Late VAR Drama, Young Lions' First Win and Sailors' Scoring Milestone Headline SPL Matchweek 6

What happened

Tanjong Pagar United salvaged a 1-1 draw against FC Jurong in the opening fixture of Singapore Premier League Matchweek 6, a result reported by the league in its roundup dated 2 November 2026. Jurong had taken the lead in the 49th minute through Seiya Satsukida, whose effort from the edge of the box was set up by Mizuki Ando after a first half of few chances. The game turned in the 80th minute when Shunsuke Ono was sent off for denying Anaqi Ismit a clear goalscoring opportunity; a subsequent VAR review overturned the referee's initial penalty decision, ruling the foul had occurred outside the box and awarding a free-kick instead.

Report details

Playing against ten men, Tanjong Pagar pressed for an equaliser and got it in the 90th minute plus ten, when Firman Nabil spilled substitute Samuel Pillai's cross and Lee Jaeyong inadvertently turned the loose ball into his own net under pressure from Boris Kopitovic. Tanjong Pagar believed they had won it in stoppage time when Riku Fukashiro scored from close range, but VAR disallowed the goal for offside in the build-up. According to the league's account, the draw ended Jurong's three-match losing run and halted Tanjong Pagar's seven-game losing streak against Jurong across all competitions; it was the first draw between the sides since a 4-4 result on 10 August 2021. Satsukida scored in a second consecutive SPL match, and Firman Nabil came off the bench to replace Hassan Sunny for his Jurong debut.

Young Lions secured their first victory of the 2026/27 season by beating Hougang United 2-0, with Hisatoshi Nishido scoring in the 5th and 73rd minutes. His opener was a curling strike into the top corner from a Kai Whitmore pass; his second came after he skipped past three challenges and slotted into the far corner. Hougang had two goals disallowed following VAR reviews, from Jordan Emaviwe on the stroke of half-time and Connor Flynn-Gillespie in the 56th minute, while Young Lions' Miyu Sato dragged a 64th-minute penalty wide. The league reported that the win ended Young Lions' 10-match winless run in the SPL, dating to a 1-0 victory over Tanjong Pagar on 10 April the previous season, and marked Nishido's first SPL brace. Hougang remain winless this season with one draw and five defeats.

Defending champions Lion City Sailors won 4-0 against Balestier Khalsa. Shawal Anuar opened the scoring in the 31st minute, Antonio Mance converted a penalty in the 37th, and substitutes Matthias Phaeton and Lennart Thy completed the scoring in the 81st and 85th minutes, with Phaeton combining with Giovanni Haag for the third before setting up Thy's deft clip over goalkeeper Mario Mustapic. The league noted Sailors' sixth straight win in all competitions, four of them in the SPL, a sixth consecutive victory over Balestier, and that they became the first team to reach 20 league goals this season. Thy made his first SPL appearance since 17 May the previous season, while Phaeton and Mance each have four goals this term.

The Eastern Derby between Tampines Rovers and Geylang International at Our Tampines Hub finished 0-0. Tampines goalkeeper Syazwan Buhari made a series of important saves, Ryoya Taniguchi had a 36th-minute effort ruled out for offside, and Geylang's Milos Cupic produced a late double save in the 84th minute to deny Takeshi Yoshimoto and then Hide Higashikawa. The league reported that Geylang stay top heading into the international break, having played a game more than both Sailors and Tampines, and that Tampines extended their unbeaten run against Geylang to nine games in all competitions. Shodai Yokoyama faced his former club Geylang for the first time since joining Tampines.