# 2021 Hougang United FC season

The 2021 season is Hougang United's 24th consecutive season in the top flight of Singapore football and in the S.League. Along with the S.League, the club will also compete in the Singapore Cup.

## Squad
### Singapore Premier League

| No. | Name | Date of Birth (Age) | Previous Club | Contract Since | Contract End |
| Goalkeepers |||||||
| 1 | Mukundan Maran $^{U23}$ | (1998-07-21) 21 July 1998 (age 26) | Warriors FC | 2021 | 2021 |
| 13 | Ridhuan Barudin $^{>30}$ | (1987-03-23) 23 March 1987 (age 37) | Tampines Rovers | 2015 | 2021 |
| 25 | Aizil Yazid $^{U23}$ | (2004-12-24) 24 December 2004 (age 19) | Albirex Niigata (S) | 2021 | 2021 |
| 30 | Izwan Mahbud $^{>30}$ | (1990-07-14) 14 July 1990 (age 34) | Samut Prakan City F.C. | 2021 | 2021 |
| Defenders |||||||
| 2 | Anders Aplin | (1991-06-21) 21 June 1991 (age 33) | Geylang International | 2020 | 2021 |
| 5 | Lionel Tan | (1997-06-05) 5 June 1997 (age 27) | SAFSA (NFL) | 2020 | 2021 |
| 8 | Hafiz Sujad $^{>30}$ | (1990-11-01) 1 November 1990 (age 34) | Tampines Rovers | 2019 | 2021 |
| 11 | Nazrul Nazari | (1991-02-11) 11 February 1991 (age 33) | LionsXII | 2016 | 2021 |
| 14 | Maksat Dzhakybaliev | (2000-02-18) 18 February 2000 (age 24) | Sivasspor U-21 | 2020 | 2021 |
| 16 | Faiz Salleh | (1992-07-17) 17 July 1992 (age 32) | Young Lions FC | 2014 | 2021 |
| 20 | Muhaimin Suhaimi | (1995-02-20) 20 February 1995 (age 29) | Young Lions FC | 2018 | 2021 |
| 26 | Kishon Philip $^{U23}$ | (1999-11-26) 26 November 1999 (age 24) | Youth Team | 2021 | 2021 |
| Midfielders |||||||
| 4 | Afiq Noor | (1993-12-25) 25 December 1993 (age 30) | Tiong Bahru FC (NFL) | 2019 | 2021 |
| 6 | Kaishu Yamazaki | (1997-07-12) 12 July 1997 (age 27) | Lion City Sailors | 2021 | 2021 |
| 12 | Fabian Kwok (Captain) $^{>30}$ | (1989-03-17) 17 March 1989 (age 35) | Tampines Rovers | 2017 | 2021 |
| 15 | Farhan Zulkifli $^{U23}$ | (2002-11-10) 10 November 2002 (age 21) | Home United U19 | 2019 | 2021 |
| 18 | Idraki Adnan $^{U23}$ | (1999-03-13) 13 March 1999 (age 25) | Young Lions FC | 2021 | 2021 |
| 21 | Nikesh Singh Sidhu $^{U23}$ | (1999-02-24) 24 February 1999 (age 25) | Home United U19 | 2019 | 2021 |
| 24 | Naufal Azman $^{U23}$ | (1998-07-10) 10 July 1998 (age 26) | Young Lions FC | 2020 | 2021 |
| | Zulfahmi Arifin | (1991-10-05) 5 October 1991 (age 33) | Suphanburi F.C. | 2021 | 2021 |
| Strikers |||||||
| 7 | Shahfiq Ghani | (1992-03-17) 17 March 1992 (age 32) | Geylang International | 2018 | 2021 |
| 9 | Tomoyuki Doi | (1997-09-24) 24 September 1997 (age 27) | Albirex Niigata (S) | 2021 | 2021 |
| 10 | Shawal Anuar | (1991-04-29) 29 April 1991 (age 33) | Geylang International | 2020 | 2021 |
| 17 | Shahril Ishak $^{>30}$ | (1984-01-23) 23 January 1984 (age 40) | Warriors FC | 2021 | 2021 |
| 19 | Gilberto Fortunato | (1987-11-07) 7 November 1987 (age 37) | FC Drita | 2021 | 2021 |
| 22 | Khairul Nizam | (1991-06-25) 25 June 1991 (age 33) | Geylang International | 2021 | 2021 |
| 23 | Sahil Suhaimi | (1992-07-08) 8 July 1992 (age 32) | Warriors FC | 2020 | 2021 |
| 29 | Amir Zalani | (1996-12-04) 4 December 1996 (age 27) | Home United | 2021 | 2021 |
| Players who left during the season |||||||
| 3 | Afiq Yunos $^{>30}$ | (1990-12-10) 10 December 1990 (age 33) | Trat F.C. | 2019 | 2021 |

