| Fadhil Yunus |
DPMM FC suffered their third defeat in four matches following a 2-1 defeat to Balestier Khalsa in the Great Eastern-Hyundai S League at the Jalan Besar Stadium in Singapore last night.
The Gegar Gegar men enjoyed a fine start after Rafael Ramazotti coolly tucked in a penalty in the 21st minute following a professional foul.
However, the Tigers issued a stern warning in the last five minutes of the first half after Myanmar international Kyaw Zayar Win curled a delightful ball into the box which Tajeli Selamat directing his header wide with veteran goalkeeper Alizanda Sitom out of his line.
DPMM FC’s defensive midfielder Azwan Salleh was sent off for a second bookable offence after throwing the ball needlessly in the direction of a Balestier Khalsa’s player.
Balestier Khalsa scored twice in a space of four minutes in the second half to leave the Brunei-based outfit still in search of a first away win this season.
The home side set the tone with Hazzuwan Halim delivering a promising ball into the box which Billy Mehmet shepherding the ball away to safety.
With the cross seemingly far from Rafael Ramazotti’s reach, Hanafi Salleh lost his composure and tugged the Brazilian’s shirt which resulted in a penalty.
The defender was fortunate to escape with a yellow card after replays suggested that he was the last man denying the Brazilian a scoring opportunity.
Ramazotti coolly sent goalkeeper Zaiful Nizam the wrong way to give his side the lead.
DPMM FC’s Ramazotti scores a penalty to give the visitors the lead
The Brazilian conjured an opportunity after leaping to meet Azwan Ali’s cross but unfortunately his weak header was easy for Nizam to collect.
Tajeli Selamat set up Shah Hirul from outside the box but the latter sliced his effort harmlessly wide.
Aung Kyaw Naing also threatened after forcing Alizanda to tip the ball away for a corner with a decent strike in the 38th minute.
The hosts pegged back after Hazzuwan capitalised on an erroneous back header from Zeljko Savic before lobbing the ball over Alizanda.
Raihan Rahman got his side ahead after scoring a stunning free-kick into the top corner as the Balestier Khalsa bench led by the charismatic head coach Marko Kraljevic erupted in joy.
Naing had a good chance to extend his side’s lead but the experienced Alizanda spotted the danger and quickly moved out of his line to deny the Myanmar speedster.
The visitors were down to 10 men in the 86th minute but the dismissal did not stop them from chasing for a late equaliser.
Ramazotti and Mehmet enjoyed a neat exchange in the box but the latter marked by three Balestier players saw his shot deflected off a defender.
From the ensuing corner, Ramazotti directed his header towards goal but was cleared off the line with replays suggesting that it hit the top of the player’s shoulder.
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