Calm Verdy fight back to lift Lion City Cup

Showing their class for a second consecutive match, Japanese side Tokyo Verdy came from behind to defeat holders BG Pathum United 4-1 to clinch the Lion City Cup on Oct 6.

- Melvyn Teoh

Verdy, who had thrashed Malaysia's Johor Darul Takzim (JDT) 8-2 in the semi-finals two days earlier, did not panic even though the Thai side, who were sitting back to soak up the pressure, had broken the deadlock against the run of play in the 49th minute through Teerapad Sinudomwongsa.

But the Japanese side equalised just eight minutes later through Daisuke Chiba, before Taiki Nakayama, Shin Kusama and Reo Hirose helped Verdy claim a come-back victory at the Jalan Besar Stadium.

The Singapore Under-16s, meanwhile, lost their second straight match of the tournament, going down 5-1 to JDT in the earlier third-place play-off, two days after losing 1-0 to Pathum.

Before a crowd of 920, the Malaysian side scored through a brace from Fadhlul Hadi and goals from Fahmi Nor Farizamal, Nur Hakim Irwan and Arayyan Hakeem, while the Cubs replied through a Luth Harith Fathi penalty.