### U21 Squad

| No. | Name | Date of Birth (Age) | Previous Club | Contract Since | Contract End |
| Goalkeepers |||||||
| Defenders |||||||
| Midfielders |||||||
| 53 | Jarrel Ong Jia Wei $^{U21}$ | (2002-10-26) 26 October 2002 (age 22) | | | |
| 55 | Josiah Phua Yong Qi $^{U21}$ | (2000-10-06) 6 October 2000 (age 24) | | | |
| | Firas Irwan $^{U21}$ | (2001-01-01) 1 January 2001 (age 23) | Albirex Niigata (S) | 2021 | 2021 |
| Strikers |||||||
| 57 | Hairil Sufi $^{U21}$ | (2000-05-27) 27 May 2000 (age 24) | Tampines Rovers U21 | | |

### Tiong Bahru FC

(Chairman, Bill Ng is also the chairman for the club)
| No. | Name | Date of Birth (Age) | Previous Club | Contract Since | Contract End |
| Goalkeepers |||||||
| Defenders |||||||
| 3 | Syaqir Sulaiman | (1986-08-12) 12 August 1986 (age 38) | Warriors FC | 2018 | 2020 |
| 5 | Igor Ferreira Alves | (1985-02-21) 21 February 1985 (age 39) | Hougang United | 2017 | 2020 |
| 8 | Zulfadli Zainal Abidin | (1988-04-26) 26 April 1988 (age 36) | Geylang International | 2019 | 2020 |
| 10 | Ang Zhiwei | (1989-08-02) 2 August 1989 (age 35) | Warriors FC | 2018 | 2020 |
| 14 | Kenneth Chang | (1992-07-07) 7 July 1992 (age 32) | Hougang United | 2016 | 2020 |
| 26 | Illyas Lee | (1995-12-01) 1 December 1995 (age 28) | Balestier Khalsa | 2020 | 2020 |
| Midfielders |||||||
| 12 | Jonathan Tan | (1995-12-13) 13 December 1995 (age 28) | Balestier Khalsa | 2020 | 2020 |
| 24 | Nurhilmi Jasni | (1986-12-17) 17 December 1986 (age 37) | Hougang United | 2019 | 2020 |
| | Ryan Syaffiq | (1995-03-04) 4 March 1995 (age 29) | Geylang International | 2019 | 2020 |
| Forwards |||||||
| 7 | Liam Shotton | (1987-05-28) 28 May 1987 (age 37) | Singapore Cricket Club | 2018 | 2020 |
| 9 | Goh Swee Swee | (1986-06-02) 2 June 1986 (age 38) | Eunos Crescent | 2018 | |
| 13 | Hazim Faiz | (1995-09-28) 28 September 1995 (age 29) | Young Lions FC | 2017 | |
| 16 | Cameron Ayrton Bell | (1994-04-18) 18 April 1994 (age 30) | Geylang International | 2019 | 2020 |

## Coaching staff

| Position | Name |
| General Manager | Matthew Tay |
| Head Coach | Clement Teo |
| Assistant Coach | Firdaus Kassim |
| Goalkeeping Coach | Scott Starr |
| Head of Youth (COE) | Han Yiguang |
| U17 Coach | |
| U15 Coach | Winston Yap |
| Fitness Coach | Hairil Amin |
| Team Manager | Robert Eziakor |
| Marketing Media | Liu Jueming |
| Sports Trainer | Thomas Pang |
| Sports Trainer | Ryan Wang |
| Kitman | Wan Azlan |

