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Eagles denied penalty at the death

SINGAPORE — A contentious refereeing decision late in the game robbed Geylang International of the chance to go top of the S.League table on Thursday (March 10) night.

Geylang International's Branko Cubrilo contesting for the ball with Albirex Niigata's Naofumi Tanaka on March 10, 2016. Photo: S.League

Geylang International's Branko Cubrilo contesting for the ball with Albirex Niigata's Naofumi Tanaka on March 10, 2016. Photo: S.League

SINGAPORE — A contentious refereeing decision late in the game robbed Geylang International of the chance to go top of the S.League table on Thursday (March 10) night.

Deep into injury time in the top-of-the-table clash against league leaders Albirex Niigata at Bedok Stadium, a surging run by striker Sahil Suhaimi came to a screeching halt in the penalty box when a defender brought him down.

But much to the dismay and disbelief of the home fans, referee Sukhbir Singh deemed that the challenge did not warrant a penalty and waved play on.

Eagles coach Hasrin Jailani was so incensed with the decision that he kicked a chair in the dugout while ­arguing with the fourth official, ­before walking off the pitch.

“Yes, it’s a penalty,” said Sahil ­after the game. 

“I felt somebody kicked my leg in the penalty area but I don’t know why (a penalty) was not given. I told the referee that I am on a yellow and would not be stupid enough to dive to get sent off.”

The flashpoint was a late twist in an entertaining contest, which ended 0-0. 

A win would have sent the Eagles to the top of the league, which would have been an impressive achievement considering the club had been mired in the bottom three of the ­table for the past few seasons.

Instead, Geylang remain in second place with seven points — one behind leaders Albirex.

The Eagles got off to a flying start after just 60 seconds when winger Sahil clattered the woodwork with a thunderous effort. Captain Isa Halim then saw his follow-up shot deflected wide for a corner.

Sahil played creator in the 30th minute when he picked out midfielder Carlos Delgado on the edge of the penalty area, only for the Argentinian to see Albirex goalkeeper Yosuke Nozawa deny his curling effort with an acrobatic save. 

The White Swans hardly threatened in the opening half-hour, except when midfielder Masaya Jitozono’s 30m effort in the 19th minute sent Syazwan Buhari scrambling. But the Geylang goalkeeper eventually managed to hold on to the ball. 

Albirex should have taken the lead just before half-time, but ­Syazwan pulled off a brilliant stop at point-blank range to deny Atsushi Kawata, who is the league’s top scorer with four goals.

Geylang then had a fantastic chance to win the game in the 79th minute, but Nozawa was on hand to deny Faritz Hameed’s thumping header from Sahil’s cross on the left flank.

“We played well and created enough chances to win, but we were unlucky with our finishing once again,” said Geylang assistant coach Mohd Noor Ali, who was standing in for Hasrin. “But we have a two-week break and need to move on.” 

Albirex head coach Noaki Naruo felt his team was lucky to escape with a point.

“We made many mistakes today and couldn’t finish our chances, so I am disappointed,” he said. “One point today is good enough for us, though, especially looking at the strong second-half display from Geylang.”

In the night’s other match at the Jalan Besar Stadium, the Garena Young Lions saw their poor start to the season continue as they lost 3-1 to Hougang United. 

Croatian Stipe Plazibat put the Cheetahs ahead ­after just five minutes with his third goal of the season and captain Jozef Kaplan opened his account for the season by doubling his side’s lead in the 52nd minute.

Fareez Farhan pulled one back for the Young Lions in the 79th minute but Plazibat scored his second of the night three minutes later.

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