S.League: Warriors bounce back

WARRIORS FC 4

(Shi Jiayi 15th, 40th, Irwan Shah 57th, Nicholas Velez 58th)

TANJONG PAGAR 1

(Sebastien Etiemble 38th)

It was the perfect response to their recent dip in form.

Warriors FC returned to second spot in the Great-Eastern Yeo's S.League after thumping Tanjong Pagar United FC 4-1 at Choa Chu Kang Stadium last night.

Two quickfire goals by Irwan Shah (57th min) and Nicholas Velez (58th) ensured the home side snapped a three game winless streak and cut Brunei DPMM's lead at the top of the table to four points.

Speaking to The New Paper after the match, Warriors coach Alex Weaver said: "It was the perfect way to end the bad run. Everything went right for us tonight, from the front, all the way to the back four and the keeper."

Both sides went at each other with guns blazing at the start, but it was the Warriors who struck first after just 15 minutes.

Nicholas Velez danced his way into the box and fired a shot that deflected twice before falling to Shi Jiayi, who poked home from right in front of goal.

Tanjong Pagar continued to attack, and their efforts paid off in the 38th min when an Asraf Rashid cross was met by Sebastien Etiemble, who headed past Hassan Sunny into the top left corner.

Against the run of play, Shi Jiayi rose the highest to head the Warriors ahead off a Velez corner in the 40th min, and there was no coming back for the Jaguars from there.

Jaguars coach Patrick Vallee wasn't disappointed with his men's performance.

He said: "I'm not upset with my players because I could see that we fought hard. I thought we had a chance when we equalised, but we conceded a goal right after that, and another two goals just as we were looking to attack.

"Credit goes to the Warriors for the win, but I'm focusing more on our (RHB Singapore Cup) quarter-final against Tampines on Friday.

The league is still long, so I want to move on to the next match against one of the biggest teams in the league, and hopefully, we can progress in the cup."

This article was first published on JUNE 24, 2014.
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