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League Cup: Aide preaches down-to-earth thinking
Paul Green
info@sleague.com
The League Cup preliminary round concludes on Tuesday with Beijing Guoan Talent making their first appearance on their own home ground at Yishun Stadium against Sengkang Punggol, arguably the team of the moment.
Beijing returned from last week’s visit to Woodlands Stadium with their first Great Eastern-YEO’S S.League point since joining the competition this year, and although the 0-0 draw may have seemed a rather drab affair, the new boys did seem to have things well enough organised to achieve that result on the balance of play.
Beijing had struggled for fitness in their opening game against Etoile FC, so they would have been heartened by the way they at least kept a clean sheet and all their players upright, even if they are yet to open their goal-scoring account in Singapore.
Tuesday’s game will be their first chance to show their fans what they are all about, so the loyal Sengkang followers may face some opposition supporters who are in good voice.
The Talents have settled down a lot better now, if the Woodlands Stadium showing is anything to go by, and as this is a League Cup game there is no reason why the Chinese side cannot go on and qualify for the quarterfinals.
There, they will be paired with an under-strength SAFFC, due to national team commitments by some of the players, such as Daniel Bennett and Indra Sahdan Daud.
Still, they have to get past the Dolphins, who had reached the final in the inaugural League Cup in 2007.
And on the strength of their valiant 2-2 draw with Etoile last week, it would appear that the perennial league strugglers have made much improvement themselves, and they will certainly take some beating.
All the same, Sengkang coach Aide Iskandar is not getting carried away by his team’s recent strong showings, or by the media attention some of his players have been receiving.
“My job is to keep the players’ feet on the ground,” said the former Singapore captain.
“They know from me that it is only hard work that brings success, and their mentality and composure will be a telling factor in every game. We certainly believe in taking one game at a time and want to maintain our discipline as a team.
“I saw Beijing play Woodlands and they look a good side; any opponent would be foolish not to take them seriously. They have some skilful individuals, but they impress me as a team, which is more important.
“We have not played at Yishun Stadium for a while, as when we played the Super Reds in 2009 it was, I think, either on our own ground or at Jalan Besar Stadium,” Aide recalled.
“So we will be as new to the ground as anyone else, but after watching Beijing play I can say that we do have a game plan for this League Cup fixture.”
A game plan that will need to be executed without new captain Nor Azli Yusoff, who may have recovered from an injury that made him miss the Etoile game, but who has a suspension that carries over from last season, keeping him out of this tie.
“Depending on who is selected someone else will take the armband for this match,” Aide added.
“We have to assess the fitness of Abdoulaye Diallo to see if he can take his place in the defence, and then make our selections of the rest of the team accordingly.
The Guinean missed his team’s last two matches, but his absence made room for the younger Diallo, striker Mamadou, to gain a starting berth as one of the four permitted foreigners in the side.
“We won’t know until the day of the game which of the Diallo boys will be playing,” said Aide, “as it will be a late fitness test for Abdoulaye that decides the issue.”
The Dolphins coach also said that promising defender Sim Li Ming, brought in at short notice from the Prime League squad and who made his first start for the club against Etoile, may again be given some exposure, though possibly this time off the bench.
“It will be good for the player to have some game experience against these foreign sides. Siva (R. Sivaneswaran) will be available for selection again, so I do have choices this time,” he went on.
Sengkang have done well in the League Cup before and realistically, this time around, they must fancy their chances of at least making the final, as they should have nothing to fear from a weakened Warriors outfit if they can get past Beijing on Tuesday.
Then, neither Geylang nor Etoile, their next hurdle, seem insurmountable given their current form.
But keeping the players’ feet on the ground, week-in and week-out, as the plaudits continue to pour in for the much-improved Dolphins side, will probably keep coach Aide a busy man for a while.
“I want to downplay that attention the team is getting and give every opponent the same respect we have always given them,” he declared.
The Chinese side might be playing at home for the first time, but advantaged in that they will perhaps not be, as the loyal travelling Sengkang fans could well outsing and outcheer them as Yishun Stadium changes over from Super Red to Green and Yellow in this new and exciting season.
It all adds up to a potentially intriguing encounter at Yishun, one that may see the two sides battle tooth and nail for that place in the quarterfinals. |
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