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Tampines Rovers booked their spot in the Singapore League Cup semifinals with a game to spare on Sunday evening after recording a comfortable 3-0 win over Warriors FC at Jalan Besar Stadium. Billy Mehmet opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time after being aided by an error from opposition goalkeeper Basil Chan before Fabian Kwok and Ariyan Malik added further strikes in the second half to complete a dominant display from the Stags. Coupled with Wednesday's 6-4 win over Hougang United, Tampines are now guaranteed a top-two finish in Group A and a place in the last four along with Brunei DPMM FC. Nonetheless, despite what ultimately turned out to be a straightforward triumph, the Stags did take a while to get going in what proved to be a dour opening 45 bereft of many scoring chances. The first effort of note arrived only in the 40th minute when Hafiz Rahim found space from 35 yards but failed to really trouble Joey Sim. Just when it looked as though both teams would enter the break level, the deadlock was broken when Mehmet similarly tried to try his luck from distance with a half volley that Chan somehow allowed to slip out of his hands and in between his legs. The Warriors did have an excellent chance to equalise three minutes into the second half when Nikola Rak embarked on a brilliant run through the middle. He left three defenders in his wake but failed to get his shot on target. Then, in the 55th minute, the Stags edged further ahead courtesy of a lovely team move. Ismadi Mukhtar played a neat one-two with Gautam Selvamany before cutting the ball back to put in on a platter for Kwok, who made no mistake in rifling his shot home. And six minutes later, the result was effectively put beyond doubt. Webb, latching onto a brilliant through-pass by Mehmet, drew Chan off his line before unselfishly squaring the ball to leave Ariyan with a simple tap-in for a debut goal. Warriors did have one final opportunity to salvage something from the contest when substitute Ridhuan Muhamad found space inside the box after a neat layoff by Hafiz Osman. But Sim produced a smart save to deny him and cap off a fine display by the Stags, one which greatly pleased coach Akbar Nawas. "If you ask me, I would take a 3-0 win over a 6-4 win any day of the week," said Akbar, referring to their thrilling victory in the same competition over Hougang four days earlier. "I was actually shouting from the sidelines to make sure we didn't concede because it's good for our confidence. "It shows we can play a disciplined game and today we were tactically smart, so I'm very happy with the performance." Meanwhile, Warriors coach Razif Onn refused to put blame on Chan for what could have been the game-changing moment. "I don't think that goal changed anything because, from our last two games, it is clear that we've conceded a lot of goals in a short span at the start of the second half," he explained. "Previously, I mentioned that I had to work on our backline but it looks like I have to remedy all aspects of our football, from the top to the bottom. "The same thing happened against DPMM [in Wednesday's 4-0 defeat] and I think something is very wrong." In Sunday's other Singapore League Cup game, DPMM sealed a top-two finish in the group and a place in the semis with a 2-0 triumph over Hougang United at Hougang Stadium, courtesy of goals from Paulo Sergio and Rafael Ramazotti. Warriors FC: Basil Chan, Ismail Yunos, Hafiz Osman, Kento Fukuda, Shaiful Esah, Hafiz Osman, Syaqir Sulaiman, Hafiz Rahim, Nikola Rak (Poh Yi Feng 86'), Andy Ahmad, Fazli Jaffar (Ridhuan Muhamad 70'), Marijan Suto (Hafsyar Farkhan 77') Tampines Rovers: Joey Sim, Ismadi Mukhtar, Jufri Taha, Noh Rahman, Irwan Shah, Fabian Kwok, Jordan Webb, Gautam Selvamany (Aide Shazwandi 80'), Saifullah Akbar (Nawari Ahmad 90'), Ariyan Malik (Faridzuan Fuad 77'), Billy Mehmet
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