DPMM FC head coach Jamie McAllister expressed disappointment at the team’s 2-0 defeat to Geylang International FC in the Singapore Premier League (SPL) 2024/2025 at the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium in Berakas over the weekend.
The Gegar Gegar men slipped to their second successive defeat at home in the new year, putting a major dent to any hopes of finishing the season in the top five.
The team dropped to seventh in the table after Hougang United defeated Balestier Khalsa 3-1 in Singapore.
“It was really disappointing. I felt for the first 15 minutes, we couldn’t pass the ball to each other five yards, 10 yards or two yards,” the head coach said.
“I thought we were really poor in possession and I thought we lacked intensity and that is probably the worst performance since I’ve been here in the first 15 minutes.”
The Scotsman though hailed the impact of the substitutes and highlighted the chances they have fashioned.
“The subs came on, made an impact and changed the game. We started creating chances when we were 1-0 down and we just got to take one of those chances to make it 1-1.”
The home side came close to finding the equaliser during a frenzied five-minute spell which saw Geylang goalkeeper Rudy Khairullah thwarting an effort from Azwan Ali Rahman and the defence making a crucial block on the rebound.
Within moments of the team’s most promising spell of the game, the Eagles launched an attack on the break and found Iqbal Hussain who set up Ryoya Taniguchi for the sucker punch.
“We conceded on the break with a poor goal. So, you take the positives which are the last 30-35 minutes but we will watch that back and you’ve got to do the basics in the game,” McAllister said. – Fadley Yunus
