2020 Hougang United FC season
# 2020 Hougang United FC season

The 2020 season is Hougang United's 23rd 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. They will also compete in the 2020 AFC Cup, a first in their history.

## Squad

### S.League Squad

| No. | Name | Date of Birth (Age) | Previous Club | Contract Since | Contract End |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Goalkeepers |||||||
| 13 | Ridhuan Barudin $^{>30}$ | (1987-03-23) 23 March 1987 (age 36) | Tampines Rovers | 2015 | 2020 |
| 18 | Khairulhin Khalid | (1991-07-18) 18 July 1991 (age 32) | LionsXII | 2016 | 2020 |
| 31 | Daniel Ong $^{>30}$ | (1989-08-31) 31 August 1989 (age 33) | Tiong Bahru FC | 2020 | 2020 |
| Defenders |||||||
| 2 | Anders Aplin | (1991-06-21) 21 June 1991 (age 32) | Geylang International | 2020 | 2020 |
| 3 | Maksat Dzhakybaliev $^{U21}$ | (2000-02-18) 18 February 2000 (age 23) | Sivasspor U-21 | 2020 | 2020 |
| 5 | Lionel Tan $^{U23}$ | (1997-06-05) 5 June 1997 (age 26) | SAFSA | 2020 | |
| 8 | Hafiz Sujad | (1990-11-01) 1 November 1990 (age 32) | Tampines Rovers | 2019 | 2020 |
| 11 | Nazrul Nazari | (1991-02-11) 11 February 1991 (age 32) | LionsXII | 2016 | 2021 |
| 14 | Alif Iskandar $^{U23}$ | (1999-01-16) 16 January 1999 (age 24) | NFA U18 | 2019 | 2020 |
| 17 | Faiz Salleh | (1992-07-17) 17 July 1992 (age 31) | Young Lions FC | 2014 | 2020 |
| 19 | Zac Anderson | (1991-04-30) 30 April 1991 (age 32) | Perak FA | 2020 | 2020 |
| 20 | Muhaimin Suhaimi | (1995-02-20) 20 February 1995 (age 28) | Young Lions FC | 2018 | 2021 |
| 28 | Afiq Yunos | (1990-12-10) 10 December 1990 (age 32) | Trat F.C. | 2019 | |
| 35 | Emmeric Ong | (1991-01-25) 25 January 1991 (age 32) | Warriors FC | 2020 | |
| Midfielders |||||||
| 4 | Afiq Noor | (1993-12-25) 25 December 1993 (age 29) | Tiong Bahru FC (NFL) | 2019 | 2020 |
| 6 | Anumanthan Kumar | (1994-07-14) 14 July 1994 (age 29) | Home United | 2019 | 2020 |
| 12 | Fabian Kwok $^{>30}$ | (1989-03-17) 17 March 1989 (age 34) | Tampines Rovers | 2017 | 2020 |
| 16 | Justin Hui $^{U23}$ | (1998-02-17) 17 February 1998 (age 25) | Youth Team | 2017 | 2020 |
| 21 | Nikesh Singh Sidhu $^{U23}$ | (1999-02-24) 24 February 1999 (age 24) | Home United U19 | 2019 | 2020 |
| 22 | Mahathir Azeman | (1996-01-17) 17 January 1996 (age 27) | Balestier Khalsa | 2019 | 2020 |
| 24 | Farhan Zulkifli $^{U23}$ | (2002-11-10) 10 November 2002 (age 20) | Home United U19 | 2019 | 2020 |
| 25 | Charlie Machell | (1994-10-25) 25 October 1994 (age 28) | Svay Rieng FC | 2020 | 2020 |
| Strikers |||||||
| 7 | Shahfiq Ghani | (1992-03-17) 17 March 1992 (age 31) | Geylang International | 2018 | 2021 |
| 10 | Shawal Anuar | (1991-04-29) 29 April 1991 (age 32) | Geylang International | 2020 | 2021 |
| 23 | Sahil Suhaimi | (1992-07-08) 8 July 1992 (age 31) | Warriors FC | 2020 | 2020 |
| 26 | Daniel Martens $^{U23}$ | (1999-02-25) 25 February 1999 (age 24) | Albirex Niigata (S) | 2020 | 2020 |
| 32 | Naufal Azman $^{U23}$ | (1998-07-10) 10 July 1998 (age 25) | Young Lions FC | 2020 | 2020 |
| Players who left during the season |||||||
| 1 | Heng How Meng $^{U23}$ | (1998-05-14) 14 May 1998 (age 25) | Tiong Bahru FC (NFL) | 2019 | |
| 9 | Stipe Plazibat | (1989-08-31) 31 August 1989 (age 33) | NK Solin | 2019 | 2020 |
| 15 | Jordan Nicolas Vestering $^{U23}$ | (2000-09-25) 25 September 2000 (age 22) | NFA U18 | 2018 | 2020 |

