DPMM FC forward Gabriel Gama rescued a point for his side during a 1-1 draw against Young Lions in the Singapore Premier League (SPL) 2024/2025 at the Jalan Besar Stadium in Singapore on Saturday night.
The hosts carved the first opportunity of the game as Amir Syafiz laid a pass into the box and after a player dummied the ball, Kaisei Ogawa pulled his shot wide off the post.
The visitors had a sight on goal as Davis Ikaunieks forced a save from Young Lions goalkeeper Umayr Sujuandy after receiving a neat pass from Azwan Ali Rahman.
With the Young Lions sensing an opening, DPMM FC goalkeeper Kristijan Naumovski had to be in full stretch to parry a shot from Kan Kobayashi.
Young Lions midfielder Fairuz Fazli was afforded a lot of space and picked out Danish Qayyum who steered the ball home for the opening goal of the game in the 25th minute.
With the travelling Bruneians looking to make an instant reply, DPMM FC forward Miguel Oliveira then skewed his shot wide with Azwan Ali Rahman showing imagination to deliver a beautiful pass after spotting his teammate.
The Merlion Cubs looked to pose questions to Naumovski but the goalkeeper’s agility was on show as he thwarted Raoul Suhaimi’s half-hearted attempt.
DPMM FC midfielder Faturrahman Embran’s pass took a lucky bounce off the defender which landed into the path of Davis Ikaunieks who tried his luck from an acute angle.
The Young Lions goalkeeper spilled his shot allowing Gabriel Gama to make sufficient contact to slide the ball home despite being pressured off the ball from a marker.
The young Brazilian and his side will not mind one bit the nature of the scrappy goal which at that point saw Jamie McAllister’s charges remain above their opponents in the standings in seventh. The Gegar Gegar men nearly nicked victory in the end as Azwan Ali’s effort grazed against the crossbar after benefiting from a misplaced pass by Bill Mamadou.
As the contest entered stoppage time, the Young Lions substitute Ryu Hardy tested Naumovski with a decent effort after turning away from the defence, but the goalkeeper was able to defuse the situation.
The home side pushed for a winner at the closing stages of the game as Kobayashi’s header sailed harmlessly wide following a cross from Raoul Suhaimi. – FADHIL YUNUS
