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RHB Singapore Cup: Stage set as Eagles face Rabbits
Tam Cheong Yan
info@sleague.com
Preparations are almost complete for Geylang United and Bangkok Glass as they get set to do battle in the RHB Singapore Cup final at Jalan Besar Stadium on Sunday evening.
But if there is any tension in the air, the teams have done well not to show it ahead of the affair, which will decide which new name gets to join the four others who have lifted the trophy.
Since 1998, Tanjong Pagar United, SAFFC, Home United and Tampines Rovers have been the only sides to have won the competition.
For what it is worth, Geylang have reached this stage of the competition twice before, but in both 2001 and 2003 they were beaten to the prize by Home.
While meet a foreign team in the final will be a new experience for the Eagles, they face one familiar foe in the form of Bangkok Glass coach Surachai Jaturapattarapong.
The Thailand legend was part of the Home team that had beaten Geylang 2-1 in 2003, and despite being barely 20 weeks into his current job, he now stands just one match away from touching a trophy he had also lifted in 2005.
Speaking to sleague.com at the Glass Rabbits’ one-hour training session on Saturday, Surachai revealed the meticulous preparations he and his team have been going through in the nine days since they had overcome TTM Samut Sakhon in the semifinals.
“After our semifinals, we went back and took a look at videos of the Geylang players,” he said.
“We studied the style of Geylang’s play, and we have been planning on how to play with Geylang in this final. Even though I was not here to see Geylang’s last league game, I was told Geylang played very well.
“In any case, before I took this team, I already knew Geylang’s style very well. I think there are no big changes now to their football compared to when I was still at Home.”
Over at Bedok Stadium, Geylang have been doing some intensive work to get their squad ready for one last match at the end of a long and exhausting S.League season.
Their last fixture in the Great Eastern-YEO’S S.League was completed on Monday, when they were held to a 2-2 draw by Gombak United.
Their form in the league had been volatile going into the final weeks, having mustered a last-minute victory away to Woodlands Wellington in-between home losses to PN Sivaji’s Protectors and Terry Pathmanathan’s Young Lions, both by one-goal margins.
But compared to the scorelines, Eagles coach Mike Wong was more concerned about the players’ performances in those affairs, while simultaneously finding himself in a race against time to get all his aces fit for the final.
Injury-prone striker Masrezwan Masturi has not lasted a full match since the club’s semifinals victory over Albirex Niigata (Singapore), while Miroslav Latiak, Adrian Dhanaraj and Prime League winger Yasir Hanapi are also carrying knocks.
While Wong was optimistic about all four of them playing some part in the final, he acknowledged that he was uncertain over whether they can last the pace against a mobile Bangkok Glass outfit.
But highest on his priorities was an urgent need to address the Eagles’ defensive vulnerabilities, which were exposed in their recent league matches.
“Defensively, I don’t think we were too happy,” noted the former national age-group coach.
“Against Gombak, we failed to communicate, which is very important. Individually, in one-versus-one situations, we’ve got to do much better too when we play the Thais.
“The Thais have a few fast players, including their No.9. So our defensive line has to be prepared to bounce whenever their midfield has the ball.”
Gbenga Samuel Ajayi, the player Wong referred to, will be the primary focus of attention for the Glass Rabbits, after he had made a grand entrance into Singapore football in the first leg of the semifinals against Samut Sakhon.
Scoring the opening goal after just 35 seconds, he went on to claim a hat-trick as Bangkok Glass destroyed their compatriots 6-0 at Jurong West.
It was certainly some way for the Nigerian to announce himself, yet Geylang would be well-advised not to ignore the threats posed by players such as Chatree Chimtale and Nantawat Thaensopa.
With defender Wachira Sangsri the only man to miss the final due to suspension, Surachai has a near-full squad to choose from, giving him a good range of options further widened by the players’ remarkable versatility.
“Ajayi is not the only one who can score goals,” said the 39-year-old.
“We don’t feel any worry about all the attention on him, because we have many players from the attacking side who can score goals. We’ll just play our game, with each player given his duty for the final.
“There is a lot of rotation and replacement in our team, and I believe no player should be happy to just play in one spot. They have to move around and play in many positions.
“The good thing is that the players in this team are good at this. So that will be an advantage for us when we face Geylang.”
Compared to the Thais’ more free-flowing approach, Geylang play a more staccato style of football, relying significantly on fast breaks led by Latiak or Kim Jae Hong.
It is an approach that has served them well against SAFFC, Home and Albirex, a run that Surachai stressed was not just down to dumb luck.
He quickly added, however, that luck can play an important part in one-off affairs, with any cup final being a prime instance.
But far from subscribing to the belief in luck simply dropping down from the sky, he was more inclined to see luck being a function of effort – something he and his charges have shown in substantial quantities ahead of the final.
“We know that Geylang’s style is more defensive,” he remarked.
“They will try to make it hard for us to beat their defence. So we will need a bit of luck.
“Whether it’s us or them, everybody needs luck in football. Football has a few percent of luck in it, and if the chance comes your way, anything can happen.
“But it’s not all about luck; the planning, the players, everything has to be there. We have done everything we can to plan for the final, now it’s about who can give 100% to earn the luck.” |
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