By Kenneth Tan/Red Sports
Geylang United’s Slovakian forward Peter Tomko (in green), seen here earlier against Thai Port FC, scored the opening goal on 88 minutes but it was cancelled out just one minute later by Da Nang forward Gaston Merlo. (Photo © Tan Jon Han/Red Sports)
Jalan Besar Stadium, Tuesday, April 27, 2010 - Singapore Cup champions Geylang United bowed out of the AFC Cup with a whimper after a 1-1 draw with Vietnamese champions SHB Da Nang in their last group H AFC Cup game.
It was a rather inconsequential match as SHB Da Nang had already booked their place in the last 16 while Geylang had no chance to qualify for the knockout stages after only attaining three points in their last five games.
Geylang United had to make a few changes after captain Miroslav Latiak was ruled out with an ankle injury. 21-year-old Prime League midfielder Hassan Aziz was slotted into a five-man midfield while forward Hafiz Rahim was given a start after scoring in the 1-1 draw against Wofoo Tai Po in Hong Kong last week.
Da Nang settled in well in the opening exchanges and created the first opportunity of the game on eight minutes. Argentinian forward Gaston Merlo flicked his header wide of the right-hand post after centre back Tran Hai Lam's free kick from just inside the Geylang half.
Gaston then headed over 12 minutes later after a Doan Hung Son cross from the right.
Geylang United took some time to settle down as they created their first opportunity only after 21 minutes.
Centre back Jonathan Xu brought the ball out of defence with a superb run down the right before releasing Itimi Dickson down the middle. Itimi went on a surging run before firing a snapshot from 30 yards but his effort went right off the right-hand post before bouncing to safety.
Then on 36 minutes, an inswinging corner from the right saw Geylang’s defensive midfielder Syed Fadhil rise the highest to head the ball towards the bottom left corner, but Truong Quang Tuan was on hand to clear off the line.
The last opportunity of the half fell to Hafiz Rahim on the stroke of half time as he swivelled well before improvising a volley on the turn from just outside the box that went over the bar.
The second half saw Da Nang asserting their authority on the game as Geylang looked bereft of ideas in the attacking third and failed to conjure up any decent passing movement.
Full back Vo Hoang Quang worked his way down the right flank on 61 minutes before crossing towards an unmarked Gaston Merlo, but the latter wasted the opportunity by firing straight towards Geylang goalkeeper Siddiq Durimi.
Eight minutes later, forward Huynh Quoc Anh cut inside from the left before rifling his shot wide of the right-hand post.
They came the closest on 86 minutes when Gaston flicked on a cross from the right towards the path of substitute Phan Thanh Hung inside the box. Unfortunately, Phan's resulting effort beat Siddiq but not the crossbar.
He would have rued that opportunity as Geylang managed to break the deadlock two minutes later. A great Hafiz Rahim through ball down the defence caught the whole Da Nang defence sleeping and picked out an unmarked Peter Tomko who slalomed through and stayed composed to produce an exquisite lob over the onrushing Da Nang goalkeeper Tran Duc Cuong.
The match look headed towards a Geylang victory before Da Nang hit back just a minute later.
A Doan Hung Son cross from the right picked out the head of forward Gaston Merlo in box. The latter's resulting header looped over Siddiq Durimi to level matters.
That was the last significant moment of the match as Geylang finished their AFC Cup campaign without a win while SHB Da Nang finished top of Group H without a defeat in all six matches.
"As we have qualified, this game was not important for us," commented Da Nang coach Le Huynh Duc. "However it was a good opportunity to put in our young players and I felt they played very well."
Meanwhile Geylang United coach Mike Wong reflected on the end of his team's campaign.
"It is certainly experience gained for the players footballing-wise. As you can see from the goal we conceded today, our concentration was not there," he commented.
"In the AFC Cup level, the intensity level is higher and players move the ball around faster as well. Besides that, match-day preparations are very important especially when it comes to away games as the players are not used to staying in hotels," he said in response to what he has learnt in this whole journey.
"Looking back, we actually lost only two games, which is not too bad," he added. "The players have grown stronger from this journey and I have learnt personally as a coach as well. Hopefully we can carry this momentum into our remaining S.League games."
Geylang United will return to focus on their S.League campaign where they are currently fourth with 15 points from nine games. Their next match will be against Albirex Niigata at Jurong East Stadium on Monday, May 3rd.
Scorers
Geylang United
Peter Tomko 87'
SHB Da Nang
Gaston Merlo 88'
Geylang United lineup (3-5-2)
Siddiq Durimi (#20, GK); Jonathan Xu (#13), Ratislak Belicak (#3, captain), Walid Lounis (#5); Itimi Dickson (#14), Syed Fadhil (#18), Shah Hirul (#15), Hassan Aziz (#21), Salim Abdul Rahim (#2); Peter Tomko (#10), Hafiz Rahim (#17)
SHB Da Nang lineup (4-4-2)
Tran Duc Cuong (#25, GK); Vo Hoang Quang (#5, captain), Tran Hai Lam (#15), Cao Cuong (#2), Nguyen Quoc Thanh (#3); Doan Hung Son (#22), Truong Quang Tuan (#18), Le Van Hoang (#29), Huynh Quoc Anh (#23), Gaston Merlo (#27)
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