Football: Gutsy Sengkang Show Their Mettle
Posted on: April 2, 2007
SINGAPORE : Showing their new-found resolve, and quality as well, Sengkang Punggol earned a deserved 3-3 draw against the Young Lions in a highly entertaining NTUC Income-Yeo’s S.League 2007 clash at the Hougang Stadium on Sunday night.
Suriyandi Naib took centrestage in the last few minutes, first firing in a 30-metre thunderbolt that drew Sengkang level at 3-3, then getting himself sent off for an ugly two-footed lunge on Che Hao that drew a straight red card.
In front of a crowd of 1,433, the visitors went into the lead after 20 minutes when Khairul Amri was brought down in the box and Leandro Rodrigues stepped up to send Amos Boon the wrong way.
Fazrul Nawaz’ strike four minutes later gave the Young Lions a comfortable two-goal cushion, but Cole Tinkler kept the Dolphins in the hunt with a 39th minute effort.
Amri’s strike four minutes after the restart put the visitors back in the driving seat, but Jonathon Angelucci’s 69th minute effort once again gave Sengkang hope of getting something from the match.
They poured forward and just when it seemed as if they would come up short, Suriyandi struck.
Sengkang manager David Rowe felt his side deserved all three points, when he said: “We could have won the game if not for some refereeing decisions that didn’t go our way, like the penalty for example.
“After good performances against SAFFC and Albirex Niigata in recent weeks, we felt we had a good chance going into the game.
“Credit to the players, they never gave up and kept on fighting until the very end.”
Young Lions coach V Sundramoorthy also felt it was a case of two points dropped, when he said: “This will be a lesson for the boys. Leading 3-1 in any game, the only way to win is to work hard and score the fourth.
“They are youngsters and we must give them time to mature. I do think they are ready for anyone in this league.
“It’s not easy coming to Sengkang because they play high balls into the channels.
“At least we got a point.” –
Channel News Asia
My Soccer World 
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