Competition: Paya Lebar Punggol FC vs Woodlands Wellington FC
Date & Time: 10 May 2005 7:30:00 PM
Venue: Hougang
Seahorses delaying the inevitable? Especially against visiting Rams?
Goals scored - 5. Goals conceded - 26. Games lost – 9. Games won – 0.
If those statistics had something of a déjà vu effect on you, well, that’s because it was only just last season when Tanjong Pagar had lost nine consecutive games also in the first round.
They prevented a tenth consecutive loss when they picked up a solitary point in a 1-1 draw against Albirex Niigata.
Fast forward to 2005 and you have a somewhat similar situation.
Paya Lebar Punggol is in danger of breaking the record for consecutive losses – a record that no club would want to associate themselves with.
SeahorsesÂ’ coach Chow Kwai Lam may have said that his side has been improving in every game, but he truthfully admitted that the improvement is not good enough for them to start winning matches.
Still, WoodlandsÂ’ coach Karim Bencherifa is still wary of the possible pitfalls his team might face against the Seahorses.
Karim said, “I watched them play against Geylang last week and they were keeping it tight until the 35th minute, when they conceded the two goals just before half-time.
“In the early stages of the second half, they dominated the match and they had many good, clear chances to score. They have been improving game after game. But I do hope they start winning after our game tomorrow.”
After having trounced Paya Lebar 4-1 in the first round encounter, the Moroccan coach must be feeling confident of getting a good result out of this fixture.
“I’m always confident to go for a win, knowing the team that we have. But when we go into the game, anything can happen.
“Like our previous game against Tampines Rovers SC (Singapore Cup), one red card (Masrezwan Masturi) and we were suddenly down to ten men.”
Karim Bencherifa is also unconcerned about what the SeahorsesÂ’ tactics might be in trying to prevent their tenth consecutive loss.
He said, “When I prepare my team, I focus more on my players. We don’t really care who the other players are.
“We impose our own style and our own tactics. I don’t look at opponents’ individual players and make a special plan for them.
“I just make sure that my team is well prepared to go for the win.”
Woodlands defender Jaslee Hatta is definitely ruled out of this game after he sustained a fracture in his arm in last weekÂ’s match against S-League side Tampines Rovers.
The Seahorses do not have any injury worries, or suspensions, that will prevent their players from participating in this game.
That must be good news to coach Chow Kwai Lam, who needs his team to be prepared physically, and mentally, to prevent a tenth consecutive loss at the hands of the visiting Rams.
Probable Team Line-Up
Paya Lebar Punggol FC
Jersey No. Name Position
1 Zulkifli Zainolabidin GK
2 Protais Bessala FW
5 He Hongji MF
6 Faizal Jumaat DF
8 Brian Ravi MF
9 Kenan Ragipovic MF
10 P Sugunan FW
13 Moudourou Moise DF
15 Terence Yee MF
16 Norazmi Kasmani DF
17 S Senthilan FW
Woodlands Wellington FC
Jersey No. Name Position
1 Yazid Yasin GK
3 Junaidi Kassim DF
4 Azmi Mahamud DF
7 Ahmad Latiff Khamarudin MF
8 Goh Tat Chuan MF
9 Jonathon Angelucci FW
10 Daniel Bennett DF
13 Ratna Suffian DF
14 Sazali Salleh MF
17 Masrezwan Masturi FW
18 Park Tae Won FW
Competition: Sinchi FC vs Albirex Niigata FC (S)
Date & Time: 12 May 2005 7:30:00 PM
Venue: Jurong
Political Issues Aside as Foreign Teams Clash
Sinchi FC and Albirex Niigata have brushed aside the political agenda that hovers over their clash this Thursday at the Jurong Stadium.
News of Chinese mob protesting against the Japanese amendment of their own history textbooks and the War Shrine visits have been splashed across major newspapers over the last month or so, giving this match a twinge of political flavour.
For the record, after the Japanese national team defeated their Chinese counterparts in the Asian Cup final last year, Chinese fans rioted in major cities to vent their frustration.
However, it will be football over politics here in the S-League, as promised by both sides.
“We (Sinchi FC) are playing in the S-League, there would be no political factors involved,” insisted Wang Jinhui, the Chilins’ general manager.
