Singapore Polytechnic, Monday, 12 January 2009 - A solitary strike from Singapore Polytechnic (SP) forward Farhan Pauzan in the 87th minute was sufficient to beat 10-men Temasek Polytechnic (TP) in their penultimate Group A match of the S R Nathan Challenge Trophy.
SP’s first goal of the tournament also led to them securing their first win of the tournament following a goalless draw with Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and a 0-2 loss to Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP).
But the hosts did not have it easy at first as TP dominated in the first half with their intelligent attacking play and crisp passing.
The visitors were almost rewarded for their efforts in the 28th minute when Musthafa Kamal was given the ball outside the SP penalty area only for his attempt to crash against the crossbar.
Then it was Eugene Luo Xhen Lun’s turn to give his side the lead five minutes later when he broke away on a quick counter-attack, only for him to shoot tamely straight at SP goalkeeper Ryan Zah.
The hosts were again let off the hook immediately after that when TP winger Navin Nigel Vanu intercepted and raced clear, only for SP skipper Helmi Mazlan to deny a goalscoring attempt with a last-ditch tackle in the box.
SP’s poor performance in the first half had supporter Fazly Hisham, whose brother Fairul Hisham was playing for the home team, shaking his head in disappointment.
He commented during the half-time break: “SP need to improve on their performance. If they keep playing the way they did in the first half, it would be no time before they would be trailing 1-0.”
SP coach Kevin Wee acknowledged his side’s lacklustre showing as much: “We were not imposing at all in the first half and allowed TP to run all over us. It was just fortunate they did not score.”
The 2008 semi-finalists showed more urgency in their play after the interval as forwards Muhammad Nazarudin and Farhan caused problems in the TP defence with their pace on the break.
Just when TP remained confident of holding on against increased SP pressure, Navin’s second yellow card in the 71st minute following his retaliation at SP’s Saiful Maat gave the numerical superiority to the hosts.
It was not to be TP’s day when Luo’s goal-bound flying header in the 80th minute off Musthafa’s long free kick from deep was met with a save from Ryan.
As the minutes to the final whistle ticked away, TP panicked at the back under SP pressure and made a hash of their clearances and passes.
One mistake was all it took for TP to undo all their earlier efforts three minutes from full time when Farhan intercepted a dreadful pass to race into the TP box unchallenged before coolly slotting the ball past onrushing goalkeeper Jasper Chan Yuhui.
The match-winning goal set SP up in their crucial final group match against National University of Singapore on Monday (19 January) at home to determine who would join group leaders NYP in the knockout stages.
Wee was pleased that his men’s improved second-half showing brought home three precious points. “I told them at half-time it was all about them and their self-belief,” he revealed.
“We took our game a notch higher and worked harder for one another. Even when TP went one man down, the team showed greater urgency in possession and played the ball to our forwards more often."
“We had that chance in the last five minutes and took it. Farhan should be proud of himself as it is not everyday one can score against a keeper of Jasper’s quality."
“It was in the end a well-deserved three points and a morale-boosting win before our final group match next week.”