FRIENDLY
Hougang United 1
Robert Eziakor 14′
Albirex Niigata Singapore 5
Kazuki Sakamoto 20′, 39′, 41′, 65′
Bruno Castanheira 51′
Heavy showers, slippery pitch and also a very sleek and fast Albirex side condemned Hougang to their 2nd pre-season defeat, this time, a 5-1 hammering at Jalan Besar Stadium this evening.
It seems like the game was going to be postponed, due to the heavy showers and waterlogged pitch that would deem the game unplayable, but both coaches decided to proceed on with the game.
Hougang started out with Fadhil Salim, Syaqir Sulaiman, Shahir Hamzah, Jeremy Chiang, Lau Meng Meng, Faizal Amir, Jerome Beattie, Mamadou Diallo, Jerome Baker, Liam Shotton and Robert Eziakor.
The White Swans had a familiar face returning to the team. Wearing the number 7 in his orange flaming top, Bruno Castanheira returns to familiar grounds, after a 1 year absence back to Japan.
It was Hougang who drew first blood in the 14th minute however. Robert Eziakor long range short struck the net that made the crowd wowed in gleeness.
However, the Cheetahs weren’t able to sustain the lead, with new striker Kazuki Sakamoto equalling the scores six minutes later.
However, a bizzare moment occured when Jeremy Chiang was hauled off the pitch on 36 minutes. During that time, the White Swans took advantage of having a man extra and scored two goals in two minutes to make the scores 3-1 at half-time. Kazuki Sakamoto taking full advantage of the situation
When second half started, Jeremy Chiang was restored into the side. Out comes Fadhil, being replaced by Ridzuan Fatah Hassan in goal. The team started out the same as the first half, being two goals down.
However, Hougang allowed another goal, this time through Bruno Castanheira’s dribbling skills that went past the Hougang defence, to make it 4-1 to the Swans.
Hougang however, did have an opportunity to reduce the deficit through a spotkick, after a Swans defender handled a ball, after a Diallo’s freekick. Eziakor steps up, and manage to put the ball into the net. However, the referee ordered to retake the spotkick again. Eziakor slammed the ball into the crossbar at the subsequent kick.
By then, Albirex managed to net the fifth goal, this time through another goal by Kazuki Sakamoto, his fourth in the game.
Despite a late Hougang dominence in the last ten minutes, led by an entirely local Hougang players, Albirex took the game in the end by a 4-goal margin
