Gombak United recorded a dominant 4-0 win over Loyola Meralco Sparks on Sunday to win the RHB Singapore Cup third-place playoff.
By Gabriel Tan at the Jalan Besar Stadium
The Bulls took the lead after just seven minutes when Iqbal Hussain pounced on a mistake by Chad Gould to fire home, before Mustaqim Manzur doubled their lead four minutes later with a fine individual effort.
Five minutes after the half-hour mark, Fairoz Hasan added a third with a blistering freekick after Sparks goalkeeper Ref Cuaresma had handled the ball outside the area, and the contest was all but ended in the 43rd minute when Julien Durand netted with a delicate finish.
The third-place finish was a fine achievement for Gombak coach K. Balagumaran in his first season in charge of a Great Eastern-YEO's S.League side, and the fact his starting XI consisted of three players under the age of 21 was a clear sign his focus on youth development is reaping rewards at the Jurong West Stadium.
On the other hand, Loyola entered Sunday's game looking to cap off a fine campaign by claiming the bronze medal, having already done Philippines proud by reaching the semi-finals of the competition in their first-ever appearance.
They certainly got off to the brighter start and threatened the opposition goal twice in the opening five minutes through dangerous crosses from Jeong Byeong-yeol and James Younghusband, although Zaiful Nizam dealt with the threat on both occasions.
However, it was Gombak who drew first blood in the seventh minute when a freekick from Ismail Yunos was missed by Gould and made its way to Iqbal. The 19-year-old, who had a one-on-one attempt saved by Cuaresma a minute earlier, made no mistake this time around, coolly sending his shot into the back of the net.
Four minutes later, Iqbal turned provider when he picked up possession down the left and played a neat ball to Mustaqim, who ghosted past Elnar and into the box, before coolly slotting into the bottom corner.
Stunned at their opponents' flying start, the Sparks immediately pushed forward in search of an immediate response and Gould nearly made amends for his earlier error in the 17th minute when he let fly from 35 yards with a fierce effort that had Zaiful scrambling to his far post to make the save.
Five minutes later, the visitors created another opening when Jang Jo-won threaded a neat pass through to Phil Younghusband down the right. The Philippines international did well to hold off his opponent before hitting a firm effort towards goal but could only send it straight at Zaiful.
Two minutes after the half-hour mark, the Bulls were nearly caught out on the counterattack as Jeong latched onto a clearance on the edge of his own area and ran almost the length of the field, before making his way into the box and cutting inside his opponent. Unfortunately for Loyola, the South Korean took just a second too long to fire away and saw his shot blocked.
Three minutes later, the Sparks were made to rue their inability to put away their chances as Gombak edged further ahead after an error in judgment from Cuaresma saw him concede a freekick in a dangerous area after he handled the ball outside the area. Despite the visitors putting plenty of players in the wall, Fairoz stepped up and unleashed a ferocious strike into the bottom corner to put his side 3-0 up with just over half an hour played.
Cuaresma then atoned for his mistake in the 37th minute when he produced a good reflex stop to deny a close-range volley from Iqbal, but there was nothing he could do two minutes before the break when Bulls added a fourth.
Winning possession in the centre circle, Durand played the ball to Mustaqim before embarking on a blistering run down the left and latching onto his team-mate's return pass. The Frenchman proceeded to race into the box, where he then clipped a lovely shot over the onrushing opposition goalkeeper to give his side a commanding lead at the break.
Now needing a minor miracle to get back into the game, the Sparks came out for the second half playing lke they had nothing to lose, and they had a decent opportunity in the 49th minute when Jeong found space down the right but failed to guide his cross past Zaiful at the near post.
Five minutes after the hour mark, Phil Younghusband drilled in an excellent cross from the right that sailed all the way to the back post, where Gould failed to react in time and could only send a tame header straight to Zaiful.
Phil Younghusband then had a chance of his own two minutes later when he latched onto a lovely ball by James Younghusband and burst past Walid Lounis and into the area, but he was just unable to keep his shot on target.
15 minutes from time, Durand came close to grabbing his second of the game when his fierce drive was well palmed away by Cuaresma, after Hafiz Rahim had put him through down the left with a cheeky back-heel on the edge of the area.
With time fast running out, the Loyola players were looking increasingly deflated and it was the Bulls who were ending the game with a greater sense of purpose. As the game ticked into injury-time, Hafiz wasted a good chance to grab a goal of his own after he curled a shot way wide from a one-on-one situation, after Iqbal had floated a perfect pass to him.
Right at the death, Phil Younghusband had one final opportunity to give the travelling fans something to cheer about when he went on a penetrating run through the middle, before unleashing a ferocious drive towards goal. Alas, as he had been all evening long, Zaiful was equal to the task and Gombak were left to celebrate their best-ever finish in the Singapore Cup.
Gombak United: Zaiful Nizam, Ismail Yunos, Obadin Aikhena, Walid Lounis, Nurullah Hussein, K. Vikraman (Fuad Jufri 81'), Amin Rossady, Fairoz Hasan (Jung Hee-bong 67'), Mustaqim Manzur (Hafiz Rahim 73'), Iqbal Hussain, Julien Durand.
Loyola Meralco Sparks: Ref Cuaresma, Alexandro Elnar, Chad Gould (Jake Morallo 80'), Park Min-ho, Roxy Dorlas, Andres Gonzales (Kim Woo-chul 72'), Jang Jo-won, Mark Hartmann (Simon Greatwich 36'), James Younghusband, Jeong Byeong-yeol, Phil Younghusband.
Source: Latest Sports News and Results
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