## Transfers
### In

Pre-season
| Position | Player | Transferred From | Ref |
| GK | Mukundan Maran | Free Agent | Free |
| GK | Aizil Yazid | Albirex Niigata (S) | Free |
| DF | Kaishu Yamazaki | Lion City Sailors | Free |
| DF | Kishson Philip | | End of NS |
| FW | Khairul Nizam | Geylang International | Free |
| FW | Shahril Ishak | Lion City Sailors | Free |
| FW | Gilberto Fortunato | FC Drita | Free |
| FW | Tomoyuki Doi | Albirex Niigata (S) | Free |
| MF | Firas Irwan | Free Agent | NA |
Mid-season
| Position | Player | Transferred From | Ref |
| GK | Izwan Mahbud | Samut Prakan City F.C. | [14] [15] |
| FW | Amir Zalani | Free Agent | |

### Loan Return

Pre-season
| Position | Player | Transferred From | Ref |
| DF | Asraf Zahid | Young Lions FC | Loan Return |
| DF | Sahffee Jubpre | Young Lions FC | Loan Return |
| DF | Harhys Stewart | Young Lions FC | Loan Return |
| MF | Nor Hakim Redzuan | Young Lions FC | Loan Return |
| MF | Zulfahmi Arifin | Suphanburi F.C. | Loan Return |
| FW | Idraki Adnan | Young Lions FC | Loan Return |
Note 1: Zulfahmi Arifin loan to Suphanburi was cancelled before moving to Samut Prakan City on loan.
Note 2: Harhys Stewart loan to Young Lions was extended for another season.
Note 3: Sahffee Jubpre loan to Young Lions was extended for another season.
Note 4: Asraf Zahid left the club after returning to the club.
Mid-season
| Position | Player | Transferred From | Ref |
| MF | Zulfahmi Arifin | Samut Prakan City F.C. | Loan Return |
Note 1: Zulfahmi Arifin loan to Samut Prakan City was terminated before the agreed date, May 2022.

### Out

Pre-season
| Position | Player | Transferred To | Ref |
| DF | Jordan Vestering | SAFSA | NS till 2022 |
| GK | Heng How Meng | SAFSA | NS till 2022 |
| GK | Khairulhin Khalid | | |
| GK | Daniel Ong | Singapore U19 | Goalkeeper Coach |
| DF | Alif Iskandar | Young Lions FC | Free |
| DF | Emmeric Ong | Tanjong Pagar United | Free |
| DF | Zachary Anderson | Olympic FC | Free |
| MF | Charlie Machell | Visakha FC | Free |
| MF | Anumanthan Kumar | Kedah FA | Free |
| MF | Mahathir Azeman | | Free |
| MF | Justin Hui | Lion City Sailors | Free |
| FW | Daniel Martens | Tanjong Pagar United | Free |
| DF | Asraf Zahid | | Free |
Note 1: Zulfahmi Arifin loan to Suphanburi was cancelled before moving to Samut Prakan City on loan till May 2022 .
Mid-season
| Position | Player | Transferred To | Ref |
| DF | Afiq Yunos | Geylang International | Free, 6 months contract |

### Loan out

Pre-season
| Position | Player | Transferred To | Ref |
| MF | Zulfahmi Arifin | Suphanburi F.C. | Season loan till May 2021 |
| MF | Zulfahmi Arifin | Samut Prakan City F.C. | Season loan till May 2022 |
| DF | Harhys Stewart | Young Lions FC | Season loan |
| DF | Sahffee Jubpre | Young Lions FC | Season loan |
| MF | Nor Hakim Redzuan | Young Lions FC | Season loan |
Mid-season
| Position | Player | Transferred To | Ref |
| MF | Zulfahmi Arifin | Sukhothai F.C. | Season loan till May 2022 |

