Kibunguchy’s late winner completes stunning comeback for Hougang United
In a match defined by early chaos and a dramatic second-half turnaround, Hougang United FC secured a gritty 3-2 victory over Balestier Khalsa FC this morning at Bishan Stadium. While the Tigers appeared to be in total control inside the first 10 minutes, the former Loon Nabi Kibunguchy emerged as the hero of the day, netting a decisive late goal to secure all three points for the visitors.
Match summary
The encounter began in nightmare fashion for Hougang United. Within the first eight minutes, Balestier Khalsa found themselves two goals up without having to break much sweat, thanks to a pair of early defensive lapses. Bogdan Mandic opened the scoring in the 4th minute, and just four minutes later, an unfortunate own goal by Zharfan Rohaizad doubled the hosts’ advantage.
However, the momentum shifted rapidly in the 11th minute when Settawut Wongsai pulled one back for Hougang, clinical in his finish to make it 2-1. The task for Balestier became significantly harder in the 34th minute when goalkeeper Mario Šubarić was shown a straight red card, forcing the hosts to play with ten men for the remainder of the afternoon.
Despite being a man down, Balestier held firm for much of the second half, but the pressure finally told in the final fifteen minutes. Víctor Blasco leveled the score in the 78th minute with a brilliant strike, setting the stage for the late-game heroics.
Kibunguchy’s performance
The former Minnesota United defender-turned-midfield-enforcer continues to be a vital asset for Hougang United in the Singapore Premier League. Today, his physical presence and tactical awareness were on full display as he led the charge for the comeback win.
- Match-winning moment: In the 81st minute, just moments after the equalizer, Kibunguchy found himself in the box during a set-piece scramble. Showing striker-like instincts, he pounced on a loose ball and powered it home to give Hougang their first lead of the day.
- Defensive anchor: Following his goal, Kibunguchy dropped deeper into the midfield to help protect the narrow lead. His ability to win aerial duels was crucial in the final ten minutes as Balestier threw everything forward in search of a miracle.
- Match stats: Kibunguchy played the full 90 minutes, finishing the day with one goal, two successful tackles, and a 78% pass accuracy rate.
