Singapore Cup: Wasteful Warriors

SINGAPORE CUP

WARRIORS FC 1

(Miroslav Pejic 45)

BALESTIER KHALSA 3

(Zulkiffli Hassim 6, Goran Ljubojevic 61, Park Kang Jin 76)

They are second in the Great Eastern-Yeo's S.League, and had just defeated S.League leaders Brunei DPMM last week.

But Warriors FC were brought down back to earth after caving 3-1 to Balestier Khalsa at Choa Chu Kang Stadium yesterday to crash out of the RHB Singapore Cup in the first round.

This was an upset few saw coming.

The Tigers have been struggling to match the performances of last season, when they finished fourth in the league.

Last week's 2-1 loss to Woodlands Wellington saw them stay in seventh position, ahead of the Rams only on goal difference.

Balestier coach Marko Kraljevic said: "Park (Kang Jin) is back and because of him, we played very well tonight, especially our defence.

"They cancelled out (Miroslav) Pejic and (Nicolas) Velez, whom I knew were the threats to us, so I have to say we did very well."

FRUSTRATED

His counterpart, Warriors coach Alex Weaver, was left rueing his team's inability to put away their chances.

He said: "It's difficult when you're up against a brick wall. We really found it hard to break them down.

"That second goal killed us. We dominated the game but it was frustrating to not have that final quality in the penalty box."

It was the home side who nearly drew first blood, after only two minutes.

Pejic's shot was palmed by goalkeeper Zaiful Nizam, and Velez's follow-up header went over the bar.

Then against the run of play, the Tigers struck.

South Koreans Kim Min Ho and Park traded passes on the left flank, before Park sent a low cross to a waiting Zulkiffli Hassim, who gratefully stroked the ball into the net after just six minutes.

But the Warriors continued to hold the lion's share of the possession.

The pressure eventually paid off when Pejic's thunderbolt free-kick took a wicked deflection off the wall and went into the net on the stroke of half-time.

However, it went downhill from there for the Warriors.

As they went in search for the lead after the break, they often left only three defenders at the back, leaving them vulnerable to the counter-attack.

Then Balestier got the rub of the green in the 61st minute.

Daniel Bennett's mistimed clearance rebounded off teammate Zulfadli Zainal and onto the feet of a waiting Goran Ljubojevic, who was presented with an open goal that he just couldn't miss.

The Warriors' defence again got caught out by a swift break 15 minutes later. This time, it was Park who supplied the finishing touch, sending a thumping drive past goalkeeper Hassan Sunny to seal victory.

It leaves Kraljevic dreaming of a good cup run.

Last year, they lost 2-0 on aggregate to Home United in the semi-finals.

He said: "Three games and we're in the final, so I don't see why we can't go all the way.

"If we get lucky, we can win it and save our season, so hopefully we'll get a good draw for the quarter-finals.

"But tonight, I am a very happy man."

redzwank@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on May 28, 2014.
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