Duric brace sends Warriors top
If SAFFC were at all fatigued from Wednesday's AFC Cup match
against Mahindra United in Goa, little of that was on display in a
3-1 win over the Young Lions last night.
Aleksandar Duric made it one-nil to the hosts in the seventh, with
Masrezwan Masturi doubling their lead just after the half hour
mark.
The Young Lions showed signs of revival after Hariss Harun scored
in the 60th minute but had their faint hopes dashed after Duric
dealt the killer blow just three minutes after.
Their midweek exertions notwithstanding, SAFFC were also under
pressure to regain top spot especially after Home United had beaten
Balestier Khalsa on Thursday.
Richard Bok had to make do without his first choice keeper Shahril
Jantan and defender Kenji Arai due to injury and illness
respectively.
But the two mainstays were hardly missed.
The Warriors started the match well, with Duric's header in the
third minute disallowed for offside.
And rather than let that upset him too much, the big Australian
responded in style by opening his accounts for the evening four
minutes later.
Finding Masrezwan Masturis pass from the side of the penalty-box,
Duric unleashed a powerful strike that left goalkeeper Jasper Chan
helpless.
Chan was beaten again in the 31st minute after a defensive error
handed SAFFC a corner.
Therdsak Chaiman's corner found the head of Masrezwan, who easily
brushed aside a challenge to nod home - an unforgivable piece of
defending - considering that the 26-year-old forward is hardly the
most physically imposing of players.
Two down in half an hour, Young Lions coach V Sundramoorthy
shuffled his pack by taking off defender Baihakki Khaizan and
bringing on forward Fazrul Nawaz.
The start of the second half saw the Young Lions step up, as they
managed to snag a larger share of the possession.
A telling pass from Modourou Moise found Khairul Amri in the box
and the forward had the presence of mind to pick out an onrushing
Hariss Harun at the far post.
The 16-year-old midfielder calmly headed past Toh Guo'An, and it
looked like game on.
Hariss's header gave the demoralised Young Lions hope as they
quickly poured forward in search of an equaliser.
However, their hopes were dashed just three minutes later as yet
another defensive error resulted in a goal for the Warriors.
It was another corner from Thai midfielder Therdsak that did the
damage. He found Duric at the near post and the latter had plenty
of time to head his second of the night.
"We were playing with SAFFC and they have very seasoned players,"
said Young Lions coach V Sundramoorthy.
"They know exactly what to do with the ball.
"My boys are young players. Let them play and learn," he
added.
"The game was a good learning experience for them. The boys will
learn a lot because they are playing with much better
opponents.
"Its a challenge and well see the benefits later in the season.
Come June or July and youll see a different and better team," said
Sundram.
Meanwhile his opposite number said: "It was definitely not an easy
game. We just came back from India and we were tired and suffered
from cramps due to the heat.
"But Im happy that we did our job well tonight."
