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Stars hoping to serve up second home treat
Paul Green
info@sleague.com
It’s Etoile FC’s second home game at Queenstown Stadium on Monday – they played their first two Great Eastern-YEO’S S.League matches at Jalan Besar Stadium – and the French club is hoping for another bumper attendance at the historic ground in the inner-west when they face Geylang United.
To pique public interest ‘the Stars’ are offering a lucky draw for all paying spectators on the night, with a cash prize of S$3,000 to the fan whose ticket stub is pulled out of the barrel.
As if interest were not high enough already, of course, with the team still unbeaten and currently challenging strongly for second place.
Leaders Tampines Rovers held the new boys to a 1-1 draw at Tampines Stadium a week ago, and it is clear that the championship race is going to be keenly contested again this season.
Etoile has not faced SAFFC yet, but they have drawn away twice now against the traditional top sides, Home United and Tampines.
Here, back at Queenstown Stadium, they’ll be looking to replicate the comprehensive performance they gave in destroying Woodlands Wellington 4-0 18 days ago.
Since then there have been those two draws, and it is going to be interesting to see if the experienced Geylang can put up more resistance than Woodlands managed here last time.
Geylang are on the crest of a wave after a heroic performance in Bangkok to snatch an AFC Cup 2-2 draw against Thai Port FC at the prestigious Supachalasai Stadium.
Having been without the services of Romanian midfield general Vasile Ghindaru for the AFC Cup game, due to the ‘three-foreigner rule’, the Eagles will welcome the player back, and with no injuries ensuing from the Bangkok trip, a full squad will be at Geylang coach Mike Wong’s disposal.
“Vasile will definitely start,” said Wong after training on Saturday evening.
So too will goalkeeper Toh Guo’an, who had been contesting the custodian’s position with the useful Siddiq Durimi, whose form has been excellent in training.
“Toh will start as he showed his true worth in the second half of the Thai Port game, and he has the greater experience.”
Wong also expects Masrezwan Masturi, who was used as a substitute against Thai Port, to come strongly into consideration to start the game, though as an impact player the Singapore national team member has proven very useful in the past.
“The boys had the day off to allow for the travelling on the day after the game in Bangkok, and we then put them through a rigorous session on Friday and a lighter one on Saturday,” the coach explained.
“We felt we should not have lost to Etoile in the League Cup quarterfinal at Bedok (the Eagles lost that one 2-3) so we’re extra keen to make amends on their home ground.”
That was a cup game and probably played a bit differently to league games, or at least that was the point of view of Etoile coach Patrick Vallee and his chairman Johan Gouttefangeas, who agreed that a win is essential on Monday to give Etoile the necessary momentum to catch Tampines.
“We want to win for sure, but at Queenstown, in particular, we want to show our fans some beautiful football,” said the latter.
“Winning is important to us, of course, but the way we achieve that is equally important as we want people to come and see us play our brand of quality football. It’s not an easy pitch to play on, but the players will forget that and play with the right attitude.
“We’ve focussed this week on discipline among the players to ensure we know our responsibilities whenever we take the field.
“Some of the negative aspects that crept in towards the end of the Tampines game showed us in an unfavourable light, and the media tended to overshadow the quality of our football.
“In my opinion, the Tampines game was the best S.League game of the season so far, and it’s a shame more was not made of that, rather than some of the other things that happened,” the chairman stressed, clearly wishing to divert attention where he wanted it.
Etoile might run into some problems anyway on Monday as, apart from the suspended Mansour Lakehal, who was sent off in the Tampines game, fellow defender Loic Leclercq picked up his fourth caution of the season and will sit this one out as well.
But there’s more!
Fullback Khaled Kharroubi has not played since being injured in the League Cup preliminary round game against Balestier Khalsa, and no fewer than four members of the squad came down with suspected food poisoning on Saturday morning.
“They’re feeling a little better today,” said the coach on Sunday evening, “but they were not well enough to train.”
The four were not named, but it seems likely they may make the bench at best.
Fortunately for them and their fans, star midfielder Flavien Michelini and captain Matthias Verschave were not among the afflicted, and neither was first-choice goalkeeper Yohann Lacroix.
With two key defenders out, however, grinding out a win rather than moving flamboyantly towards one seems the more likely scenario on Monday night for ‘Les Bleus’.
Geylang might never have a better chance to upset the French and take away their closely-guarded unbeaten record.
Wong has the last word here.
“We only have five points so far from our four games and we need to start winning more matches.
“Due to the AFC Cup we’ve played fewer games than any other team, and with Home United on Thursday at Clementi Stadium to follow this one, we could not have asked for a tougher pair of matches sandwiched between our two games against Thai Port.
“We don’t get back to Bedok until 10 April and it will be two months between S.League games there. We are determined to make this week’s two difficult away games count!” |
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