Bah Mamadou Singapore

S-League 2011/2012 : Warriors Survive Late Bull's Charge

Four days after their 2-1 triumph over Tampines Rovers at Tampines Stadium, the Warriors returned to Choa Chu Kang Stadium to inflict defeat on Gombak United by an identical scoreline.

The circumstances of the win, however, were completely different.

A last-minute winner had earned them the points against the Stags, thanks to the persistence of Ivan Jerkovic, and the Croatian playmaker had a big hand in this victory as well, but after leading 2-0 at the break, SAFFC found themselves under immense pressure towards the end as Gombak pulled one goal back and looked fully capable of snatching the draw.

Fortunately for the home side, there was enough left in the tank to protect that slender lead, before referee Muhd Taqi called a halt to proceedings.

Two goals from Mislav Karoglan in the first 12 minutes did the damage, with Jerkovic providing the assists for both.

It could well have been 3-nil by half time, had Karoglan been more alert when through on goal in the 26 minute, but as he explained later the keeper surprised him.

“I thought I had the ball under my control and the keeper was still on his line, but he came rushing out suddenly and before I knew it, he had tackled me and kicked the ball away!”

That quick thinking by Lee Heng Huat and perhaps a shade of complacency on the part of the striker meant that later in the game, the failure to convert such chances by the home team helped Gombak claw their way back.

“I thought we had a very good first half,” said coach Richard Bok.

“But we tired noticeably towards the end.”

Bok made three changes from the team that had beaten the Stags earlier in the week.

He brought in new signing Goran Subara in a screening role, included Fazrul Nawaz as Karoglan’s partner and brought Erwan Gunawan back into the starting line-up again.

“I played with two strikers today, so I was able to rest Noh Rahman and Rhysh Roshan Rai, as well as Mustaqim (Manzur).

“The changes were made partly to give us some fresh legs and partly as I wanted to play a different system to the one we used against Tampines.

Jerkovic provided the cross for the first goal after only four minutes when a corner on the left saw the ball played back to him out wide.

His clever cross to the far post was met by Karoglan with what looked an easy header, though the scorer’s experience probably made it look that way as his positioning had a lot to do with his ability to deliver.

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