5-2 slam

Home U did sink the Dolphins, convincingly. Five goals from 4 different players, that's a fairly good fiasco if I may say. Despite the win, we are still in second place due to goal differences, but no worries, we will be up there soon!

However, some fans are still disappointed about the two goals Sengkang's Farhan slipped past Home U's goalkeeper Lionel within a span of 7 minutes. Indeed, it's frustrating when we continue to let in goals (which explains the goal differences) while our strikers score at the other end. However, soccer is a team's game, and unless it was a clear boo-boo by the goalkeeper, the whole teams responsible for "defence" and not giving the opponents any easy shots that will put the goalkeeper in dire situation. Goalkeepers also have their bad bout similar to a strikers' drought, we should cut them some slack.

As fans, we can only continue to stand behind the team and push them on.

HUFC will not sink at Dolphin's Bay

Yes, I totally agree. It seems that HUFC always got some problems playing with the Dolphins. I wonder why. It's like Man U with Bolton, it's sheer jinx. On paper, HUFC should have a relatively easy time with the Dolphins after picking up their momentum with two tough matches. But let's not forget that the gutsy Dolphins just managed a hard fought draw against the Young Lions. They will definitely be looking at impressing their fans with their new outfit under their new coach, and drawing some blood from the current league leader should be alluring.

(from hufc.com)

"The resurrgent Sengkang Ponggol take on the Protectors in this weekend match at the Hougang Stadium. The home side with a new coach and vigour will go all out to prove that they are a new outfit now. Meanwhile, the luck laden Protectors will be looking on for a win to top the table and fortify their position against the Warriors for the run up to the title. Both have Tampines Rovers in the waiting.

Previous meetings of both the teams has never been an easy ride for the Protectors. The Dolphins care-taker coach has something to prove against a mighty team to stabilise his position. Will he find his way? Come find out this Sunday at the Hougang Stadium."

HUFC 3 : 2 Albirex Niigata - Another late strike winner

"Home United rode their luck once again as they snatched a 3-2 win from the hands of Albirex Niigata (S)."

Kengne Ludovick's 90th minute strike earns the Protectors full points. Home United rode their luck once again as they snatched a 3-2 win from the hands of Albirex Niigata (S). The Japanese side have reasons to feel hard done by, as they saw their plans of gaining at least a point go up in smoke, as Kengne Ludovick got the winner in injury time.

With Jun Ishikawa replacing regular skipper Shin Hosogai, Albirex began with an almost unchanged lineup from the side that beat Sengkang Punngol. It is the away side who carved out the more meaningful chances early on, as Home struggled to find their momentum. Tetsuya Okayama fired the first warning shot, as he missed Eiichiro Ozaki cutback on the 7th minute mark. Six minutes on, a clever pass by midfield man Norikazu Sakata once again set the veteran striker free, but Lionel Lewis was up to the task, as he saved the ball in between his legs.

Undeterred, Home soon found their way and came close to opening the scoring as first Ludovick then Shi Jia Yi saw their attempts on goal go wide. Needless to say, it was that man Ludovic who gave Home the lead in the 25th minute. Having seen Indra’s perfect through ball, all he needed was for his marker to slip. As he needed no second invitation, all he needed to do was to slip the ball past the keeper. One-nil to the Protectors. It was a strike worthy of the game, in which Home’s top scorer was as cool as a cucumber.

Not to be outdone, Okayama raced down the field but missed a sitter, as he lofted the ball over the bar after Yoshitaka Komori’s piece of skill.

The Protectors could have got a second but Indra Sahdan’s heavy first touch let him down, after Diakite Fode Bangaly’s through pass set him up.

Action resumed after the break, as Kone Hamed tested keeper Norio Takahashi with that scorcher of his. As the game opened up, both Okayama and Ludovic exchanged efforts on goal. Unfortunately, Albirex got the equaliser moments after the hour-mark as Okayama headed back Hosogai’s cross across goal. It was left to the unmarked Akira Takase to head past Lionel.

Before the away side could settle down, Home hit back through a magnificent effort from one of their key players, in the 74th minute. Having brought down Ludovick on the edge of the box, Komori could only stand and watch as Jia Yi bent the resulting free kick past a flailing Takahashi to put the home side in the lead. 2-1 and nearly all spectators in the stands thought the game was about to end as a contest. However, Okayama had other ideas. One slick attacking move saw him race down the right, and after he held off the challenge of Harun Juma’at, he slotted the ball past Lionel, to restore parity once again on 75 minutes.

