It was all action in the Singapore Premier League 2019 as leaders Tampines Rovers dropped points to Albirex Niigata and the Young Lions sprang a surprise on Hougang United.
Albirex or White Swans as they are known as took the game to the Stags and may feel unfortunate not to have come away with all three points as they battled to a scoreless draw following an encouraging display.
The Young Lions came off 2-1 winners over Hougang – with a goal in each half sandwiched in between that of the visitor’s.
An excellent right-wing cross from Syed Firdaus Hassan was met with a superb header from Syukri to give the home side a deserved lead.
Afiq Yunos’ close-range finish restored parity as the Cheetahs improved after the break, but Saifullah Akbar benefitted from some good fortune as he deflected in a clearance to seal three points.
Struggling Warriors FC were thumped 3-0 by Home United.
This could be the win that ignites Home’s season as they turned in a polished second-half showing to take the Uniformed Derby spoils.
An opportunistic finish from Hami Syahin got them underway and Song made an immediate impact off the bench in his first league appearance of the season.
Having assisted the opener, debutant Oliver Puflett then capped an impressive display with a cool lob to round off the scoring.
Balestier were also big winners on the night as they coast past Geylang 3-0 to rise up to second at the table.
Daniel Goh, who had hit the bar barely 60 seconds prior, saw his low cross turned in by Darren Teh just before the hour mark as the deadlock was broken.
Hazzuwan Halim then collected Kristijan Krajcek’s 50-yard pass with an excellent first touch, before calmly lifting the finish over Zainol Gulam and into the net.
Krajcek scored his first goal for the Tigers by turning his marker inside out before smashing the ball in at the near post.
SINGAPORE PREMIER LEAGUE 2019 Current Standings
| No | Team | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Tampines Rovers | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 2 | +9 | 10 |
| 2 | Balestier Khalsa | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 4 | +4 | 7 |
| 3 | DPMM | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | +4 | 7 |
| 4 | Home United | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 7 | -1 | 7 |
| 5 | Hougang United | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 6 |
| 6 | Geylang International | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 9 | -3 | 6 |
| 7 | Albirex Niigata (S) | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 5 |
| 8 | Young Lions | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 7 | -3 | 3 |
| 9 | Warriors | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 13 | -10 | 0 |