### U19 Squad

| No. | Name | Date of Birth (Age) | Previous Club |
| - | - | - | - |
| Goalkeepers |||||||
| Defenders |||||||
| | Prakash Raj | (1998-06-11) 11 June 1998 (age 25) | Young Lions FC |
| Midfielders |||||||
| Strikers |||||||

### 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 36) | Warriors FC | 2018 | 2020 |
| 5 | Igor Ferreira Alves | (1985-02-21) 21 February 1985 (age 38) | Hougang United | 2017 | 2020 |
| 8 | Zulfadli Zainal Abidin | (1988-04-26) 26 April 1988 (age 35) | Geylang International | 2019 | 2020 |
| 10 | Ang Zhiwei | (1989-08-02) 2 August 1989 (age 33) | Warriors FC | 2018 | 2020 |
| 14 | Kenneth Chang | (1992-07-07) 7 July 1992 (age 31) | Hougang United | 2016 | 2020 |
| 26 | Illyas Lee | (1995-12-01) 1 December 1995 (age 27) | Balestier Khalsa | 2020 | 2020 |
| Midfielders |||||||
| 12 | Jonathan Tan | (1995-12-13) 13 December 1995 (age 27) | Balestier Khalsa | 2020 | 2020 |
| 24 | Nurhilmi Jasni | (1986-12-17) 17 December 1986 (age 36) | Hougang United | 2019 | 2020 |
| | Ryan Syaffiq | (1995-03-04) 4 March 1995 (age 28) | Geylang International | 2019 | 2020 |
| Forwards |||||||
| 7 | Liam Shotton | (1987-05-28) 28 May 1987 (age 36) | Singapore Cricket Club | 2018 | 2020 |
| 9 | Goh Swee Swee | (1986-06-02) 2 June 1986 (age 37) | Eunos Crescent | 2018 | |
| 13 | Hazim Faiz | (1995-09-28) 28 September 1995 (age 27) | Young Lions FC | 2017 | |
| 16 | Cameron Ayrton Bell | (1994-04-18) 18 April 1994 (age 29) | Geylang International | 2019 | 2020 |

## Coaching staff

| Position | Name |
| - | - |
| Head coach | Clement Teo |
| Assistant coach | Salim Moin |
| Assistant coach | Firdaus Kassim |
| Head of Youth (COE) | Firdaus Kassim |
| U17 Coach | Han Yiguang |
| U15 Coach | Winston Yap |
| Fitness coach | Syaqir Sulaiman |
| Goalkeeping coach | Lim Queen Cher |
| General Manager | Matthew Tay |
| Team Manager | Clement Teo |
| Sports Trainer | Thomas Pang |
| Sports Trainer | Ryan Wang |
| Kitman | Wan Azlan |

