Balestier Khalsa FC surged to second in the Great Eastern-Hyundai Singapore Premier League (SPL) standings after a 2-1 win over struggling Warriors FC at the Toa Payoh Stadium.
New Zealand forward Keegan Linderboom continued his red-hot scoring form in the first half, before young Noor Akid Nordin doubled the lead early in the second period.
Warriors – who had to play out the final 23 minutes with 10 men due to Ismadi Mukhtar’s dismissal – got one back via the returning Jonathan Behe, but it was too little too late for the uniformed outfit as they continued their win-less start to the season with three draws and two defeats.
Balestier broke the deadlock on 26 minutes through Linderboom, who pounced on a loose ball for his fourth goal of the season after Warriors custodian Fashah Iskandar failed to deal with Hazzuwan Halim’s left-wing cross.
Balestier managed to double their lead five minutes into the second half when Vedran Mesec produced the perfect flick-on from Huzaifah Aziz’s long throw for Akid, who gleefully smashed the ball in first-time from six yards out.
Left with a mountain to climb, the Warriors’ bid for a comeback was made tougher on 67 minutes when Ismadi was shown a straight red for swiping at Mesec’s face in an off-the-ball incident.
However the visitors got a glimmer of hope seven minutes later with two substitutes combining to halve the deficit as Tajeli dug out a superb cross for Behe to nod home.
The tide turned thereafter but Balestier did just enough to hold off the late Warriors onslaught to seal their third win of the season and their first league win against Warriors at Toa Payoh since March 2013. – www.fas.org.sg