His sentiments were echoed by Bogdan Brasoveanu, the White Swans’ manager, “It will be just like any other game. Whether it’s Home, Balestier or Sinchi, we would play to our best to get the three points.”
Ironically, both sides have gone through similar fortunes this season. Both had generated much pre-season hype by reshaping their squads from last season and promising to be amongst the elite this season. And both seem to have faltered, judging by the results so far.
Sinchi currently sit one place above the bottom, chalking up just a single win from their first round of nine matches, against the pointless Paya Lebar Punggol.
Albirex are not much better, garnering just four more points than Sinchi. Their highlight of the season must have been the 4-0 demolition of 2003 champions Home United in early April, but otherwise, they had looked ordinary.
Nonetheless, both camps had expressed optimism as the S-League season reaches the one-third mark.
“Progress in the Singapore Cup (a fortnight ago) has done the team good in terms of morale,” Wang expressed.
“Now we have to concentrate on getting points in the league and achieve our target of a top six finish.”
Meanwhile, Albirex have identified their failure to convert goal-scoring opportunities in the first nine league games as their stumbling block.
“We have created sufficient opportunities in most our games, but our failure to convert them have cost us dearly,” lamented Brasoveanu.
“It will be one area that we will be looking to improve.”
Politics or no politics, expect both sides to go all out in this clash as they seek to improve on their current league positions - almost as passionately as their counterparts back home.
If not more.
League S.LEAGUE
Match YOUNG LIONS vs BAL KHALSA
Match No. 0103
Sales Close ^ 13/05/05 6:45PM
1X2
Home Draw Away
2.30 3.40 2.50
<2.30> <3.65> <2.38>
1/2 GOAL
Home Away
YOUNG LIONS (-1½) 3.75 BAL KHALSA (+1½) 1.20
<3.75> <1.20>
TOTAL GOALS
No. of Goals
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9+
14.00 6.80 4.20 3.90 4.60 6.40 9.30 17.00 35.00 36.00
<14.00> <6.80> <4.20> <3.90> <4.60> <6.40> <9.30> <17.00> <35.00> <36.00>
HALF / FULL TIME DOUBLE
Selection
H-H H-D H-A D-H D-D D-A A-H A-D A-A
3.85 11.00 18.00 5.00 6.90 5.60 20.00 13.00 4.95
<3.85> <12.00> <18.00> <5.00> <7.30> <5.40> <19.00> <13.00> <4.80>
Competition: Young Lions vs Balestier Khalsa FC
Date & Time: 13 May 2005 7:00:00 PM
Venue: Yishun
The Young Lions ended the first round of matches of the NTUC Income-YeoÂ’s S-League season 2005 with a record of four wins, four defeats, and one draw, leaving quite some room for improvement as they embark on the second round of matches.
The final match of the round played last week ended in the first away defeat for the Young Lions as they failed to find the target and were duly punished, when Home United capitalized on chances of their own to win 3-0.
“We should have sealed the game in the first half. We create, create, create but we can’t score,” lamented coach, Fandi Ahmad.
With key players missing from the line-up in this campaign, the mean scoring machine that they were last year did not seem to get into gear during the first third of the season, though it is not for want of trying.
The Young Lions have delighted with their build up play in all of their games, but have generally failed to get it together in the final third of the pitch.
Balestier Khalsa beckons at the Yishun Stadium tomorrow night, and the Tigers have grown from strength to strength since the opening game defeat to the Young Lions over two months ago.
Having narrowly lost out to the Young Lions, Balestier went on a six-week unbeaten run which saw them beating powerhouses Tampines Rovers and Home United, and taking points off SAFFC and Geylang United in the process.
The Tigers also distinguished themselves from the struggling sides of the league with victories over minnows Paya Lebar Punggol and Sinchi FC.
The Balestier outfit challenging the Young Lions tomorrow night will be a different prospect from the one that lost out in round one. They would have built up a confidence that stems from having scalped some of the big boys in the league.
The Young Lions however would also find comfort in the fact that they have beaten the Tigers once before and did so even if they had not brought on their “A”-game that night.
Given the results, one would feel that the Young Lions have the potential to do much better than they have recorded thus far and beating the resilient, high-flying Tigers might just be that kick-start to an impressive run of their own.
It may have taken more time than expected for the Young Lions to find their feet in the league, and Balestier seemed to have settled better this season.
