Late Geylang goal sets back Global

SINGAPORE—Global conceded a late goal and absorbed a 0-1 setback to Singaporean side Geylang International in the first leg of their Singapore Cup quarterfinal tie Thursday night at Jalan Besar Stadium.

Geylang captain Jozef Kaplan beat Global keeper Roland Sadia with a precise right-footed shot to the bottom corner in the 87th minute to give the S-League side a narrow lead heading into the second leg on Sunday at Bedok Stadium here.

Global skipper Misagh Bahadoran, Mark Hartmann and Matthew Hartmann all spurned fine chances in the second half, before Geylang scored against the run of play, thanks to Kaplan, who pounced on a moment of indecision from the Global defense.

“It’s still halftime in this tie and I think the players have it in them to come back and get a win on Sunday,” said Global owner Dan Palami. “We should be better on Sunday.”

Global needs to win by at least two goals in the second leg to reach the semifinals.

The 2014 UFL champions arrived here reeling from their disqualification from the UFL Cup for fielding Satoshi Otomo as a Filipino player in the league competition. The league said Global did not have enough documents to prove Otomo’s lineage, but the club, which was also fined P250,000, has elevated the case to the Philippine Football Federation.

Missing Amani Aguinaldo to injury and with Bahadoran and Daisuke Sato also playing hurt, Global struggled to get going in the first half.