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Herel looks for Geylang to click against Dalian
Elwyn Lee
info@sleague.com
Jozef Herel’s Eagles play host to Chinese side Dalian Shide this Tuesday at the Bedok Stadium and the Slovakian is anxious for victory after just two wins out of seven so far.
Having re-built their squad, the Eagles were tipped to be flying higher than their current tenth position but that has failed to materialise, their four losses and a draw reflecting their mediocre report card so far at these early stages.
Still, Geylang will be hoping start playing catch-up with the upper half of the table. With visiting Dalian a place above them in ninth, on similar points from an additional game played, there are few better games for the Eagles to start doing the business.
“We must start getting some points and the climb must start with our next game against Dalian. We have the talents but must work on making this team click,” said Herel.
“Our problem, especially over the last two games, has been a matter of concentration. Against Home United we conceded five goals in five minutes and against Gombak we let in three in five minutes. We have 26 games to go and we have to rectify this concentration situation and start scoring the goals as well,” he added.
The Eagles have scored their nine goals by way of Masrezwan Masturi and Fazrul Nawaz with four each, while captain Aide Iskandar accounts for one goal.
The situation reflects the profligacy of new signings Luiz Machado Junior, Rivaldo Costa and Miroslav Latiak. All three have yet to score, reflecting the Eagles problems of past seasons where defensively they were stable, while struggling upfront.
Dalian meantime are faring little better in spite of their pre-season billing. The Chinese have also won two, drawn one and lost one more game than the Eagles.
Coach Pei Yong Jiu is well aware of his young fledglings' propensity to buckle due to inexperience and he rues Dalian's limited squad size.
“The team is getting used to the environment and the S.League system. We have more players returning from injury so we will be able to change and adapt; the boys will get better with the experience and with a bigger and stronger squad we will get results,” he said.
A win for either side could possibly propel them up to mid-table standing, the middle-ground being a tight-fisted points saga, while a draw will do neither the Eagles nor Dalian any good. |
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