SINGAPORE – Coach Noor Ali is singing an upbeat tune as Geylang International stayed top of the Singapore Premier League after a goalless draw with Tampines Rovers at Our Tampines Hub on Nov 1.

But he is mindful of the precarious nature of their position after two-time defending champions Lion City Sailors cut their advantage to just one point ahead of the international break.

The Sailors, who have a game in hand, climbed to second with a commanding 4-0 victory over Balestier Khalsa on Nov 1, with Shawal Anuar, Antonio Mance, Mathias Phaeton and Lennart Thy getting the goals.

Instead of calling his team title contenders, Noor Ali is taking heart from the Eagles’ ability to extend their unbeaten streak to six matches with the gutsy stalemate against last season’s runners-up Tampines.

He said after their second draw of the campaign: “The boys did brilliantly throughout the whole game. It’s not easy to manage a Tampines team that has a lot of quality but I think we took the game to them.

“Maybe there were some tired legs in the last 10 to 15 minutes, they dominated us a bit more then, but I thought overall the boys were brilliant and it’s nice to still be where we are at this point of time going into the break.”

On whether the Eagles can challenge for the league crown, which they last won in 2001, he was quick to point out the long break that the league will take after November as the national team gears up for the Asian Cup campaign in Saudi Arabia.

“The thing is, it’s still early in the season for us to say anything but it’s good to see the boys are progressing well from the start.”

His main concern is to help the players maintain their focus and form after the break.

“Every player has to keep at their best level in terms of fitness, their condition, you need to be injury-free – it’s still a long season, we’ve got a lot to do and hopefully the some of the young boys can step up again.”

While the Stags were quicker off the blocks, the contest between the erstwhile leading SPL sides remained fairly even throughout the opening 45 minutes.

Although Tampines enjoyed more possession, they could not translate it into meaningful chances.

Meanwhile, Yang Hyeon-ju and Ryoya Taniguchi provided attacking impetus down the left flank for the Eagles, testing Tampines custodian Syazwan Buhari on several occasions.

Taniguchi did find the net in the 36th minute, but the Japanese player’s effort was ruled out after he was deemed offside in the lead-up.

After the interval, Tampines poured forward looking for a breakthrough but Geylang held firm.

While the draw saw the Stags drop to third spot on goal difference, their coach Nazri Nasir was satisfied with his players, especially after having played an Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League Two game against Cambodian side Svay Rieng just three days prior, which they lost 5-1.

He said: “The players gave everything. Credit also goes to Geylang because they defended a lot of chances. Especially in the second half, we put them under a lot of pressure. We almost scored a goal, but again, that’s football and one point is better than no points.

“I can’t ask for anything more than that and now it’s all about getting them to recover.”

His consolation is that, like Geylang, Tampines are also undefeated in the league with four wins and a draw, and have a game in hand over the Eagles.

Nazri added: “If you look at the league this year, it’s not that easy. It’s not a walk in the park, other teams like Geylang are unbeaten, we are also motivated.

“It will be a tough league and we have a lot of other competitions to play and we just need to make sure to manage the players and make sure they are fit every time they are called upon.”