Jonathan Behe struck four minutes into injury time to earn Warriors FC a 3-3 draw against Home United FC in a thrilling Great Eastern-Hyundai Singapore Premier League (SPL) Uniformed Derby at Bishan Stadium on Saturday evening.
With none of the last 24 head-to-head encounters ending goal-less, goals were guaranteed in this fixture and the fans were treated to one after just two minutes on the clock.
Capitalising on Shakir Hamzah’s poor clearance, Ho Wai Loon went on a rampaging run through the middle before poking the ball past onrushing goalkeeper Rudy Khairullah to give Warriors a shock lead.
It took Home 13 minutes to restore parity though as Song Ui-young’s speculative 35-yard free-kick beat the wall and evaded the reach of Warriors custodian Fashah Iskandar to nestle in the bottom left corner.
Warriors almost retook the lead just two minutes later, with Behe’s shot from just outside the box beating Rudy, but not the left post.
The intensity of the game slowed down as the first half went on, with the score remaining all square at the break.
Sirina Camara’s introduction at the start of the second half gave Home more impetus in the attacking third and he played an integral role in Home’s second goal 18 minutes in.
From the left flank, the Frenchman delivered a peach of a free-kick into the area for Faizal Roslan to crash a header beyond the despairing reach of Fashah.
However the Warriors came roaring back and managed to level the scores at 2-2 in the 82nd minute.
A superb outswinging corner by Ho picked out Behe, who directed a smart header across the face of goal and beyond Rudy.
Home retook the lead just three minutes later though. After Emmeric Ong was adjudged to have fouled Shahril Ishak in the box, Song stepped up to fire in his fourth league goal from the spot.
That looked to have earned Home all three points, but Warriors had one last trick to pull off with virtually the last kick of the game.
A superb cross from Ho into the area found Behe, who peeled away from his marker to nod into the bottom left corner and send Head Coach Mirko Grabovac into wild celebrations on the sidelines.
Home will host Indonesia’s Persija Jakarta in the first leg of the AFC Cup Zonal semi-finals next Tuesday, while Warriors will continue their bid for a first SPL win when they host champions Albirex Niigata FC (S) next Sunday. – www.fas.org.sg
