Football
Gabriel Tan 9y

S.League: Protectors rue missed chances in Albirex draw

Home United failed to make the most of their dominance on Wednesday as they had to settle for a goalless draw against Albirex Niigata (S) in the Great Eastern Yeo's S.League.

Entering the game at the Jurong East Stadium on a high after seeing off Warriors FC in last week's RHB Singapore Cup quarterfinals, the Protectors showed plenty of confidence and enjoyed the better of proceedings.

Nonetheless, they were just unable to find the back of the net and ultimately had to be content with a share of the spoils, which was enough for Albirex to move back on top of the table by a point.

However, the White Swans will certainly be thanking goalkeeper Yosuke Nozawa, after he produced a fine display to keep the visitors at bay.

The 35-year-old was first called into action in the seventh minute with a flying save to keep out Juma'at Jantan's deflected drive, before reacting well at the resultant corner to deny Ambroise Begue.

Chances were few and far between for Albirex but they did come close just before the break, when Atsushi Kawata's swerving 25-yard free kick caused Shahril Jantan to scramble into making a save.

Rui Kumada was next to threaten for the hosts with a low shot that Shahril did well to keep out again, although Home continued to create the better of the chances.

Begue found himself in a couple of good positions but failed to hit the target, before Yasir Hanapi came close with a ferocious 30-yard piledriver that was kept out by a brilliant save from Nozawa.

As the game entered its closing stages, Home were just unable to carve out a clear-cut opening, and had to eventually settle for the draw.

"Overall, it's disappointing that we didn't win given we certainly created enough chances," said Home coach Philippe Aw.

"The plan was to soak up the pressure and it started out as an even game, but we knew Albirex would tire.

"We had a lot of chances in the last 15 minutes but we were just unable to put the ball into the back of the net."

Meanwhile, Albirex boss Tatsuyuki Okuyama refused to be overly critical of his charges given their recent hectic fixture schedule, having played three games in seven days.

"Of course, we want to get the three points," said the Japanese. "This is our third game with very little rest in between, and I'm not using this is an excuse, but the players are very tired. This is a good point for us."

Albirex Niigata (S): Yosuke Nozawa, Mikiya Yamada, Takahiro Saito, Kento Fujihara, Itsuki Yamada, Hikaru Mizuno, Shun Inaba, Fumiya Kogure, Atsushi Kawata, Rion Taki, Rui Kumada (Yusuke Mukai 80')

Home United: Shahril Jantan, Ang Zhiwei, Abdil Qaiyyim, R. Aaravin, Juma'at Jantan, Yasir Hanapi, Azhar Sairudin (Sirina Camara 70'), Stanely Ng (Imran Sahib 80'), Kamel Ramdani, Ambroise Begue, Ken Ilso

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