Shahfiq Ghani struck a free-kick deep in stoppage time to help Hougang United FC achieve an unlikely 2-2 draw against champions Albirex Niigata FC (S) at Jurong East Stadium.
It looked like Albirex was on the way to yet another victory after second-half goals from Adam Swandi and Shun Kumagai overturned Hougang’s first-half lead, courtesy of Stanely Ng’s penalty.
Hougang were determined not to be mere spectators to the White Swans’ Great Eastern-Hyundai Singapore Premier League (SPL) title party as Shahfiq’s equaliser to halted their winning run at Jurong East at 38 matches.
“We knew that this will be a difficult game for us… We conceded two goals from set-plays and could have lost the game. For the next four games (including Singapore Cup), we have to reflect and learn from our mistakes. This is definitely not one of our better displays this season,” said Albirex head coach Kazuaki Yoshinaga.
The last time Albirex failed to win at home was in November 2015 in a 1-0 loss to Tampines Rovers FC.
It was the visitors who took a surprise lead on 14 minutes. With Nazrul Nazari tripped by Kumagai in the area, Ng stepped up to send Yohsuke Nozawa the wrong way from the spot.
That goal stung Kazuaki Yoshinaga’s men into action and they dominated the rest of the half, but were thwarted by the alert Ridhuan Barudin.
The Cheetahs’ resistance was finally broken three minutes later as Adam produced an opportunistic first-time shot that flew past a rooted Ridhuan.
Hougang had chances to retake the lead thereafter, but Chang Jo-yoon and Fabian Kwok were unable to make them count.
As the clock began ticking down, Albirex began to find more inroads and they would grab a second goal on 86 minutes.
Kamata’s right-wing cross into the area was missed by Hougang centre-back Illyas Lee but not Kumagai, who steadied himself well in unfamiliar territory before slotting past Ridhuan for what looked like the winner.
Kumagai fouled Antoine Viterale and Shahfiq stepped up to deliver a stunning dead ball from 20 yards into the left corner to send the visiting Hougang HOOLS into delirium.
That goal earned the Cheetahs an unlikely point and they will take heart from being the first team to stop Albirex from winning on their home turf in almost three years, as they conclude the season with a home game against Geylang International FC next Saturday.
“We knew there’s going to be a party, so we told the players to come here and enjoy it. They were enjoying themselves and could have gotten more from the game. So even if we have lost, I would have been happy with their brave display,” added Hougang caretaker coach Clement Teo.
