| |
|
|
Eagles insist no Asian depression
Tam Cheong Yan
info@sleague.com
There may be those who suspect that morale would be low in the Geylang United camp ahead of their clash with Tampines Rovers on Saturday, following continental exertions in midweek which did not produce the happiest of endings.
The Eagles were held 1-1 by AFC Cup opponents Wofoo Tai Po in Hong Kong, just hours after their slender hopes of reaching the octofinals were dashed by Thai Port’s goalless draw with Group H leaders SHB Da Nang in Vietnam.
The fact that they had yet to claim a win in the group stage after five attempts would suggest a return to Asian action that has been less than triumphant.
A visit to their training session on Thursday, however, turned up a few surprises. While none of the players were exactly having a laugh, everyone was focused as Mike Wong’s boys simply got on with the job.
Never mind that the field session, usually lasting two hours, was cut in half because of lightning flashing from a distance. The gloomy weather was no reflection of how the players were feeling as they did some exercises before heading to the changing room.
Goalkeeper Toh Guo’an for one sounded upbeat, if not exuberantly so, as he dismissed talk of a negative psychological effect the club’s last outing might have had on the players.
“I don’t think what happened on Tuesday had any effect on us,” he told sleague.com.
“Seriously, we didn’t know anything about what happened before our game against Tai Po. We played well in that game, and we think we put up a good account of ourselves.”
“We know that at the end, whether we finish first, second or third in our group, we still have to come back to Singapore and the league,” added winger Itimi Dickson.
“If you look at the table, you can see that we still need to win some games so that we can be up there where we want. Right now, the table is like this, if any team wins, it goes up, and if any team loses, it goes down.
“I think that this year, any team that is ready to work hard can win any team, whether you are top of the table or somewhere in the middle. If you have the right attitude, any game you play, you can win.
“For us, we need to work very hard to maintain where we are, and we must get any points we can get. We can draw games or win them, that will be good, but we cannot lose.”
If Geylang are indeed to claim a win or even a draw from a trip to Tampines Stadium, they would probably need to be at their best in the attacking department.
That may not be easy for the RHB Singapore Cup holders, given that they have not exactly set the field alight with their shooting. In their eight league matches so far, they have only scored more than once on two occasions.
At least the encouraging form of Peter Tomko has provided the team with something to cheer about. Signed in the off-season to provide a focal point in attack, the Slovakian striker has not disappointed.
His six goals in the league, including a hat-trick in their last domestic assignment against Sengkang Punggol, account for more than half the total of ten scored by the team.
Without a foil like long-term injury victim Masrezwan Masturi, however, Tomko has at times cut a lonely figure up front, faithfully waiting for support from midfield by players such as Vasile Ghindaru and Miroslav Latiak.
The bad news for the Eagles is that they could be without both midfielders when they line up against Tampines. Ghindaru is out after picking up his fourth yellow card in the league, while Latiak remains highly doubtful with a twisted ankle.
Dickson was quick to concede that not having latter around could hit the team hard, as he has often been relied upon to provide the main driving force in the middle for Geylang.
“The last few weeks, our coach has been working on the attacking part of our game,” said the former Singapore international.
“Peter has been trying to score goals for us, because he’s very good as a striker. At the end of the day, goals count, and Peter has been trying to make sure he scores in every game.
“We need to support him, so that we can all score more goals and the team can win. We cannot be pumping the ball from defence to attack to do that; we need to win the midfield and the flanks, have possession of the ball and create movement to support the attack.
“For this, we need Miro to do that work for us. He’s a very important player for the team, and if he’s not there, we’ll miss him.”
Whether Latiak will line up for Geylang or not, they can certainly expect nothing less than a typically hostile reception from the Tampines faithful, who will be keen to see their idols claim a win against their neighbours.
The relatively short distance between Tampines and Bedok, where the Eagles are based, has often prompted any match between these two teams to be billed as the ‘eastern derby’.
While the fans and the media have bought into the label, it was curious to note that the players themselves have not done the same, preferring to see this game as just another football clash.
That was not to say, however, that they are belittling the size of the challenge ahead, against the league leaders no less, and in a noisy environment like Tampines Stadium too.
“Any team playing there will find it very difficult, because Tampines have a very strong fan base, and any game you have there, there’s always a good crowd,” said Toh, recalling his past trips to the ground with SAFFC.
“It’s not only Geylang, any club going to Tampines will have to work extra hard. Put it this way, whoever is hungrier in that game will win it.”
“Tampines are strong in every department, probably one of the best teams ever in Singapore,” noted Dickson admiringly.
“If you watch them play, you can see they keep more possession of the ball than anyone else. We need to work very hard to win against this kind of team, playing in their stadium, in front of their fans.
“But I think we have improved a lot in terms of the attitude of our play, especially in the last four games. Sometimes we’ve not been able to play with our first eleven, but we still showed character, played well and competed with our opponents.”
As the interview with Toh and Dickson went on, their teammates were leaving the Bedok Stadium changing room one by one, all cleaned up and ready to leave earlier than usual.
With the rainy season firmly in swing, bringing with it frequent heavy rain and even the odd evening thunderstorm, the same situation could well repeat itself several times everywhere, leaving teams underprepared for their upcoming matches.
To some, having a shortened training session might have been disappointing, but as Dickson noted, it was up to the players themselves to show the professionalism to work around these limitations.
“After all these years, we know what the Singapore weather is like,” agreed Toh.
“If you ask us what we want, we would like to have the full preparation we had planned for, but we have to make do with what we have right now. This is not new to us.
“We can’t train outdoors, but we will still be maintaining our bodies. Just earlier, we were doing some core work and doing some stretches. The weather is cold now, and we need to stretch our muscles well, so that suits us.” |
|
|