Geylang International beat Tanjong Pagar 1:0 in the opening match of the Premier League regular season at Out Tampines Hub on Sunday. The hosts took all three points from the fixture, while the visitors left with nothing after a difficult start to their campaign.
T. Kim put Geylang ahead in the thirty-third minute with what proved to be the decisive goal. The visitors had their chances cancelled out by officiating decisions — N. Nazari's effort at forty-five minutes plus seven was ruled out by VAR, and another attempt at seventy-four minutes was called back for offside. To be fair, Tanjong Pagar kept things tight despite the setbacks.
Discipline became a problem for the away side in the first half. M. Mohana received a red card at forty-four minutes, and M. Anieboh was sent off at fifty-five minutes. The hosts saw the game out with a numerical advantage, though they didn't add to their lead. The incident went to review twice before the half ended, and the momentum shifted.
Geylang made three changes during the match — T. Suparno came on at fifty-eight minutes, followed by H. Kanadi at sixty-two, and M. Mosses at seventy-nine. Tanjong Pagar brought on N. Yoshioka at eighty-one minutes and A. Masogo at ninety minutes plus six. The old head settled them down in the closing stages, and the hosts held firm.
The statistics told a different story from the result. Geylang registered ninety-six attacks against seventy-five for the visitors, with four shots on target compared to just one. The home side held fifty-four percent possession and created more chances, but the away team's accuracy was higher at fifty percent on target. By then, the damage was done.
The victory moves Geylang into third place with one win from one game and three points. Tanjong Pagar remain in sixth position with zero points after their first outing. The result means the hosts have started positively while the visitors will need to regroup quickly.