Read Time:6 Minute, 6 Second

Every new season of the Singapore Premier League (SPL) offers new thrills, spills, subplots and this time, even video assistant refereeing. VAR has made its debut on our sunny shores in a major upgrade for the SPL, but that only means another party for fans to direct their Referee Kayu chants toward.

Some things never change, eh?

Just like Albirex topping the table, Hassan Sunny making saves and Khairul Amri scoring bangers, this is still the SPL we know and love. After nine match weeks of action, there are just some constants in life and football. Here’s a recap of what else has gone on:

Familiar contender

As the script always seems to go, defending champions Albirex Niigata (S) sit at the top of the table after Round One. Retaining the services of 2022 SPL Coach of the Year Kazuaki Yoshinaga, the White Swans have put together yet another formidable roster of Japanese youngsters – led by the silky talent Seia Kunori who has seven goals so far.

The Japanese outfit started off their first four matches scoring 15 goals without conceding, including a 3-0 victory over Hougang United en route to lifting the Community Shield. Albirex looked unstoppable, but a shock 1-0 reverse against Tampines Rovers at Jurong East Stadium underlined the title ambitions of the Stags. Yoshinaga’s men recovered quickly, and blitzed 16 goals to win their next four matches, stylishly capping off Round One.

Tampines, Charged

Meanwhile, the Stags are the only unbeaten team in the league and are just one point behind Albirex. Gavin Lee has retained the core of his 2022 team, and made astute signings in Faris Ramli, Milos Zlatkovic, Glenn Kweh and Saifullah Akbar to boost the squad.

Faris in particular has been in scintillating form since joining from Lion City Sailors, plundering five goals and notching four assists so far. Tampines are playing with a newfound maturity and look the part of credible title contenders.

Tiding through

Lion City Sailors find themselves in 3rd place after a rocky start to the season. LCS overhauled both the playing and coaching team in the offseason but injuries to Kodai Tanaka and Pedro Henrique forced them to bring in Australian strike Bernie Ibini-Isei and Spanish centre back Súper late on in the transfer window.

While the Sailors look incredibly strong on paper with the SPL’s best player in Maxime Lestienne, they will need to improve their head-to-head record against their fellow contenders to regain the crown they last won in 2021.

Inability to beat Albirex in the league has cost them over the years, and their defeats to the White Swans as well as the Stags in Round One do not bode well. That being said, it is still early days in Risto Vidakovic’s reign.

If the Serbian coach can mastermind victories over Albirex and Tampines in subsequent encounters, the Sailors could quickly find themselves right back in the mix at the top end of the table.

Fight for fourth

Behind the three title contenders are Geylang International, who find themselves in fourth. The Eagles are sitting on 13 points and look well placed to repeat their heroics from the 2022 season, where they defied expectations to finish in the top half of the table.

Geylang, now the first Asean partner of City Football Group, can count on former Yokohama Marinos winger Yushi Yamaya to share the creative load with Vincent Bezecourt, and look much more dangerous going forward this season.

Hot on the heels of the Geylang are Balestier Khalsa, who started the year quietly confident of a good showing after a full pre-season with Peter de Roo. In addition, the Tigers have made impressive moves in the transfer market. Slovenian midfielder Alen Kozar was plucked from NS Mura, while tricky winger Masahiro Sugita joined from Albirex.

The signings have supplemented Balestier’s attacking options of Daniel Goh & Ryoya Taniguchi and made them look more lethal going forward, with the Tigers set to better their seventh place finish in 2022. If they can plug their leaky backline which has conceded a league high of 25 goals so far, Balestier might even look to compete for a top half finish.

Right behind Balestier in sixth place are Hasrin Jailani’s Tanjong Pagar United. The Jaguars have had a rough start to the season with three wins and five defeats in the opening eight games.

@grandstandsgp Form is temporary, class is permanent #khairulamri #SPL #sgpremierleague #sgfootball #singapore #football #TPFC #tanjongpagarunited #footballtok #volley #goal ♬ 꽃 – JISOO

While results have been unspectacular, a moment to remember was Khairul Amri’s winner against Hougang United, where the veteran Singapore forward acrobatically volleyed home a cross by Blake Ricciuto. The team will need more moments of quality going forward if they are to fight for fourth place.

Strugglers

Further down the table, surprisingly, is Brunei DPMM in seventh place. DPMM were tipped to challenge for the title before the season started, but have found their return to the SPL challenging.

Adrian Pennock’s side have picked up just seven points from eight games, with a distinct lack of intensity in their play. They should improve as the season goes on and the team get reacquainted to the league.

In eighth place on five points are Young Lions. Although points have been hard to come by, the developmental team has been much improved from past seasons under the coaching of Phillipe Aw.

The addition of foreign players in Jun and Kan Kobayashi from last year’s title-winning Albirex team has added much needed quality to the side, who managed to claim a point off the Sailors at Jalan Besar Stadium. While the team doesn’t look likely to climb much higher in the table, they are at least much more competitive now.

In what is undoubtedly the biggest shock of the season so far, Hougang United are rooted to the bottom of the table after Round One. The 2022 Singapore Cup champions have been abysmal this season despite a raft of exciting new signings. Japanese defenders Naoki Kuriyama and Kazuma Takayama joined the team but have failed to plug the leaky defense. 

Firdaus Kassim has paid the price for the poor run, being replaced as first team coach in the interim by his assistant Marko Kraljevic. On paper, the Cheetahs should have enough quality to turn the situation around but it will come down to whether the team can rally together as a unit.

With the Young Lions away for the SEA Games and a two-week hiatus since the last round of games played, could we see a change in fortunes for some of the teams as the league resume on 5 May? Only time will tell.

In, ,
Son Heung-min celebration Previous post Spurs to face Roma in Singapore friendly
Next post Liverpool, Bayern to headline inaugural Singapore Festival of Football

More Stories