Past results however do not matter, and what will count is the performance of the two teams on the night as the auld adage goes.
The second installment of the “Battle of the Big Cats” this season will be no different.
Probable Team Line-Up
Young Lions
Jersey No. Name Position
1 Hassan Sunny GK
4 Juma'at Jantan DF
7 Shi Jia Yi MF
9 Ashrin Shariff FW
11 Baihakki Khaizan DF
14 Jamil Ali FW
15 Tengku Mushadad MF
16 Imran Sahib MF
20 Precious Emuejeraye DF
21 Itimi Dickson FW
23 Greg Nwokolo FW
Balestier Khalsa FC
Jersey No. Name Position
2 Nawfal Shahib MF
4 Parwinderjit Singh DF
7 Ronald Kesavan MF
8 Bah Mamadou DF
10 Akihiro Nakamura MF
12 Tan Sio Beng DF
13 Rizal Rahman GK
14 Abdul Rahman DF
16 Ibrahim Dawood MF
18 Kengne Ludovick FW
20 Osagie Ederaro FW
Competition: Singapore Armed Forces FC vs Tampines Rovers FC
Date & Time: 15 May 2005 7:30:00 PM
Venue: Choa Chu Kang
Stags, Warriors in top-of-table clash
An enticing clash awaits at the Choa Chu Kang Stadium as the Warriors host Tampines Rovers on Sunday night in a top-of-the-table tie.
Their encounter in the first round of matches was a keenly contested affair which could have swung either way as the score stood deadlocked at 2-2 going into the final minutes of the game.
Noh Alam Shah however erased parity when he nodded home to hand his side all three points.
Fast-forward to two months and a few days later, the two sides are still going on strong, looking down on the rest of the teams from where they are, perched at the top of the standings.
The visiting Stags will find the SAFFC side in confident mood as they have not been beaten in the past eight games after the opening day loss at the Tampines Stadium, and WarriorsÂ’ coach Kim Poulsen is well pleased with his chargesÂ’ performances as he iterated after the game against Sinchi.
“Our only loss so far came in the first game, when Tampines beat us. Since then, we have managed to get results consistently in the first round (first nine matches). I am very happy with that,” he said.
The Warriors have also won their last four games on the trot – three league games and a first-round match in the RHB Singapore Cup – and are buoyed by the return of Keita Boubacar after a lay-off due to injury.
Nevertheless, Tampines too have been able to field their best team of late after Sead Muratovic was reinstated to the side, having passed his beep test.
Muratovic has shown over the past two games that he was by no means rusty after being out of action for so long with sterling displays at the heart of the StagsÂ’ defence; a fact not lost on head coach Vorawan Chitavanich.
“Sead is like a leader in the team. I think he has played well in the last two games, making our defence more solid,” he said after the resounding win over Woodlands last week.
If anything, the 26-year-old Serb can only improve as he gets matches under his belt; an unenviable prospect for the opposing forwards – SAFFC’s front men, Farizal Basri and Aleksandar Duric in particular.
The Stags however will not be able to call on the services of Rafi Ali who has chalked up one-too-many yellow cards and is therefore suspended for this round.
Nevertheless, SAFFC vs Tampines Rovers at the home of the Warriors will still be a cracker of a game, as two attack-oriented sides do battle for occupancy of top spot in the NTUC Income-YeoÂ’s S-League.
Can the willing Warriors do enough to overhaul the stolid Stags? Find out at the Chua Chu Kang Stadium on Sunday night.
Probable Team Line-Up
Singapore Armed Forces FC
Jersey No. Name Position
1 Adi Saleh GK
5 Seric Vladan DF
6 Keita Boubacar MF
7 Razif Mahamud DF
9 Aleksandar Duric FW
10 Therdsak Chaiman MF
12 Farizal Basri FW
17 Ali Imran Lomri MF
18 Noor Ali FW
20 V Selvaraj DF
22 Shaiful Esah DF
Tampines Rovers FC
Jersey No. Name Position
1 Rezal Hassan GK
6 Sead Muratovic DF
7 Nazri Nasir DF
8 Tan Kim Leng MF
9 Noh Alam Shah FW
10 Mirko Grabovac FW
12 Zulkarnaen Zainal DF
13 Branko Hucika DF
14 Azhar Salleh MF
16 Santi Chaiyaphuak MF
17 Mustafic Fahrudin MF
Competition: Geylang United FC vs Home United FC
Date & Time: 15 May 2005 7:30:00 PM
Venue: Bedok
Geylang in the way of Oliveira's century goal
Much has been said this week about the two goals Peres de Oliveira needs to reach the century mark on his goal tally.
