Doi's joy at SPL goal record dampened by Tigers win

With a clever shimmy and clinical finish, Geylang International forward Tomoyuki Doi netted his 39th goal on March 7 to claim the record for most Singapore Premier League (SPL) strikes in a season.

- David Lee

The previous mark by former Singapore Armed Forces FC forward Mirko Grabovac had stood since he plundered 38 goals in a 33-game campaign in 2001.

However, Doi was upstaged by fellow Japanese attacker and Albirex Niigata alumnus Kodai Tanaka, who was involved in all of Balestier Khalsa's four goals as the Tigers beat the Eagles 4-3 in a topsy-turvy thriller at the Jalan Besar Stadium.

A frustrated Doi told The Straits Times: "It is an honour to get the record, but I still cannot accept the result.

"We controlled the game well, and we know we can score. I tried to get myself into scoring positions and it's frustrating to lose.

"We just have to move on and work harder to get back to winning ways.

"It sounds good to be able to score 50 goals (Doi also has five goals in the Singapore Cup), and I want to score as many as possible to help the team do as best as we can."

Geylang had entered the home game with optimism, as they welcomed back playmaker Vincent Bezecourt and defender Rio Sakuma from injury.