Stipe Plazibat strikes again as Home United down Geylang in S.League

The unbeaten Home United juggernaut continues to roll on as they thrashed Geylang International 3-0 in a televised S.League clash at Jalan Besar Stadium on Friday night.

In front of 1,627 fans, Song Uiyoung broke the deadlock just before half time, before late penalties from Stipe Plazibat and Khairul Nizam sealed a flattering result for Home.

The result meant the Protectors leapfrogged Warriors into third spot on the S.League table, based on better goal difference.

Things could have been starkly different though, if Geylang had capitalised on an excellent opportunity after just three minutes.

Argentinean playmaker Ricardo Sendra went through on goal after Sirina Camara had fluffed his clearance. But he was denied in the resulting one-on-one opportunity with Home's national no. 1 Hassan Sunny.

That seemed to be the wake-up call for Home as they proceeded to dominate the rest of the first half.

On 11 minutes, Song teed up Plazibat with a neat cutback from the left. However, the Croatian forward's snapshot was turned around the post by Geylang custodian Syazwan Buhari.

Eight minutes later, Camara squared a superb ball across goal which Christopher van Huizen just failed to get the decisive touch on.

The Protectors eventually found the breakthrough on 35 minutes, with Plazibat neatly flicking Van Huizen's inward pass into the path of Song. Advancing into the box, the South Korean playmaker did the rest, with a firm low drive beyond the fingertips of Syazwan.

Geylang could have restored parity just two minutes later. Victor Coto picked out Stanely Ng in the six-yard box, but the latter was denied at point-blank range by Hassan.

Eagles coach Hasrin Jailani tried to change things, with forward Shawal Anuar replacing left-back Al-Qaasimy Rahman in a tactical move before half-time.

However, the substitute only lasted till the 53rd minute before leaving the pitch, as he came off worse in a clash of heads with Hariss Harun, and would require stitches in hospital. 

Gabriel Quak replaced Shawal, while Amy Recha came on for Shahfiq as Geylang went all-out for the equaliser.

They came close on 66 minutes when Faritz got to the end of Quak's inswinging corner. But the Geylang right-back's shot was met by a great Hassan reflex save.

Home would eventually kill off any hopes of a Geylang comeback. Plazibat sent Syazwan the wrong way from the spot after his shot was adjudged to be handled by Yuki Ichikawa inside the area.

The was the Croatian's 17th goal in 12 games as he continued his excellent start to the season.

There was time for another penalty deep into injury time. Substitute Nizam converted after Ng had pulled down Amiruldin Asraf in the area, and was sent off for second bookable offence.

To compound matters for Geylang, centre-back Anders Aplin was shown the red card for dissent after the final whistle.

The was Home's first S.League win against the Eagles since 2014. They will host Balestier Khalsa on Tuesday before the league breaks for the annual Sultan of Selangor's Cup.

In the other game on Friday night, Tampines Rovers moved into second position after a third-minute goal from Ivan Dzoni gave them a 1-0 away victory, condemning Brunei DPMM to a sixth defeat in seven games.

Home United: Hassan Sunny (GK, C), Shamil Sharif, Abdil Qaiyyim, Irfan Fandi, Sirina Camara (Sufianto Salleh 41'), Hariss Harun, Song Uiyoung, Christopher van Huizen, Adam Swandi, Faris Ramli (Khairul Nizam 88'), Stipe Plazibat (Amiruldin Asraf 90')

Geylang International: Syazwan Buhari (GK), Faritz Hameed, Yuki Ichikawa, Anders Aplin, Al-Qaasimy Rahman (Shawal Anuar 45', Gabriel Quak 53'), Ricardo Sendra, Isa Halim (C), Safirul Sulaiman, Stanely Ng, Victor Coto, Shahfiq Ghani (Amy Recha 60')