SINGAPORE – Tampines Rovers notched their first win of the S.League season in style as they thrashed Hougang United 4-1 at the Jurong West Stadium on Friday (Feb 26).

The Stags made a blistering start in front of 2,106 fans as they romped to a 3-0 lead inside the opening 18 minutes.

The first arrived in the eighth minute as Shahdan Sulaiman thundered a shot in the back of the net on the rebound after Billy Mehmet saw his effort from inside the penalty area blocked.

It was 2-0 two minutes later with Mehmet at the heart of the action yet again. The Englishman was dragged down on the edge of the penalty area but somehow managed to slip the ball to an unmarked Ismadi Mukhtar and the right-back rifled the ball into the top right-hand corner.

With the Cheetahs rattled, the Stags continued to pounce. Canadian striker Jordan Webb hit the post before S.League’s most expensive signing Jermaine Pennant delivered a delightful free-kick into the penalty area for Mustafic Fahrudin to deftly head home in the 18th minute.

Hougang got a lifeline in the 25th minute when they pulled one back through Croatian Stipe Plazibat, but that proved to be only a consolation as Stags striker Fazrul Nawaz made it four for the home side in the 83rd minute.

Tampines assistant coach Akbar Nawas, standing in for head coach V Sundramoorthy during the post-match interviews, said his team fought hard for the win.

“We scored the early goal and defended really well in the second half,” he said. “However, I think we still need to retain the ball more and dominate possession. If we can keep the ball more, we will get even better as the season goes on.”

Hougang head coach K. Balagumaran was naturally disappointed with the heavy defeat.

“We lost to a great team. Tampines are a side who will punish you when you make mistakes,” he said. “I made some attacking changes in the second half to try and get back into the contest but, unfortunately, it didn’t pay off.”