The Brazilian will be the fifth S-League player and, more spectacularly, the first midfielder to score 100 goals in the S.League and the Singapore Cup.
While many back the mercurial midfielder to achieve the feat this Sunday, he will be up against a resurgent Eagles side who will be eager to stop him in his tracks.
Over the last couple of weeks, the Eagles have shown grit and resilience within their ranks as they battle it out in the league.
While they easily overcame the Seahorses last week, the Eagles fought tooth-and-nail with the Warriors before losing out narrowly by one goal. That match exemplified the determination the Eagles has put up in recent matches.
The backline despatched by coach Scott OÂ’Donell superbly denied the WarriorsÂ’ strikers any space but, unfortunately, could not stop Aleksandar Duric from scoring in the 70th minute.
Mark Williams, Fathi Yunus and Jerry Bartholomeusz will be eager to put up another solid defensive performance when they come face-to-face with the likes of Indra Sahdan, Egmar Goncalves and Peres de Oliveira.
Geylang UnitedÂ’s head honcho, Scott OÂ’Donell, has indicated his intentions of notching his teamÂ’s fourth win when they host the Protectors at the Eagles den this week.
He said: “I am looking forward to the match with Home United and we are going to try to get the full three points at the Bedok stadium.”
The Eagles coach also acknowledged that his team has been improving, saying: “We are confident about the match this Sunday, especially after last week’s win. As you can see, our performance on the pitch is better.”
While optimistic about his teamÂ’s chances, as they were taking on the Protectors who had an AFC Cup match in Pahang on Wednesday, the Geylang United coach remained cautious.
Said O’Donell: “Home United will be tired. It was an away game for them and they got a good point for themselves. But they have experienced players in their side. I’m sure coach Steve Darby will be able to get the best out of his players.”
Getting a win would most certainly be on the mind of the Protectors as they attempt to notch their fifth win and catch up with the pacesetters in the league.
Judging by recent performances, this match will be a close encounter and victory for either side will not be easy.
Probable Team Line-Up
Geylang United FC
Jersey No. Name Position
2 Noh Rahman DF
3 Fathi Yunus DF
6 Mark Williams DF
7 Syed Fadhil MF
8 Jerry Bartholomeusz DF
10 John Wilkinson MF
13 Razaleigh Khalik DF
14 Fazrul Nawaz FW
15 Rudy Khairon MF
16 Shahril Jantan GK
18 Chimaobi Nwaogazi FW
Home United FC
Jersey No. Name Position
3 Indra Sahdan Daud FW
5 Aide Iskandar Sahak DF
6 Anuruck Srikerd MF
7 Aidil Sharin Sahak MF
9 Egmar Goncalves FW
10 Peres De Oliveira MF
12 J Surachai MF
14 S Subramani DF
17 Azhar Baksin MF
18 Amos Boon GK
20 Sutee Suksomkit FW
League S.LEAGUE
Match GEYLANG vs HOME UNITED
Match No. 0105
Sales Close ^ 15/05/05 7:15PM
1X2
Home Draw Away
4.00 3.24 1.75
<3.80> <3.60> <1.70>
1/2 GOAL
Home Away
GEYLANG (+1½) 1.38 HOME UNITED (-1½) 2.65
<1.38> <2.65>
TOTAL GOALS
No. of Goals
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9+
18.00 9.00 4.30 3.80 4.30 5.70 8.70 16.00 32.00 33.00
<18.00> <9.00> <4.30> <3.80> <4.30> <5.70> <8.70> <16.00> <32.00> <33.00>
HALF / FULL TIME DOUBLE
Selection
H-H H-D H-A D-H D-D D-A A-H A-D A-A
7.40 13.00 16.00 8.10 7.00 4.90 22.00 13.00 2.55
<7.50> <15.00> <17.00> <7.80> <7.00> <4.65> <22.00> <13.00> <2.55>