The Protectors now had to come from behind again, having done so for the previous five occasions, against the Young Lions, Albirex themselves, Balestier Khalsa, Geylang United and Super Reds respectively. Which they did so in glorious fashion on the stroke of full time. After Rosman won the ball in midfield and fed Indra, he passed to Ludovick who held the ball beautifully. A neat interchange saw Ludovick latching onto Indra’s return ball, and he wasted little time to cheekily toe-poking the ball into goal. 3-2 to Home United and the referee blew for full time after 2 minutes of stoppages.

With this result, the Protectors go level on points with leaders SAFFC, albeit with a slightly lesser goal difference.

it's a DRAW and then a last minute WIN.

BUT FIRST... the game against gombak.
with an early goal from Kone Hamed at the 19th minute, home was in the lead and secured with 3 points UNTIL gombak came back with a last minute draw. a draw that only resulted in an addition of 1 point. Because of an 87th minute goal from Agu Casmir, Home United is in the danger zone.

with 1 game behind the current leader SAFFC, we are behind by 3 points. this means that even if we do win the next game... both teams would end up with the same number of points. furthermore, if tampines win their next game, they would breeze up to the top of the table with one point ahead of both SAF and home.

WHAT A COSTLY DRAW.

NOW. the game today against Albirex Niigata FC. it was a tight one. with home leading 1-0 for the first half, Albirex came back with an equaliser at the 64th minute. then, Shi Jiayi took a free kick and home was up 2-1. just when we thought home would be able to win the match, albirex came back again with a goal at the 75th minute. but THANKFULLY, home eventually won with a final goal from Kengne Ludovick just at the 90th minute, this making it his 2nd goal in the game. FINAL SCORE. HOME UNITED 3 ALBIREX NIIGATA 2.

KEEP IT UP HOME! (:

Super Reds - Late minute lucky - again

(from hufc.com.sg)

HUFC 2: 1 Super Reds - Late minute lucky - again

"An injury time late goal by Sharil Ishak saved the day for HUFC to regain the top spot. "

Home United returned to the top of the S-League standings as Shahril Ishak’s last-gasp winner once again secured full points for the Protectors.

Just as the team thought they would squander two precious points due to a catalogue of missed chances, up stepped the returning player (after international duty) to pop up at the right end for the winning goal.

In a match full of incidents, Indra Sahdan was dubiously sent off, as promising attacking moves broke down time and again. Chief marksman Kengne Ludovick was probably unlucky on the night, as two of his best chances came off the woodwork.

The match began with Nam Woung Ki back in the heart of defence for Super Reds, as Juma’at Jantan made the bench. He had been prepared in readiness, as Harun Juma’at took his spot in the first XI.

Early pressure from Home led to the first corner, as the Koreans threatened down the flanks, all in the space of the opening five minutes. Indra could have opened the scoring inside six minutes, but a poor first touch let him down.

However, Park Byung Woo caused concern in the heart of the defence, as his nutmeg sent him en route to goal, but Mani was there to clear the danger. Mani though, was to endure a frustrating evening, as slack defending nearly slipped the game away from Home’s grasp.

The major flashpoint of the game arrived on 16 minutes, as Indra chased Rosman long ball and tussled with Super Reds’ skipper Lee Tae Hoon. While the offender deservedly got sent off with his pullback, Indra’s red card was hard to comprehend. To get sent off while trying to get out of the way is baffling.

While the red cards did little to change the course of the game, both teams lacked fluidity and cutting edge with a man short.

After a series of straightforward attempts and long-range efforts, Shi Jia Yi broke the deadlock in the 31st minute, as he expertly found the corner of the goal, after Qiu Li’s cutback down the right found him in the clear.

Unfortunately, the goal was the only thing the Protectors could show for their efforts. Six minutes before the break, Home thought they went two up, but Ludovick’s header was rather unkindly chalked off for offside.

