early going. As a result, Man-of the Match Lionel was the busier of the two keepers as compared to the Warriors’ custodian Toh Guo’An. Toh may have been the less active 'keeper, but his first bit of action was unfortunately, to pick the ball up from the back of the net in the 19th minute. Cameroonian striker Kengne Ludovick initiated a quick counter attack on the right flank and he passed the ball to Shi Jiayi. Faced with Daniel Bennett, in the left-back position in place of Shaiful Esah, Jiayi placed his cross to perfection beyond Razif Mahamud and onto Ludovick lurking at the far post. The Cameroonian produced a crisp finish which beat Toh at his near post and it was 1-0 to the Protectors - the worst type of sucker punch SAFFC, who had been dominant up to that point in the match, could have suffered.
The Warriors launched wave after wave of attacks into the Protectors’ half but found either Lionel to be a major stumbling block or the defensive trio of S Subramani, Diakite Fode Bangaly and Rosman Sulaiman to be solid in their tackling and reading of the game. The Protectors relied heavily on their counter-attacking strategy and they could have easily doubled their lead in a five-minute spell of Home United pressure. Their best chance fell to Ludovick again in the 36th minute. Receiving a pass from Shi Jiayi, the stocky 24-year old turned his marker Razif Mahamud well and shot instantly. This time though, Toh’s brilliant reflex save meant that the Warriors would still be trailing by only a goal at the interval. The Warriors started the second half brightly but Lionel was yet again equal to whatever efforts that his opponents could muster.
The Protectors yet again used their counter-attacking strategy to good effect and they reaped their rewards in the 67th minute. Left-back Juma'at Jantan went on a mazy run on the left flank and he managed to foray deep into Warriors’ territory in the penalty box. Shifting the ball to his favored right foot, he unleashed a shot which Toh could only parry into the path of Shahril Ishak. The attacking midfielder pounced on the rebound to punish Toh’s mistake and doubled his side’s advantage. The frustration of not converting possession into goals was evident on the Warriors. Even a looping defensive header by Shahril Ishak was acrobatically averted by Lionel to save his colleague’s blushes. The Warriors then quickly picked up five cautions in the space on 15 minutes.
Two players were also given their marching orders. Defender Kenji Arai was dismissed by referee Abdul Malik for a professional foul on Ludovick as he raced clear towards goal. While midfielder Mustaqim Manzur was shown his second yellow card a minute from stoppage time – for an aggressive foul on Juma'at.
Warriors’ coach Richard Bok felt that his players should have maintained their composure when facing adversity. “We had a very good first half but we couldn’t score. In the second half, we lost the game because we were not disciplined. “We tried to get wide and attack through the flanks. They (Home United) also played well enough to contain us. “Indiscipline caused us to lose this game. We let emotions rule over us and commit silly fouls. “But we’ll just have to look forward and not think too much about this game. We’ll learn from our mistakes and make sure that we can catch up with the leaders,” added Bok.
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