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Gombak looking to build on form that beat Geylang
Syahrom Sulaiman
info@sleague.com
This Friday’s televised clash at the Jalan Besar Stadium will pit Gombak United and Dalian Shide against each other as both sides attempt to maintain some sort of form to surge towards the upper echelons of the S.League table.
Both sides are fresh from morale-boosting victories but they desperately need to consistently pick up maximum points so as not to lag too far behind the league’s early pacesetters.
The Bulls defeated Geylang United 3-1 after going a goal down recently; the 2-2 draw with Albirex Niigata FC (S) two weeks earlier was perhaps an even more encouraging performance because they conceded two goals before they mounted an amazing comeback.
Bulls’ head coach Swandi Ahmad believes that they are definitely positives that can be drawn from both matches but maintains that his side needs to learn from their mistakes quickly.
He said, “The recent results shows that this is a team with character but I am still not very happy with the way we are playing at times.
“Why must we struggle in the opening few minutes and let our opponents dictate the match? Why can’t we play to our strengths and control the tempo of the game?
“This is something that we have to seriously look into. We cannot allow this to drag on. What if we concede a goal and we cannot penetrate the opponents’ defence to get the equalizer? We will be in trouble,” coach Swandi reflected.
The Bulls’ coach realizes that there are a few things that his team needs to do in order to achieve victory this Friday.
Swandi said, “We have to stay focused for the first 15 to 20 minutes. We simply cannot allow the opponent to score an early goal against us.
“If you take a look at teams like Dalian (Shide) or Albirex (Niigata FC (S)), they adopt the same approach to playing football. They’re fast, quick and emphasize a lot on teamwork.
“There’s not much difference between their players and our players; it depends on who wants it more at the end of the day.
“We will have to be wary of the threat posed by Wang Liang and Lu Peng. Both forwards are quite tall and fast - hence if we lose concentration at the back like in the game against Albirex, we might concede soft goals,” Swandi added.
The Bulls’ boss did not have any players who were injured in the game against the Eagles but he is still missing the services of long-time injury casualty Sevki Sha’ban.
Midfielder Ishak Zainol has fully recovered from his injury but he will still have to gain back his match fitness before he competes for a spot in the starting lineup.
Dalian Shide will have a full complement of players to choose from as they seek another three points this Friday in order to lift themselves out of the bottom three.
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