Long-suffering Geylang International fans have started to think of next season after witnessing their beloved team's quest for Asian football came to a whimpering end on the back of a 6-2 spanking by Balestier Khalsa on Saturday (August 12).
Having already picked up four red cards this season, the Eagles once more went into self-destruction mode that night as reckless challenges from Ahmad Syahir and Naufal Azman in the second half resulted in referee Jensen Foo giving them their marching orders, killing off any hope for the nine-man team to rescue at least a point.
Desperately needing three points to go level with the fourth-placed Tigers in their tussle for an AFC Cup spot, the Eagles found themselves a goal down four minutes into the contest when a scuffed clearance from a beleaguered Hafiz Ahmad resulted in an opener from Daniel Goh.
Iqbal Hussain's 22nd minute equaliser brought the home supporters to their feet but those joyous celebrations proved short-lived when Balestier added two more goals in the first period through Shuhei Hoshino and Goh.
While Geylang's attempt of a comeback in the second half faced its first setback with Ahmad's dismissal past the hour mark, they still managed to reduce the deficit through another strike from Iqbal.
But it was Naufal's marching orders in the 73rd minute that did the irreparable damage as the Eagles backline cracked in the face of the Tigers' relentless attack and shipped in three more goals, culminating in a humiliating 6-2 scoreline.
While the result was a bitter pill to swallow, the diehard Ultras Eagles still stayed on after the game to give their customary Viking Clap in show of solidarity with their vanquished warriors in green.
As their fifth position in the league is not yet a guarantee with two matches left to play, that show of support was a much needed one in telling the players to keep going and sign off the campaign on a positive note.
Man of the match: Iqbal Hussain - The crowd favourite huffed and puffed to help his team to a less embarassing scoreline than what it eventually was with a brace. Unfortunately, his efforts were to be in vain as his teammates were not on the same wavelength and went into a meltdown.
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