BG Tampines Rovers’ AFC Asian Champions League Two (ACL2) adventure came to a screeching halt at the hands of a stubborn Bangkok United defence on Thursday (Mar 21) night, dashing their hopes of a historic semi-final berth having never made it past the last eight.
The Stags came into the home leg trailing 2-1 but, despite their efforts, could not overturn the deficit and settled for a 2-2 draw (4-3 defeat on aggregate) at Jalan Besar Stadium.
But it was not for want of trying as the hosts took the game to their opponents, especially in the second half, throwing numbers forward in the dying minutes in hopes of levelling the tie.
“It’s frustrating, but we played very well, especially in the second half… we came close to getting the result we wanted, but we have to move on,” said Tampines interim head coach Robert Eziakor, who cut a dejected figure at the post-match press conference.
Player-of-the-match Trent Buhagiar, who scored his side’s first goal of the night to bring his tournament tally to eight and stay at the top of the scoring charts, was proud of his side for defying the odds with a deep run into the continental competition.
“We’re super proud of the boys. Everyone fought well tonight. We knew we were a goal behind, that we had to go out and get a couple of goals to try to win the game. But unfortunately, we came out short, and this is football sometimes,” the Maltese international said.
“We put on some really good performances throughout this whole competition, and we stayed consistent. We played really good football in parts, which led us to this position. I think that we can take a lot of positives from this tournament as a team and show in the future that we can go one step closer next season.”
Despite a sluggish start to the game that saw them concede as early as the 15th minute, Buhagiar praised his side’s reaction to stay in contention as the Stags came from behind twice to set up the nervy finish.
“It’s a bit of a pity. Obviously, in the first half of the first leg, we could have come out a bit stronger, and today as well… We came out in the second half in both games, and we showed that we’ve got the character and fight to come back. We’ll learn from this, and in the future we’ll have to come out stronger in the first half,” he said.
With livewire forward Picha Autra ruled out after sustaining an injury in the first leg, it was veteran Thai forward Teerasil Dangda who stepped up for the Bangkok Angels.
The 37-year-old rolled back the years with a deft give-and-go with Muhsen Al Ghassani before rifling past 16-year-old Kasey Rogers, the Stags’ only change from the first leg as he replaced captain Syazwan Buhari between the sticks.
The opening passages were threatening to follow a familiar script, but against the run of play, Tampines midfielder Shah Shahiran picked out a clever run by Buhagiar with a delicate lob, and the forward made no mistake in front of goal.
Bangkok needed just three minutes to restore their two-goal aggregate cushion as Nebojsa Kosovic teed up Dutch forward Ilias Alhaft, who muscled past two defenders before squeezing his relatively tame effort past Rogers for his fourth of the competition.
Tampines came out of the interval all guns blazing, and their aggression was rewarded in the 71st minute when the box-crashing Koya Kazama finished off a lovely passing move.
Even with winger Glenn Kweh coming on and three of Bangkok’s defenders on yellow cards, Tampines could not find the elusive equaliser to force extra time.
Bangkok head coach Totchtawan Sripan was pleased to progress to the semi-finals, where they will face Gamba Osaka, who beat fellow Thai side Ratchaburi 3-2 on aggregate, but conceded it was a slog to see out the narrow victory.
“The boys did very well in the first half today. We took a 2-1 lead, but we used a lot of energy in that first half. In the second half, we felt a bit more fatigue,” the 54-year-old said.
“Tampines were especially strong in transitions. In the second half, when they went all-out attack, they forced us to sit back deeper than usual.”
“It was a really tough game. We did our best, and we did our job, which was to qualify for the next round.”
With elimination bringing an end to the hectic travel schedules that come with continental competitions, Eziakor urged his charges to focus on their Singapore Premier League (SPL) title charge.
“We are not far from (Lion City Sailors). We are still in the race… (Tampines) have had a history of winning the league. We are not far away, we still have to believe in the dream that we can end the season strongly.”
Tampines are five points behind the Sailors with a game in hand and are due to face bottom dwellers Tanjong Pagar United on Monday (Mar 16) night at the Jurong East Stadium.
