| Fadhil Yunus |
DPMM FC maintained their unbeaten record at home as Shahrazen Said inspired his side to a 3-2 victory over Hougang United in the Singapore Premier League at the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium last night.
The Gegar Gegar men stayed unbeaten after six games and are now only four points behind Tampines Rovers with a game in hand.
With only two minutes of the match elapsed, Hougang forward Muhaimin Suhaimi received a booking after pulling a DPMM FC player into the ground hence denying him the opportunity to break forward.
The hosts took the lead with two of their most influential attackers in harmony which was made possible after Adi Said exhibited perfect ball control.
The forward picked out Volodymyr Pryimov who gleefully smashed the ball home for his 12th goal of the season in the sixth minute.
Adi, who is proving to be one of Weber’s main players, was in the mood taking out defenders with ease but unfortunately his final product did not result in a connection from a teammate.
DPMM FC import Mojtaba Mollasaraei checked inside a Hougang defender who was able to close down the angle enabling goalkeeper Khairulhin Khalid to make an expected save.
Proving that stubbornness was not only centred in defence, Hougang got back into level terms after Fabian Kwok produced a screamer from the edge of the box in the 31st minute.
Mojtaba then forced Khairulhin into making a one-handed save from an acute angle as again the Hougang defence left him no option but to hit his shot from a wide position.
Awangku Fakharrazi, who made a rare start, was forced off through injury just before half-time as Najib Tarif took his place.
With less than a minute of the second half expired, Shahrazen Said got himself in the referee’s books after pulling down a Hougang player.
Hougang rising star Jordan Vestering then saw his free-kick comfortably dealt with by DPMM FC goalkeeper Haimie Anak Nyaring.
The provider turned into scorer as Adi powered home a stunning effort in the 61st minute.
Hougang forward Iqbal Hussain laid the ball for Faiz Salleh in the centre but his snapshot landed straight into the arms of the untroubled Haimie.
Hougang substitute Fareez Farhan made an immediate impact after executing the perfect free-kick moments after being introduced having came on in place of the injured Muhaimin.
Volodymur’s free-kick was screaming for the goalmouth but Khairulhin was equal to the task with a stunning reflex save.
In the dying minutes, Khairulhin brilliantly kept out a header on goal from Brian McLean, only allowing the ball onto the path of Shahrazen who struck a ferocious shot first time for the winner.