8 Goals, 7 Goalscorers: Stags Notch Season’s Biggest Win Yet

If there is one defining trait for BG Tampines Rovers, it would be that the team never fails to make their comeback greater than their setback. And in a season that saw swirling changes and uncertainties, The Stags march on, resilient and unyielding. 

Last night was no different. Against a Young Lions side that put in a strong showing against Lion City Sailors last week, it took the 73rd minute for them to find a breakthrough. On this occasion, it took the Stags only 4.

The floodgates opened at that point, with five of the night’s goals coming from local Stags, as Tampines worked towards a monumental victory that showed that when the going gets tough, the tough get going.

It was Interim Head Coach William Phang’s second game in charge, and after securing his first 3 points last week, he would be keen to continue the team’s good form. Fielding a largely unchanged lineup, Irfan Najeeb returned to the fold for Jacob Mahler who was out due to suspension. Tampines also had the added reinforcements of Dylan Fox and Glenn Kweh, who both returned on the bench.

Fiery Start

The kick-off whistle sounded, and it was the Young Lions that were more defensive as they sat back, hoping to spring on the counter-attack. Upon a loose pass by Shuya Yamashita, they tried just this, with the misstep encouraging The Cubs to surge forward. The ever-industrious Japanese defender won the ball back in the middle of the park, and played it to Koya Kazama who released Hide Higashikawa in behind. The SPL Golden Boot leader then brought it forward to lay it on a plate for Trent Buhagiar and the first goal of the night.

The Stags remained firmly in control, stringing together passes through the midfield trio of Shah, Yuki and Koya. In the 11th minute, this almost manifested to another goal, as Yuki weaved through 4 Young Lions players to square it to Koya outside the box. The latter tried to wrap the ball into the far corner of the post, but it went unfortunately just wide.

Not long after, it was Yuki again - who was shaping up to be a Man-Of-The-Match contender in this match. The former Eredivisie player dinked the ball into the box for Hide, who brought it down exquisitely, only for his finish to sky over the bar. 

A Continued Fervent Display

After this initial flurry of attacks, the Young Lions seemed to settle down into the game - but the second goal was inevitable. A corner routine in the 23rd minute saw Trent pick up the second ball, before passing it back for Takeshi Yoshimoto to whip in a beautiful cross. ‘One Of Our Own’ Irfan Najeeb was at the end of it to score his second goal of the season, with Takeshi earning his 5th assist of the SPL campaign.

Knowing from previous experiences in recent weeks that a 2-goal advantage may not be enough, The Stags were not satisfied, and they continued to pile on the offensive threat. In the 28th minute, a beautiful sequence of play between Koya, Hide and Shah saw the last player, Shah Shahiran, clear on goal and finishing into the bottom corner to be back on the scoresheet.

Just as Tampines were looking like they were about to head into half-time with a comfortable 3-0 lead, the Young Lions pulled one back through Sergio Mendonca. However, the home side remained unfazed this time, immediately restoring their 3-goal advantage a minute later through Koya, as he found himself free in the box after a layoff from Hide to finish from close range.

As the half-time whistle sounded, the scoreline read 4-1, and the neutral would not be wrong to have thought that their ticket price would have been well paid off by that point. 

However, there was still more entertainment to come.

Second Half 

Despite being ruthless up top, the half-time team talk called for a better defensive performance to put any comeback hopes to rest. 

It was deja vu for the Young Lions, as they were reduced again to 10 men just two minutes after the restart, with Marcus Mosses bringing down Hide who was through on goal. After a VAR review, it was ruled as a Denying an Obvious Goal-Scoring Opportunity (DOGSO) offence.

The Stags then went hunting to further extend their lead, and brought on Glenn Kweh, who made a welcome return after a month out due to injury. This substitution helped change the complexion of the game, with Glenn remaining dangerous on the flanks - driving forward and putting crosses in from the right-hand side to trouble the Young Lions defence. 

However, despite the red card, stubborn defending from the away side managed to hold off the marauding Stags. Fresh legs in the form of Amirul Haikal and Seiga Sumi were brought in for Takeshi and Yuki to maintain the high attacking tempo. Shortly after, the second-half deadlock was broken.

In the 78th minute, a cross from Raoul found Hide, who laid it off for Shah after some strong hold-up play. The midfielder chose precision over power, to place the ball into the bottom corner of the net, extending his tally to five goals so far - his most successful season yet.

Five goals in, and The Stags were not done. Just two minutes later, a quick counter-attack saw Koya free in the middle, launching a defence-splitting pass for Hide. The forward found Trent and set up Glenn for a cool and easy finish, marking a perfect return with his 6th goal of the season.

With a packed and crucial schedule ahead for the home side, a pair of substitutions were made to ensure squad freshness. Trent and Koya came off for Taufik Suparno and Ong Yu En, with the latter making a direct impact off the bench.

Despite limited minutes for the young Singaporean, he had made them count in the 88th minute, capping off a wonderfully-worked team goal with a classy finish to the roof of the net, scoring his first of the season, and the 7th of the team.

Seventh heaven, but it was still not enough for The Stags. Seiga, who had been finding himself in advanced positions ever since coming on, made the inside run and placed the ball across the goal for Hide to tap into an empty net, scoring his first, and Tampines’ last of the game. This placed Hide on 18 goals of the SPL season, 5 ahead of 2nd placed Lennart Thy in the SPL Golden Boot race, drawing the curtains to an absolute thriller of a game.

What’s Next

The final four matches of Tampines’ Singapore Premier League season await, with Albirex Niigata (S) up next. The fixture has proven feisty, with both 2026 match-ups decided by just a single goal, and The Stags will be keen to avenge their 3-2 comeback defeat at the start of this month come this Thursday. We hope to see you, The Stand, there for what will turn out to be a marquee finish to this title race.