Balestier Khalsa made it four Singapore Premier League (SPL) victories on the trot, capitalising on their numerical advantage to orchestrate a come-from-behind win over 10-man Hougang United at Bishan Stadium on Monday night (Mar 9), courtesy of goals from Croatian pair Tin Matic and Jakov Katusa.
Describing the result as a confidence booster ahead of their clash with league leaders Lion City Sailors next Sunday, Balestier head coach Marko Kraljevic was proud of his charges for the way they rallied after a poor first half.
“We were second best in the first half. They gave us a lot of problems in the midfield, where they always had one extra man. Saifullah (Akbar) got a lot of the ball in between the lines… It was not easy; our passing was not aggressive enough. They didn’t give us space,” Kraljevic said.
Player-of-the-match Katusa added, “I think this was our worst first half in the league so far. I don’t know what happened. We looked tired, without energy, without pace, without quality on the ball, without anything. I think Hougang played very well, man-on-man and tight pressing.”
Indeed, the Tigers endured a sluggish start and looked the lesser of the two sides as Hougang pressed high while staying compact, neutralising most of Balestier’s potent attacking threats.
The Cheetahs took the lead in the 21st minute through a Hafiz Ahmad own goal, but were left to rue their disciplinary lapses after captain Ryaan Sanizal was given his marching orders for a last-man foul on Bogdan Mandic in the 44th minute.
The red card was the hosts’ fifth sending-off this season and their second in as many matches after Settawut Wongsai’s dismissal in their 3-0 away loss to BG Tampines Rovers on Feb 27.
Despite going a man down, Hougang remained adventurous in possession after the restart and looked to trouble Balestier as they had before the break.
“We tried to play (our game), and everybody could see that Balestier were struggling to keep up with ten men. So that is the positive we can take away. But we have to end games with eleven,” Hougang head coach Akbar Nawas said.
But the pressure eventually told, as an inch-perfect ball from Balestier full-back Darren Teh in the 55th minute picked out the run of Matic, who took it in his stride and comfortably slotted home the equaliser.
With their lead erased, the Cheetahs found themselves dropping deeper as Balestier pegged them back in search of a go-ahead goal.
A point-blank header by Mario Subaric in the 55th minute was cleared off the line by an alert Nabilai Kibunguchy, who had started the match up front but later plugged the hole in defence left by Ryaan.
But there was no stopping Balestier winger Katusa, who bulldozed through three Hougang players before uncorking a strike beyond substitute goalkeeper Muhammad Ridhuan Barduin, who had come on after first-choice keeper Zharfan Rohaizad went off with a wrist injury in the fifth minute.
“He’s not only scoring, but also giving a lot of assists, and a lot of crosses are coming from him. I think he’s really on form after coming back from injury. Without him, we were struggling a little bit,” Kraljevic said.
Having notched his fourth goal in four league games, Katusa added, “After scoring the equaliser, we believed that we could go on and beat Hougang.”
“To win games like these is very important mentally. And that’s something we have shown we can do in the first half of the season.”
The Tigers, now in the ascendancy, continued to bear down on goal, finishing with 10 shots on target and coming away with a victory that had seemed unlikely after a muted first half by their standards.
Their win streak will face the ultimate test when they face the unbeaten Sailors on Mar 15 at the Bishan Stadium.
“We were in bad form before this because we had a lot of suspensions and injuries. It’s hard when it’s like that. But when we are complete, I think we can play against anyone in the league. Now we are on a four-game win streak. It’s good, but we need to keep going. Next, we face the best team in the league by far, but we will try our best.”
