Ricardo Sendra grabs late equaliser for Geylang vs. Tampines

Tampines Rovers spurned a chance to move just one point off the top of the S.League table when they were held to a 1-1 draw by Eastern Derby rivals Geylang International at Jurong West Stadium on Thursday evening.

It initially looked as though Tampines were headed for maximum points when fit-again Fazrul Nawaz raced through on goal in the 54th minute to fire them ahead.

But, with five minutes remaining, Ricardo Sendra popped up to head home a corner to earn the spirited visitors a deserved share of the spoils.

The result still sees the Stags close the distance between them and leaders Albirex Niigata (S) to a three points. But they would have wanted more, given they have now played an extra game.

In what proved to be an entertaining, well-fought encounter, it was the hosts who made the brighter start.

Twice, within the first 20 minutes, Geylang custodian Syazwan Buhari had to be alert to keep out decent attempts by Hafiz Abu Sujad and Fazrul.

However, the Eagles arguably looked the more dangerous of the two teams on the counter, and were unlucky not to break the deadlock before half-time.

First, Shawal Anuar latched onto a lovely dinked pass over the top by Anders Aplin and unleashed a dipping half-volley that beat Haikal Hasnol a minute after the half-hour mark, only to see the ball smash off the bar.

Five minutes later, it was Victor Coto's turn to be denied by the woodwork as his curling effort was also kept out by the bar.

Tampines were certainly riding their luck and, nine minutes after the restart, they capitalised on another piece of good fortune.

A brilliant defence-splitting pass by Ismadi Mukhtar released Fazrul. Although his initial shot was saved by Syazwan, the ball fell fortuitously back into the striker's path, and he reacted instinctively to lob home the rebound.

It was Fazrul's first start since recovering from a long-term knee injury. It seemed as though he could emerge the hero once again after winning the crucial penalty as a substitute in last week's 1-0 victory over Warriors.

The hosts could have then put the result beyond doubt in the 73rd minute when Diego Silvas did well to hold up play before feeding a pass to an unmarked Jamil Ali. But his fellow substitute should have done better to stay onside.

As the game entered its closing stages, the Eagles began to pile on the pressure, but rookie goalkeeper Haikal Hasnol was producing an assured display.

Then, with just five minutes left on the clock, Geylang equalised after winning a corner.

Shahfiq Ghani guided the ball perfectly onto the head of Sendra, who held off his man before calmly guiding a header into the back of the net to force the draw.

Tampines Rovers: Haikal Hasnol, Ismadi Mukhtar (Madhu Mohana 69'), Jufri Taha, Fahrudin Mustafic, Daniel Bennett, Shakir Hamzah, Shahdan Sulaiman, Son Yong-chan, Imran Sahib (Jamil Ali 62'), Hafiz Abu Sujad, Fazrul Nawaz (Diego Silvas 67')

Geylang International: Syazwan Buhari, Faritz Hameed, Al-Qaasimy Rahman, Yuki Ichikawa, Anders Aplin, Safirul Sulaiman, Ricardo Sendra, Isa Halim (Stanely Ng 82'), Shawal Anuar (Gabriel Quak 69'), Amy Recha (Shahfiq Ghani 58'), Victor Coto