## Transfers

### Pre-season transfers

**In**

| Position | Player | Transferred From | Ref |
| - | - | - | - |
| DF | Maksat Dzhakybaliev | Sivasspor u-21 | Season loan |
| DF | Zac Anderson | Free Agent | 1 year contract signed in 2020 |
| DF | Anders Aplin | Geylang International | 1 year contract signed in 2019 |
| DF | Prakash Raj | Young Lions FC | Loan Return |
| DF | Amer Hakeem | Young Lions FC | Loan Return |
| MF | Charlie Machell | Svay Rieng FC | 1 year contract signed in 2019 |
| FW | Syukri Bashir | Young Lions FC | Loan Return |
| FW | Daniel Martens | Albirex Niigata (S) | Loan return |
| FW | Sahil Suhaimi | Warriors FC | 1 year contract signed in 2019 |
| FW | Shawal Anuar | Geylang International | 2 years contract signed in 2019 |

Note 1: Syukri Bashir returned to the team after the loan and move to Tanjong Pagar United.

Note 2: Amer Hakeem was released after returning from loan.

**Out**

| Position | Player | Transferred To | Ref |
| - | - | - | - |
| DF | Azhar Manap | Balestier Khalsa | |
| DF | Kong Ho-won | | |
| DF | Harhys Stewart | Young Lions FC | |
| DF | Sahffee Jubpre | Young Lions FC | |
| DF | Afiq Yunos | Trat F.C. | Season loan |
| DF | Amer Hakeem | Geylang International | |
| MF | Amir Zalani | | |
| MF | Timothy David Yeo | | |
| MF | Karthik Raj | Balestier Khalsa | |
| MF | Zulfahmi Arifin | Suphanburi F.C. | Season loan |
| FW | Faris Ramli | Terengganu F.C. I | |
| FW | Iqbal Hussain | Geylang International | |
| FW | Fazrul Nawaz | Warriors FC | |
| FW | Paulin Mbaye | | |
| FW | Syukri Bashir | Tanjong Pagar United | Free |

Note 1: Amer Hakeem was released after returning from loan. He moved to Geylang International in the mid-season transfer window.

**Retained / Extension**

| Position | Player | Ref |
| - | - | - |
| Coach | Clement Teo | |
| GK | Khairulhin Khalid | 1 Year contract signed in 2019 |
| GK | Ridhuan Barudin | 1 Year contract signed in 2019 |
| GK | Heng How Meng | |
| DF | Nazrul Nazari | 2 years contract signed in 2019 |
| DF | Muhaimin Suhaimi | 2 years contract signed in 2019 |
| DF | Hafiz Sujad | 1 Year contract signed in 2019 |
| DF | Afiq Yunos | 1 Year contract signed in 2019 |
| DF | Jordan Nicolas Vestering | 1 Year contract signed in 2019 |
| DF | Alif Iskandar | |
| DF | Faiz Salleh | 1 Year contract signed in 2019 |
| MF | Afiq Noor | 1 Year contract signed in 2019 |
| MF | Nikesh Singh Sidhu | 1 Year contract signed in 2019 |
| MF | Anumanthan Kumar | 1 Year contract signed in 2019 |
| MF | Fabian Kwok | 1 Year contract signed in 2019 |
| MF | Justin Hui | 1 Year contract signed in 2019 |
| MF | Mahathir Azeman | 1 Year contract signed in 2019 |
| FW | Shahfiq Ghani | 2 years contract signed in 2019 |
| FW | Stipe Plazibat | 1 Year contract signed in 2019 |

**Promoted**

| Position | Player | Ref |
| - | - | - |
| MF | Farhan Zulkifli | 1 Year contract signed in 2019 |

**Trial**

| Position | Player | Trial From | Ref |
| - | - | - | - |

### Mid-season transfer

**In**

| Position | Player | Transferred From | Ref |
| - | - | - | - |
| GK | Daniel Ong | Tiong Bahru FC | |
| DF | Afiq Yunos | Trat F.C. | Loan Return |
| DF | Lionel Tan | SAFSA | NS Completed |
| DF | Emmeric Ong | Warriors FC | |
| FW | Naufal Azman | Young Lions FC | |

Note 1: Afiq Yunos returned to the team after the loan and move from Trat FC was cancelled due to Covid 19.

