Home United beat SAFFC to claim uniform derby win in S.League football

Story by Koh Yizhe/Red Sports. Photos by Lai Jun Wei.

Clementi Stadium, Saturday, May 30, 2009 - Home United FC put their championship hopes back on track as they came out top in the uniform derby, beating the defending champions Singapore Armed Forces FC 2-1 in their S.League encounter.

It was sweet revenge for the Protectors as they had suffered a demoralizing 3-1 defeat to SAFFC in their game earlier this season. After a goalless first half, Home United's Kengne Ludovick's opener in the 62nd minute was cancelled out by Park Tae Won 13 minutes from time, before Peres De Oliveira slotted home the winner with five minutes from time.

The home side had the better of early goings as SAFFC struggled to find their rhythm. Home United found plenty of possession and lurked outside the Warrior's penalty area right from the start, but were unlucky not to have taken the lead with shots flying over the bar. Azhar Sairudin had the best of these chances with his powerful shot from inside the penalty area that Shahril Jantan did well to palm away.

It didn't take long however for the defending champions to shake off their rust and create chances. 23-year-old Shaiful Esah was first to make SAFFC's presence in the 27th minute felt when he threaded a free kick to Aleksandar Duric who blasted his shot into the defense. Park Tae Won was first to the rebound but flashed a header wide.

Brazilian Peres De Oliveira almost gave Home United a lead with minutes to half time, but his goal-bound shot cannoned off Kenji Arai's head. The impact of the "cannonball" had Arai requiring medical attention off the pitch for a while before the half-time whistle greeted the goalless game.

Both teams returned to the pitch evidently recharged to fight for a derby win. At the sound of the second-half whistle, Azhar Sairudin made haste and found the side netting for Home United, while Aleksandar Duric headed over a corner for his side. Both teams struggled to find the right penetrating pass to release their forwards.

Home United claimed their breakthrough first in the 62nd minute when their Cameroonian forward Kengne Ludovick drove into the penalty area unchallenged and blasted an unstoppable shot beyond the outstretched leg of Shahril Jantan for a 1-0 lead.

The 1-0 deficit seemed to have awakened the sleeping giant in SAFFC. Both John Wilkinson and Ahmad Latiff squandered their chances to square things up. Nerves got the better of Wilkinson as he sent his shot over the bar, while Latiff's shot glided narrowly past the goal post.

In the 66th minute, Park Tae Won, in a desperate attempt to win a penalty, was booked for diving. The South Korean redeemed himself 10 minutes later when he collected a long ball in the penalty area and needed just a slight touch to beat Home United's goal keeper Ridzuan Fatah Hasan.

Just when it looked like the game was heading for a stalemate, Peres De Oliveira netted the winner for the resilient home side with just 5 minutes left on the clock. After exchanging a one-two pass, he placed his final touch just beyond the reach of Shahril Jantan's right as Home United regained the lead.

In the closing stages of the game, Aleksandar Duric headed a sitter over the bar to bring the derby encounter to a close.

SAFFC coach Richard Bok indentified the inability to take their chances as the reason for only their fourth defeat of the campaign, though an away victory would have sealed an unbeaten run in May.

"This is football, when you don't take your chances, they will hit you. We did well to come back, but it was also a lack of concentration that cost us and although we created enough chances in the second half, we didn't take them."

Richard also revealed his decision to substitute Razaleigh Khalik for Ahmad Latiff in the 75th minute.

He said: "Latiff was taken off because he has a hamstring problem and I wanted to play him as long as he could, but there is still a long way to go in the season. He himself could have scored one or two goals."
As the S.League goes into a hiatus until June 22nd with the League Cup kicking off on Monday, June 1st, Richard knows that a solution has to be found to make amends for their inconsistent season thus far.

Richard confessed: "We have to rediscover our passion in order to continue our success in the league."

With the defeat, SAFFC drop to second place on the S.League table with 30 points and one game in hand. The defending champions are one point behind Gombak United who have 31 points, while Home United are now in fifth position with 19 points and a game in hand.