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Depleted Rams remain keen as ever
Tam Cheong Yan
info@sleague.com
Friday evening’s clash between Home United and Woodlands Wellington pits arguably one of the largest squads in the S.League against what can probably be called the smallest.
To be fair, Woodlands have done well enough with their limited resources, although they might well cast the odd envious glance on their opponents for this match, who head to Jalan Besar Stadium five places and sixteen points ahead of the Rams in the league table.
That the gap is only this small so late into the season has much to do with the gritty attitude shown by Woodlands this term, having pulled off some stunning performances – including a 2-1 victory over Home back in July.
That result was achieved despite Nenad Bacina not having the services of Luis Eduardo Hicks and Syaiful Iskandar, who were suspended on that occasion, while club captain Azlan Alipah had injured himself in the warm-up at Woodlands.
While Azlan would probably be careful enough not to get hurt during the pre-match routine again, Bacina must once again do without two players serving bans, although this time it is striker Zakaria ‘Mido’ Yousif who joins Hicks in the stands.
The Egyptian striker got himself a mandatory two-match ban after a silly altercation with Gombak United’s Jaslee Hatta, which had occurred the last time the Rams had played on the same Jalan Besar surface.
With veteran midfielder Hasrin Jailani still out with a long-term injury and winger Jalal not quite approaching full fitness just yet, the suspensions could hardly have come at a worse time.
Yet that has not dampened Bacina’s desire to coax a positive performance from his players.
“Of course, this season’s Woodlands squad does not have many players, so when anyone is not available, the team gets affected,” he told sleague.com.
“But from the other side, I think I have a squad in which all of the players have given their part and helped to make something new. We may be losing Luis and Mido, but I do not want to use that as some kind of excuse in this coming match.
“We have players to replace them, and I am going to try some other options. For example, I am probably looking at Azlan and Kamal (Nasir) in midfield since Luis is out.
“It will not be easy for us, but we are not afraid of anyone, and we will try to give our best. I hope that the loss to Gombak has not affected our players; they are still hungry to show that Woodlands are a good and proper side this season.”
While not one to wither in the face of a challenge, Bacina was realistic about the gap in standards that separates his side from Home.
The Croat was in the stands on Tuesday evening as Home suffered a shock 1-2 loss to Terry Pathmanathan’s Young Lions, but he was quick to dismiss suggestions that the Protectors would be mentally vulnerable as a result of that defeat.
“Every match is a new one, and every match starts from zero,” he stressed.
“I’m expecting Home United to play the best they can. No matter what happened to them in the last match against the Young Lions, I still think they are a big name in the S.League, with many good players and a good coach in charge of them.
“They will want to prove against us that they are still a good team. And they are still looking to get into second spot, so they will be the favourites.
“But from our point of view, we will try our best to upset them. We conceded two easy goals against Gombak last week, and we want to put in a better performance this time.”
The Rams will be facing a Protectors side buoyed by the return of their creative maestro Peres de Oliveira, who had to sit out their last game due to suspension.
Less pleasant is the outlook on midfield workhorse Shi Jiayi, who was injured early on against the Young Lions and had to be substituted.
Initial assessments on the Singapore international’s affected knee do not look positive, although an MRI scan would be required to confirm whether he has sustained any ligament damage.
But while the injury might yet have repercussions for the Singapore national team, Home coach PN Sivaji was clearly a less worried man as he spoke of the options at club level.
“The thing is that Jiayi has not been hogging a spot in the starting eleven in our games this season,” he noted.
“We’ve had Shahdan (Sulaiman) there, we’ve had (Syed) Fadhil there, and we’ve had Tengku Mushadad there too, among others. So now is just the time for us to look at other players.
“We do have to look at Shahril Alias, who was also injured in the game. But I think the fact that he could continue to play and lasted the remainder of the match should mean that he should be okay for this one.”
Sivaji’s preparations for the match have been boosted by news that Shahdan and Firdaus Idros will be available, despite earning a call-up to the Singapore Under-23 squad that will face Cambodia in a friendly at Phnom Penh on Sunday afternoon.
The Prime League duo have been significant contributors to the Protectors’ cause this season, managing 27 domestic starts between them and also making frequent appearances in the AFC Cup earlier this year.
“Firdaus and Shahdan have been selected to travel,” confirmed Sivaji.
“I think it is good for them, as it is another opportunity to play some international football and that will not harm their development. But they are available for the game on Friday.
“This game takes first priority for them. Only after the game is finished will they join up with the Under-23s on Saturday, so they can still play their part.”
While there will be no television cameras trained on the Protectors this Friday – the match will not be telecast as Formula 1 fever hits the small screen – the desire to perform well is unlikely to be diminished.
There is even more truth in that statement in light of that midweek result, which leaves Home six points adrift of Tampines Rovers, who are currently leading what is effectively a four-way fight for second spot.
But while they still have a realistic chance to pip the Stags with five games to go, Sivaji is urging his charges to simply focus on the immediate task at hand.
Describing doing the math on the end-of-season run-in as a “waste of energy”, the former national coach was more interested in simply amassing as many points as possible without letting the big picture get in the way of the immediate term.
“I think we are only putting ourselves under a lot of pressure when we talk about second position or third position,” he remarked.
“We will get distracted that way. Doing permutations and combinations to see who gets where at the end of 33 league matches is all a bit of wasting of time and energy.
“I’d just like us to focus on one game at a time. We now need to respond after this latest defeat against the Young Lions, and we want to keep our eye on that.
“I think the Young Lions played well enough to get three points, but for us to lose it in the last minute was heartbreaking. I’ve seen the team come back and respond to such events before, and I hope to see the team responding positively again this time.” |
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