**Out**

| Position | Player | Transferred To | Ref |
| - | - | - | - |
| DF | Jordan Vestering | SAFSA | NS till 2022 |
| GK | Heng How Meng | SAFSA | NS till 2022 |
| FW | Stipe Plazibat | Lion City Sailors F.C. | Undisclosed |
| DF | Zachary Anderson | | Free |
| MF | Charlie Machell | | Free |

## Friendlies

### Pre-Season Friendly

Win  Draw  Loss

## Team statistics

### Appearances and goals

    As of 25 Feb 2020

| No. | Pos. | Player | Sleague | Sleague | Singapore Cup | Singapore Cup | AFC Cup | AFC Cup | Charity Shield | Charity Shield | Total | Total |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| No. | Pos. | Player | Apps. | Goals | Apps. | Goals | Apps. | Goals | Apps. | Goals | Apps. | Goals |
| 2 | DF | Anders Aplin | 14 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 18 | 2 |
| 3 | DF | Maksat Dzhakybaliev | 1(6) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 4 | MF | Afiq Noor | 9(4) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 17 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | Lionel Tan | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
| 6 | MF | Anumanthan Kumar | 5(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| 7 | FW | Shahfiq Ghani | 4(7) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1(2) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 1 |
| 8 | DF | Hafiz Sujad | 9(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 |
| 10 | FW | Shawal Anuar | 9(4) | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1(2) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 17 | 4 |
| 11 | DF | Nazrul Nazari | 13(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 0 |
| 12 | MF | Fabian Kwok | 9(4) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 16 | 0 |
| 13 | GK | Ridhuan Barudin | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| 14 | DF | Alif Iskandar | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | MF | Justin Hui | 3(6) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 |
| 17 | DF | Faiz Salleh | 1(6) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| 18 | GK | Khairulhin Khalid | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 20 | DF | Muhaimin Suhaimi | 3(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 21 | MF | Nikesh Singh Sidhu | 8(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| 22 | MF | Mahathir Azeman | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | FW | Sahil Suhaimi | 1(3) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 8 | 1 |
| 24 | MF | Farhan Zulkifli | 12(1) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 1 |
| 26 | FW | Daniel Martens | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 31 | GK | Daniel Ong | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 32 | FW | Naufal Azman | 2(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 35 | DF | Emmeric Ong | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Players who have played this season but had left the club or on loan to other club |||||||||||||
| 1 | GK | Heng How Meng | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | Stipe Plazibat | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 9 |
| 15 | DF | Jordan Vestering | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| 19 | DF | Zac Anderson | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 1 |
| 25 | MF | Charlie Machell | 7(1) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 3 |

## Competitions

### Overview

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

### Charity Shield

Win  Draw  Loss

### Singapore Premier League

Win  Draw  Loss

* ↑ Hougang United was a last minute replacement for DPMM FC after DPMM pulled out from the Charity Shield due to Covid 19.

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 4 | Geylang International | 14 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 18 | 22 | −4 | 20 | Qualification for AFC Cup group stage |
| 5 | Balestier Khalsa | 14 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 22 | 28 | −6 | 19 | |
| 6 | Hougang United | 14 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 19 | 24 | −5 | 15 | |
| 7 | Young Lions | 14 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 12 | 38 | −26 | 9 | |
| 8 | Tanjong Pagar United | 14 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 33 | −19 | 5 | |

* ↑ 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

### AFC Cup

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | HCM | YAN | HOU | LTO |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Hồ Chí Minh City | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 4 | +3 | 7 | — | 26 Sep | 29 Sep | 23 Sep |
| 2 | Yangon United | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 7 | 2–2 | — | 1–0 | 3–2 |
| 3 | Hougang United | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 2–3 | 23 Sep | — | 26 Sep |
| 4 | Lao Toyota | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 8 | −5 | 0 | 0–2 | 29 Sep | 1–3 | — |

* 1 2 Head-to-head away goals: Hồ Chí Minh City 2, Yangon United 0.

Win  Draw  Loss

