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SINGAPORE: Masrezwan Masturi celebrated his first home appearance in Bedok Stadium for the S.League season with a goal as his team overcame Balestier Khalsa 2-0.
Captain Noor Ali opened the scoring for Geylang United at the 5th minute before Masrezwan added another at the stroke of half time, as the Eagles picked up their first S.League win in over a month.
On a waterlogged pitch which saw the kickoff delayed by almost 25 minutes due to wet weather, Masrezwan, who had just recovered from an anterior cruciate ligament injury which kept him away from action for nearly ten months, had the first shot of the game as he sent the ball over the bar.
Minutes later, American Seth Galloway fouled Masrezwan on the left of the outside of the penalty box, which referee Johan Jahari reacted by awarding the Eagles a freekick.
Up stepped Noor, and he sent the ball floating past everyone in the box into the far end of goal to give Geylang an early lead.
Unwilling to give up at such an early stage, Balestier tried to reply by taking the initiative to surge forward. Midfielder Anantha Rajan's through pass found Rizawan Abdullah, who did well to prevent the ball from rolling over the touchline, but his attempt to send it back deeper into the field was foiled by Walid Lounis.
Noor could have added to his personal tally and extend his side's lead at the 17th minute after receiving from Miroslav Latiak, but he hit the left post instead, as the Balestier defence scrambled to clear the danger.
The action soon turned to the other end of the pitch, as Anantha saw his attempt tipped away over the crossbar by goalkeeper Yazid Yasin, while moments later, Ednardo Moura's header missed the target by inches despite him well- positioned in front of the net, after a good move from Faizal Amir saw him feeding Anantha from the right who passed it on to Moura.
Former Super Reds player Kim Jae Hong almost commemorated his debut for the Eagles with a debut goal after picking up an aimless cross from Syed Thaha near the sideline, only to see Lee Heng Huat failing to make a clean catch out of his attempt as the Tigers defence came to the rescue again.
Just before the break, Noor turned provider by sending Masrezwan through, and the latter skipped past Lee and beat Jufri Taha to slide into goal, doubling Geylang's lead. - S.League
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