SINGAPORE – On a muggy night, Hougang United’s Thai contingent and a dash of Singaporean spice proved too hot to handle as they kicked off their Singapore Cup campaign with an entertaining 3-2 win over Tanjong Pagar United at the Jurong East Stadium on Nov 7.
That, despite playing with a numerical disadvantage for the third time this season.
Cheetahs’ new interim head coach Pannarai Pansiri said: “I’m very proud of all the players, not just the Thais, but also the other imports and local players.
“We showed good discipline after going down to 10 men, and everyone showed passion and fought hard. We tried to get more possession and, when we were defending, everyone was behind the ball and patient to go for the counter-attack.
“I want everyone to play good football and put in a lot of effort to try and play entertaining football to attract more supporters.”
This was the 28-year-old Thai’s second game in charge of Hougang, after replacing Robert Eziakor for the late 2-1 Singapore Premier League (SPL) defeat by BG Tampines Rovers on Oct 27.
They looked like an improved side at both ends of the pitch. Sitting back and counter-attacking down the wings, their defensive block rarely gave up space.
They also looked far more clinical up front than before, and could well have matched their tally of four goals in their previous five matches in just one outing.
Their Thai imports served notice of their intentions after just five minutes, when Settawut Wongsai’s header off Chonlawit Kanuengkid’s cross was pushed onto the bar by Kenji Rusydi.
