SINGAPORE — The recent hype surrounding the S.League appears to have piqued the local fans’ interest in Singapore’s professional football league once again, as about 2,481 spectators turned up at the Jalan Besar Stadium this evening (Feb 13) to watch the season-opener match between reigning champions Brunei DPMM and Albirex Niigata.

In contrast, S.League matches last season usually only managed to draw about 500 spectators on average.

And the crowd that showed up tonight did not leave disappointed, as they were treated to a five-goal thriller with Albirex getting their campaign off to a flying start, beating DPMM 3-2 to clinch the Great Eastern Community Shield.

As the game is also a league fixture, the victory means that the White Swans have secured three valuable points to set the early-season pace in their quest to claim their maiden league championship this year.

More than the points however, it was the effective and eye-catching style of football displayed by last season’s Singapore Cup and League Cup champions that marked their claim as genuine title contenders.

Albirex took the game to DPMM right from the get-go and grabbed the lead after just 15 minutes through full-back Mikiya Yamada, who thumped the ball home from a tight angle after being set up by Naofumi Tanaka.

The Japanese outfit then doubled their advantage through striker Hiroyoshi Kamata’s calm finish in the 36th minute, before defender Kento Fujihara added a third for them shortly after the break.

An error from goalkeeper Yosuke Nozawa allowed DPMM to claw a goal back through substitute Azwan Ali Rahman in the 65th minute, before Tanaka scored an own goal deep into stoppage time to give the Bruneian side a brief glimmer of hope. But it was too little, too late as Albirex hung on to claim the victory.

Despite their impressive performance, Albirex head coach Naoki Naruo is not about to get carried away.

“I’m not sure we can win the league yet because every game will be difficult for us,” he said via a translator.

“But if we can consistently show the performance in the first half today, it would be very good.

“We conceded two goals today because of our own mistakes, so I think our defence is an area we can still improve on.”

DPMM head coach Steve Kean admitted his team will face a huge challenge in trying to retain their title this year.

“It definitely is a more competitive league this year, especially with the LionsXII players coming back,” said Kean, 48.

“So it will be tough for us (to retain the title), but I think we can do it. We will probably only have an idea of who the genuine title contenders are after 10 games.”