### Retained / Extension

| Position | Player | Ref |
| Coach | Clement Teo | |
| GK | Ridhuan Barudin | |
| DF | Nazrul Nazari | 2 years contract signed in 2019 |
| DF | Muhaimin Suhaimi | 2 years contract signed in 2019 |
| DF | Anders Aplin | |
| DF | Lionel Tan | |
| DF | Hafiz Sujad | |
| DF | Faiz Salleh | |
| DF | Maksat Dzhakybaliev | |
| DF | Afiq Yunos | |
| MF | Afiq Noor | |
| MF | Fabian Kwok | |
| MF | Farhan Zulkifli | |
| MF | Nikesh Singh Sidhu | |
| FW | Shahfiq Ghani | 2 years contract signed in 2019 |
| FW | Shawal Anuar | 2 years contract signed in 2019 |
| FW | Sahil Suhaimi | |
| FW | Naufal Azman | |

## Friendlies
### Pre-Season Friendly

Win  Draw  Loss

### Mid-season friendlies

Win  Draw  Loss

## Team statistics
### Appearances and goals

    As of 13 Aug 2021
| No. | Pos. | Player | Sleague | Sleague | Total | Total |
| No. | Pos. | Player | Apps. | Goals | Apps. | Goals |
| 1 | GK | Mukundan Maran | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | Anders Aplin | 11+3 | 1 | 14 | 1 |
| 4 | MF | Afiq Noor | 3+11 | 1 | 14 | 1 |
| 5 | DF | Lionel Tan | 18 | 3 | 18 | 3 |
| 6 | DF | Kaishu Yamazaki | 20 | 1 | 20 | 1 |
| 7 | FW | Shahfiq Ghani | 3+8 | 1 | 11 | 1 |
| 8 | DF | Hafiz Sujad | 7+7 | 4 | 14 | 4 |
| 9 | FW | Tomoyuki Doi | 18+2 | 19 | 20 | 19 |
| 10 | FW | Shawal Anuar | 12+6 | 3 | 18 | 3 |
| 11 | DF | Nazrul Nazari | 9+3 | 1 | 12 | 1 |
| 12 | MF | Fabian Kwok | 15+3 | 2 | 18 | 2 |
| 13 | GK | Ridhuan Barudin | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 14 | DF | Maksat Dzhakybaliev | 14 | 1 | 14 | 1 |
| 15 | MF | Farhan Zulkifli | 20 | 0 | 20 | 0 |
| 16 | DF | Faiz Salleh | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 17 | FW | Shahril Ishak | 1+7 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| 18 | MF | Idraki Adnan | 12 | 4 | 12 | 4 |
| 19 | FW | Gilberto Fortunato | 8+3 | 4 | 11 | 4 |
| 20 | DF | Muhaimin Suhaimi | 2+4 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 22 | FW | Khairul Nizam | 2+4 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 23 | FW | Sahil Suhaimi | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | FW | Naufal Azman | 11 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
| 26 | DF | Kishon Philip | 9+1 | 1 | 10 | 1 |
| 29 | FW | Amir Zalani | 0+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 30 | GK | Izwan Mahbud | 10 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| 53 | MF | Jarrel Ong Jia Wei | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 55 | MF | Josiah Phua Yong Qi | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 57 | MF | Hairil Sufi | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Players who have played this season but had left the club or on loan to other club |||||||
| 3 | DF | Afiq Yunos | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

## Competitions
### Overview

| Competition | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record |
| Competition | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % |

### Singapore Premier League

Win  Draw  Loss
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Lion City Sailors | 21 | 14 | 6 | 1 | 59 | 21 | +38 | 48 | Qualification for AFC Champions League group stage |
| 2 | Albirex Niigata (S) | 21 | 13 | 7 | 1 | 50 | 19 | +31 | 46 | |
| 3 | Hougang United | 21 | 10 | 4 | 7 | 48 | 40 | +8 | 34 | Qualification for AFC Cup group stage |
| 4 | Tampines Rovers | 21 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 48 | 51 | −3 | 27 | Qualification for AFC Cup group stage |
| 5 | Tanjong Pagar United | 21 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 36 | 49 | −13 | 22 | |
* ↑ The foreign club – Albirex Niigata (S) – as well as the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) under-21 team, Young Lions, are ineligible for any AFC competition spots.

### Singapore Cup

Win  Draw  Loss