SG League Cup: Tampines cruise past Rams, Hougang end Young Lions' cup hopes

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Group A
Geylang United 0-1 DPMM FC

Group B
Albirex Niigata 2-0 Balestier Khalsa

Group C
Courts Young Lions 1-2 Hougang United

Group D
Tampines Rovers 3-1 Woodlands Wellington

Tampines cruise past Rams in League Cup
Great Eastern-YEO's S.League champions Tampines Rovers got off to a winning start in the Singapore League Cup on Friday after beating Woodlands Wellington 3-1 in Group D.

Following a goalless opening period, the Stags edged ahead in the 52nd after Jamil Ali latched onto a clever through-ball by Gligor Gligorov and expertly chipped the onrushing Ang Bang Heng.

Four minutes later, captain Aleksandar Duric doubled Tampines' lead after capitalising on a defensive mix-up between Ang and Daniel Hammond to fire home, only for Aloysius Yap to pull one back for Woodlands seven minutes after the hour mark.

However, there was to be no denying Steven Tan's men and they eventually wrapped up all three points when Duric added another in the 68th minute to move top of their group.

In Friday's other game, Albirex Niigata claimed the lead in Group B after recording a 2-0 win over Balestier Khalsa in a heated encounter at the Jurong East Stadium.

Yasuhiro Yamakoshi opened the scoring in the 48th minute when he tapped home at the far post after good work down the left by Takeshi Ito, before sealing the win ten minutes from time when he lashed a ferocious strike from just inside the area past Zakariah Nerani and into the top corner.

Hougang end Young Lions' cup hopes
Courts Young Lions' hopes of winning the Singapore League Cup were ended on Sunday after they were defeated by Hougang United 2-1 at the Jalan Besar Stadium.

Hougang took the lead after just six minutes when Mamadou Diallo made a darting run behind Sheikh Abdul Hadi and Faritz Hameed and met a good cross by Ante Barac, before planting a firm header past Syazwan Buhari.

Diallo was then denied a second when Syazwan pulled off a stunning fingertip save to keep out his 20-yard drive, but there was nothing the Young Lions keeper could do when Azhar Sairudin picked up the ball on the edge of the area and doubled his side's lead with a crisp shot in the 84th minute.

However, the hosts did manage to pull one back through captain Hafiz Abu Sujad, but it proved too little too late.

The loss, coupled with their 1-0 defeat to Home United on Thursday, means Young Lions no longer stand any chance of qualifying for the semi-finals, and will instead contest for the Plate.

In Sunday's other game, DPMM FC booked their place in the last eight at the expense of Tanjong Pagar United with a 1-0 victory at the Queenstown Stadium, courtesy of Subhi Abdilah's sixth-minute strike.