When Singapore's Tampines Rovers travelled to neighbouring Malaysia to take on Felda United in a crucial Group G matchday five encounter in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup, the threat of elimination was ever present.
With just three points from four games, anything less than a win could very well have seen The Stags crash out of the group stages. But instead, they managed to down Felda United, thanks to an inspired second-half cameo from Khairul Amri that saw the final scoreline read 3-1 in favour of the 2016 quarterfinalists.
More importantly, Amri's two splendid goals late on made sure Tampines Rovers' chances of progressing to the next stage of the competition was significantly boosted.
Tampines Rovers had started the game well and led at the break, thanks to an Ivan Dzoni goal but Felda equalised in the 51st minute. But coach Jurgen Raab decided to send Amri on for Ivan Dzoni in the 66th minute. His impact was instant and devastating!
He came up with two goals in the space of four minutes to effectively end Felda's hopes and boost his own team's. In the 68th minute, the 32-year-old forward volleyed a spectacular pass over the defence to give his side the lead before sliding to meet Ryutaro Megumi's accurate low cross from the right wing in the 72nd minute.
It was as good a cameo as coach Raab would have hoped when he sent him on. The experienced forward was deadly on the night, going on record four shots out of which he converted two. His passing was also impressive with a 90% accuracy rate.
He was involved throughout his 24-minute spell in the game, as shown b his 23 touches on the ball. All in all, a dream cameo from the Singapore international makes him our Asian Player of the Week.
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