Geylang International returned to winning ways in the Great Eastern-Hyundai S.League after edging Hougang United 1-0 at Hougang Stadium on Friday night.
Shawal Anuar’s first-half strike proved to be the difference in this encounter as Geylang bounced back from their heavy 5-0 defeat to leaders Albirex Niigata (S) two weeks ago.
The opening 15 minutes or so was tentative as the two teams tried their feet with Pablo Rodriguez’s weak header in the seventh minute being the only noteworthy chance.
Shawal saw his effort from inside the box pushed away by Khairulhin Khalid on 19 minutes before Victor Coto fired just over five minutes later.
It was a warning sign Hougang failed to heed as Geylang broke the deadlock in the 28th minute. Â
After the Cheetahs failed to clear their lines from a corner, an unmarked Shawal then finished acrobatically at the far post to put the visitors in front. Â
Geylang nearly doubled their advantage on 36 minutes when Shahfiq Ghani spotted Khairulhin off his line before unleashing an audacious effort on goal but the Hougang custodian tracked back in time to push it behind for a corner.
The home side would however come agonisingly close to pulling level on the stroke of half time when Syahiran Miswan’s fierce 20-yard shot was pushed onto the bar by Syazwan Buhari and away to safety.
Ricardo Sendra then spurned a glorious opportunity to put daylight between themselves and Hougang in the 54th minute as he skied his shot off Gabriel Quak’s cross before Rodriguez nodded narrowly over at the other end moments later.   Â
Shawal could have gotten his second of the night and put the game to bed twelve minutes from time but his left-footed shot failed to trouble Khairulhin.
In a bid to salvage a point from the game, Hougang threw the kitchen sink at Geylang in the closing stages.
Rodriguez volleyed wide in the 83rd minute before substitute Iqbal Hussain poked one straight at Syazwan from a tight angle in the dying moments but it would matter little as Geylang hung on for all three points.
With the result, Geylang remain in fifth spot in the standings with 24 points in 16 games, while Hougang suffered their seventh loss of the season and are a place behind the Eagles.
