BALESTIER KHALSA 2
Qiu Li 52′, 55′
HOUGANG UNITED 0
2-2 on aggregate
Balestier Khalsa wins 4-1 on penalties.
Penalties became a large obstacles for the Cheetahs to overcome, as they went out of the RHB Singapore Cup Quarter Finals once again, in the second leg on Friday night.
The Cheetahs brought a 2-0 goal advantage into the leg, however, most would know that the Tigers would throw everything towards the Cheetahs and that they were the better team on paper.
The first half was a monotonous affair, however, the Cheetahs fans thought they had increased the aggregate, when Igor Cerina put the ball into the net, however, referee Abdul Malek had penalised the assistor, Jerome Baker for an infringement on his marker.
The Tigers had also one chance, with Park Kang-jin trying to chip Fadhil Salim from outside the box, however, Fadhil managed to punch the ball out for a corner.
However, the Tigers went out the second half throwing everything to find the two goals they badly needed. And they got it in three minutes.
On 52 minutes, Balestier got their lead, when Qiu Li managed to volley the ball from outside the box, beating Fadhil Salim for the first goal in the tie.
However, that wasn’t enough for the Tigers to go through, and they got their all important second goal. A goalmouth scramble ensued on 55th minute, and Qiu Li managed to bundle the ball across the goal line for a 2-0 lead in the night.
The rest of the second half went ahead in a breeze, and even the introduction of Mamadou Diallo for Hougang didn’t materialize and the game went through extra time.
In extra time, both teams went for the all-kill, and the Cheetahs almost had it in 115th minute, when Mamadou Diallo managed to evade his marker, but can only muster a weak shot towards Zaiful Nizam’s clutches.
The game went to penalties. Balestier managed to convert all their penalties, however, Hougang only mustered one penalty kick through Azhar Sairudin, but Thomas Beattie and Liam Shotton all hit the goalposts, and that ended the Cheetahs hopes into the semi-finals.
HOUGANG UNITED
Fadhil Salim, Igor Cerina, Syaqir Sulaiman (Shahir Hamzah 105′), Fazly Hasan (Faizal Amir 77′), Lau Meng Meng, Thomas Beattie, Azhar Sairudin, Fazli Jaffar, Nurhilmi Jasni (Mamadou Diallo 60′), Jerome Baker, Liam Shotton.
BALESTIER KHALSA
Zaiful Nizam, Obadin Aikhena, Yusiskandar Yusop, Jaslee Hatta, Syed Thaha, Tengku Mushadad, Hamqamal Shah (Vitor Borges 29′), Zulkifli Hasim (Ahmad Shahir 105′), Kim Min-ho, Park Kang jin, Qiu Li
