Home United will defend their crown in their eighth RHB Singapore Cup final -- their third since 2011 -- after progressing to November's showpiece event against Balestier Khalsa FC by stunning Steve Kean's trailblazing Brunei DPMM FC side 3-2 in the semifinals.
Defending champions Home scored two goals in the last seven minutes to secure a comeback victory at the Jalan Besar Stadium on Friday night, winning the tie by four goals to three.
Coming off a 1-1 draw in the first leg, DPMM cranked up the pressure with goals through former Coventry City striker Roy O'Donovan in the fifth minute followed by a Rodrigo Tosi spot kick in the 35th minute. Home United's defence struggled but coach Lee Lim Saeng's men hit back just before half-time as Sirina Camara popped up from close range to make it 2-1 going into the break.
In a game of two halves, the roles reversed in the second period with DPMM seemingly content with passing the ball around as they waited for full-time. But six-time winners Home came out with all guns blazing in the second half, dominating proceedings and pushed man-of-the-match Camara further up the pitch.
Their efforts finally paid dividends when Noh Raman levelled things up in the 83rd minute before a Lee Kwan Woo set-piece found Song Inyoung in the 89th minute to strike the final blow to DPMM's dream of winning the treble.
Speaking to sleague.com after the match, coach Lee said: "We did not play well in the first half because we lost the ball too easily when we were preparing to attack. I needed to give them encouragement and thankfully they got back to their own style in the second half. That was how we won as I also made some tactical changes and we started dominating possession."
While the Protectors' coach was full of praise for his comeback kings, former Blackburn Rovers manager Kean lamented his team's failure to build on their impressive first half performance, which ultimately led to their downfall.
"Sometimes if we try to go to second half to protect the lead, that is putting pressure on yourself because you cannot try to hold on for 45 minutes. We did not get the ball high enough on the pitch and dropped too deep," Kean added. "Eventually it could be smelt that we are nervous, and it throws caution and gives Home the momentum and psychological advantage. We did not show courage to go forward from then on."
Home United will take on Marko Kraljevic's Balestier Khalsa in the Nov. 7 final as the Tigers edged out Tampines Rovers on penalties after the score was tied 2-2 over two legs.