The opening matchday of the Singapore Cup kicked off with two commanding displays. Albirex Niigata (S) set the tone with a statement win over Geylang International at Our Tampines Hub on Saturday (1 November), while Balestier Khalsa followed suit with a convincing triumph over Tanjong Pagar United at Bishan Stadium the following day (2 Nov). Here’s how the action unfolded:

White Swans cruise to win over Eagles

Geylang International 0-3 Albirex Niigata | Our Tampines Hub | 1 November|
Shingo Nakano 26’ (P), 83’, 90+9’

Albirex Niigata (S) kicked off their Singapore Cup campaign in dominant fashion with Shingo Nakano’s hat-trick firing the White Swans to a comfortable 3-0 victory over 10-man Geylang International at Our Tampines Hub.

The Eagles squandered a golden opportunity in the 7th minute after Ryoya Taniguchi’s effort was cleared off the line by Albirex’s Nozomi Ozawa, which proved costly for the home side. A tussle in the penalty area in the 23rd minute then saw Geylang full-back Shakir Hamzah receive his marching orders, and Nakano converted the penalty to put Albirex in the driving seat.

That red card paved the way for a one-sided affair, but Eagles goalkeeper Rudy Khairullah produced a string of saves to keep Geylang in the game. But he was unable to stop Nakano’s header from trickling into the goal after parrying the ball into the striker’s path in the 82nd minute. 

There was no reprieve for Rudy as he spilled a late effort into the Japanese forward’s path in stoppage time, allowing Nakano to complete his hat-trick and seal all three points for the White Swans.

Facts: 

• Both of the Eagles’ defeats this season so far have come against Albirex.

• This was Nakano’s third hat-trick for the White Swans, bringing his all-time tally for the club to 36 goals.

• Albirex secured consecutive clean sheets against Geylang for the first time since April 2021. 

Geylang International: Rudy Khairullah (GK), Nazrul Nazari (Iqram Rifqi 85’), Joshua Pereira (C), Nikola Ignjatovic, Shakir Hamzah, Shahdan Sulaiman (Vincent Bezecourt 46’, Ko Jaehyun 67’), Shodai Yokoyama, Riku Fukashiro (Ethan Pinto 90’), Kaisei Ogawa, Ryoya Taniguchi, Shuhei Hoshino (Ryu Hardy 85’) 

Unused subs: Aniq Matin Zulfadli (GK), Danial Crichton, Hairil Sufi, Nizwan Izzairie, Nur Ikhsanuddin, Syafi Suhaimi

Albirex Niigata: Hassan Sunny (GK), Kim Taeuk, Nozomi Ozawa, Cho Eunsu, Haziq Kamarudin (Nicky Melvin Singh 60’), Jared Gallagher (Syed Firdaus Hassan 75’), Naoki Yoshioka (Lee Dongyeol 88’), Sim Jun Yen (Danish Qayyum 46’), Katsuyuki Ishibashi (Ren Nishimura 88’), Takumi Yokohata, Shingo Nakano (C)

Unused subs: Takahiro Koga (GK), Dylan Pereira (GK), Komei Iida, Jaden Heng, Helmi Shahrol, Delwinder Singh, Aneeq Fairus

Red card – Shakir Hamzah (Geylang) 23’

Katusa inspires Balestier to win over Jaguars

Balestier Khalsa 3-0 Tanjong Pagar United | Bishan Stadium | 2 November

Tin Matić 36’, Jakov Katusa 78’, Daniel Goh 82’ 

Balestier Khalsa’s Jakov Katusa played a starring role for the Tigers, calling the shots from midfield as Balestier ran out 3-0 winners over Tanjong Pagar United at Bishan Stadium.

The Croatian was directly involved in all three of Balestier’s goals: he first played a delicate lobbed pass over the top for Tin Matić – who showed great composure to fire past Matt Silva for the opener – in the 35th minute. The 24-year-old Katusa then got on the scoresheet himself in the 78th minute, before producing a near carbon copy of his earlier assist just four minutes later – this time setting up substitute Daniel Goh to seal the victory.

Despite showing plenty of attacking intent with nine first-half attempts, the Jaguars lacked the clinical edge to capitalise on their chances. Sahil Suhaimi came close in the 13th minute, while Shodai Nishikawa dragged a one-on-one effort wide midway through the half. 

A 45+3’ red card for Balestier’s Harith Kanadi gave the Jaguars the upper hand, but they surrendered that advantage in the second half when Sahil was dismissed for two bookable offences in the 63rd minute.

Facts: 

• Katusa recorded at least one goal contribution in each of his last four games in all competitions, bringing his tally to one goal and seven assists.

• The Tigers have lost just one of their six games in all competitions this season – against reigning league champions Lion City Sailors. 

• Tanjong Pagar are winless against Balestier in their last 11 meetings across all competitions.

Balestier Khalsa: Mario Mustapic (GK), Darren Teh, Madhu Mohana (C), Mario Subaric, Harith Kanadi, Lazar Vujanic (Elijah Lim 88’), Masahiro Sugita, Ignatius Ang (Daniel Goh 56’), Tin Matic (Ifat Sha’aban 85’), Jakov Katusa, Bogdan Mandic (Fudhil I’Yadh 46’)

Unused subs: Martyn Mun (GK), Hafiz Ahmad (GK), Syabil Hisham, Tiago Barbosa Martins, Karthigaya Varmaan

Tanjong Pagar United: Matthew Silva (GK), Naqiuddin Eunos, Aaron Michael Evans (C), Kim Likwan, Syahrul Sazali (Samuel Pillai 88’), Raihan Rahman (Estevez Tsai Emilio 74’), Lim Hyunsub, Sahil Suhaimi, Bruno Dybal, Shodai Nishikawa (Faizal Roslan 74’), Youssef Ezzejjari Lhasnaoui

Unused subs: Kenji Rusydi (GK), Sunny Tia (GK), Azim Akbar, Syed Muhammad Akmal, Fathullah Rahmat, Emmeric Ong, Naufal Ilham, Aloysius Pang, Ngankam Aymeric Charles

Red card - Harith Kanadi (Balestier) 45+3’, Sahil Suhaimi (Tanjong Pagar United) 63’