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To the nines for Home as title chase resumes
Gary Koh
info@sleague.com
Home United will be looking to extend their unbeaten streak in the league to nine games when they host the Young Lions on Thursday at Clementi Stadium.
The Protectors have been enjoying a good run of form that has seen them surge up to third in the table, putting them in contention for the domestic championship at the final run-in.
Their most recent competitive game saw them dish out their biggest victory of the season, as they demolished uniformed rivals Singapore Armed Forces FC 5-2 at Jalan Besar.
Then they gave a stern test to English Championship side Burnley FC in a closed-door game at Tampines Stadium, the final score of 5-0 hardly reflecting the amount of industry and energy the Protectors had offered.
With South Korean Choi Chul Woo suspended for this clash against the Young Lions, Home coach Lim Lee Saeng tried out a central defensive partnership of Cameroonian Valery Hiek and on-off Singapore international Tengku Mushadad in front of goalkeeper Lionel Lewis.
The duo did creditably against the likes of Steven Thompson in the first half, before they – and much of the rest of the team – made way for the Prime League boys after the break.
With Ismail Yunos sidelined for the rest of the season and Shariff Abdul Samat out of favour at the club, the options of partnering Hiek in central defence appear to be limited.
Apart from Tengku, Shahril Alias appears to be the other contender to take the slot. However, if Lim feels that the new duo of Hiek and Tengku has done alright against opponents of higher standards, then he will probably stick to the duo to silence lesser opponents like Khairul Nizam and Khalili D’Cruz.
Several players did not feature in the Burnley friendly, but should make the starting lineup at home against the Young Lions.
Rosman Sulaiman and South Korean Chun Jae Woon did not turn out at all against the Clarets, and should be fresh for the game against the Young Lions.
And while Shi Jiayi turned out for the Singapore Selection for an hour in Saturday’s FIS Asian Challenge Cup, two days after Home had had their turn against Burnley, and captain Shahril Ishak played the full 90 minutes, they too should be in good shape to do battle for the club after a five-day rest.
With the team now in sync in attack, it will take some stopping the formidable Protectors, who will be aiming to win their first league title since 2003.
Meanwhile the visitors have not managed to hit form since the confirmation of their spot in November’s Asian Games in the Chinese city of Guangzhou.
That is, until their four-game winless streak was snapped in last Monday’s 1-0 win over bottom side Woodlands Wellington.
While several in the team did shine for the Singapore Selection on Saturday, including the centreback pairing of Safuwan Baharudin and Afiq Yunos, not to mention skipper Hariss Harun, it was done with the help of a few Protectors in the side – including Shahdan Sulaiman, Shahril and Shi.
Despite their morale-lifting victory over the Rams, Young Lions coach V. Sundramoorthy knows he has a tougher test in the shape of the home side.
Their defence will be working overtime to deal with the interchanging of positions between the Home midfielders and forwards, as well as the fluid passing all the way from Lewis through to Shahril up front.
While pumping the ball up to Nizam and Khalili could be easier for the Young Lions as the absence of astute game-reader Choi would be telling, their profligacy in front of goal means Lewis can expect a slightly easier time guarding his net than he had against the Warriors and the Clarets.
Much is dependent on the Young Lions duo of Hariss and Shahfiq Ghani pulling the strings in midfield.
If the two of them can make Isa Halim work overtime from defensive midfield, then the match could well swing in the visitors’ favour.
However, as the in-form Protectors are now gelling into one solid unit and peaking right in time for the title run-in, it is hard to see the Young Lions end a formidable streak that could continue for some time yet. |
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