Before Park Byung Woo hit a screamer that Lionel had to tip round the post, Ludovick had to endure the agony of seeing his stunner come off the crossbar, much to his chagrin. Shahril Ishak had made inroads down the left, which opened up space for the striker.
Action resumed after the break, which saw the Super Reds showing what they were made of, as they controlled possession. Bae Jin Soo thought he was on his way to glory, but instead of putting the ball into the net, he blazed the ball over the bar with both Harun Juma’at and Lionel beaten.

Shi Jia Yi made way for Juma’at Jantan on 77 minutes to a standing ovation, as he created countless opportunities and ran himself to the ground with his willingness to track back and defend.

Undeterred, the Super Reds gave a decent account of themselves with this display, and therefore it was no surprise when Nam Woung Ki latched onto a long ball, shook off his marker and fired past Lionel. The equaliser came on 82 minutes and left everyone wondering how Home had managed to find themselves in a quandary with the huge amount of chances they created.

Ludovick led Home’s charge in searching for a winner and nearly got it, however lady luck deserted him as his swift right foot shot struck the right post. With the clock ticking towards full time, Harun made a last ditch attempt to goal as he raced down the left. His persistence paid off when his cross, found the unmarked Sharil Ishak.

The national midfielder sent in a shot that squirmed underneath the body of the keeper in the Super Reds goal. 2-1 and the Protectors finally got out of jail with a late winner once again.

Match highlights

I must be the lousiest video cameraman in the whole wide world. I captured a few good moments but missed all three goals of the game. Hence, you fans will have to wait for a while for the video shots of the goals scored. But in the meantime, enjoy some other highlights from the game.

HUFC vs Super Reds (Live reporting)

Brought my laptop to the Stadium today, so decide to try out a bit of live reporting!

HUFC got off to a jittery start as the Reds launch wave after wave of attack. It didn't help that Indra got sent off just 15mins into the game for lashing out his elbow at the Reds defender who was tugging at his shirt (the latter got sent off too). Nevertheless, the early sent off seemed to inject some life into our boys as they got all fired up. They went all out with a vengeance in a bid to get back at the Reds. They were obviously looking for blood.

And soon enough the first blood was drawn just after 30 mins when No. 7 Shi Jiayi launched his signature run down the right flank, entered the box, went past the defender and struck a low shot into the left hand corner of the post. One up HUFC. Our boys gained confidence thereafter and continued their frequent foray into the Reds' half. Eight minutes after the first goal, a superb cross from Qiu Li was met by a strong header from Kone. The ball went straight past the goalkeeper and into the net --- but the goal was promptly denied by the linesman who deemed it an offside --- the the fury of both players and fans. The game ended at half-time with HUFC leading 1-0.

The second half picked up from where the first half ended, with both sides launching waves after waves of attack at each other's goal. Fouls aplenty, as fatigue kicked in and players resorted to rough play to win balls. As things started to look bright for HUFC, a defence lapse gave Korean Nam Woung Ki an opening to slot in a goal at the 82 min. Fans were shocked and seemed resigned for a draw. But the Protectors played their hearts out and true enough, their grit was rewarded when Sharil Ishak slotted in the winning goal in injury time to give the home side a 2-1 win. Way to go Home U.

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1st half
15:55: Indra and Lee Tae Hoon sent off.
16:10: HUFC takes free kick just outside the penalty box. But the powerful shot hit the post - sheez.
25:00: Good save by Lionel after two consecutive strike by the Koreans just outside the penalty box.
30:00: No. 7 Shi Jiayi received a pass from Qiu Li, came in from the right, went past a defender inside the penalty box and strike the ball right into the left hand corner of the goal post ---- GOAL!

HUFC 1 - SUPER REDS 0

38:00: A good pass from Qiu Li met by a strong header by Kone went straight into the net, but was disallowed, much to the fury of the Protecters.
45:00: Both sides continue to launch attacks to and fro. It's definitely a charged up match here.

2nd half
66:00: 1st yellow card awarded to the Super Reds for bringing down Kone as he is heading towards goal.
73:00: A one-two gave Shane an opportunity to shoot, but it went straight to the goalkeeper.
76:40: HUFC No. 7 Shi Jiayi replaced by No. 4 Juma'at Jantan
79:00: HUFC No.9 Qiu Li replaced by No. 19 Goh Swee Swee.
82:00: Reds No. 10 score at goal mouth.

HUFC 1: REDS 1.

90:00: Shahril Ishak scores.

HUFC 2: REDS 1 (FINAL SCORE)