Reds hunt first win

Firdaus Khan
info@sleague.com

Still looking for the elusive first victory of the season, the Super Reds will travel to Hougang Stadium in hopes of notching all three points against a rejuvenated Sengkang Punggol.

With just two points from four games, the Super Reds have found it hard to build on last year’s result and replicate the form on the start of the previous season which saw them storm to a six-game winning streak.

The core of last year’s team remain the same and the possession style play of the Koreans is also intact but the key element of their game that seems to be missing currently is the lack of penetration.

The ability of the Koreans to keep the ball from defence to the attackers is still present, but the absence of quality attackers like Oh Ddog Yi and Moon Soon Ho has seen them lose the cutting edge to get behind the defence.

Though it’s still early days in the S.League, coach Jeon Kyeong Joon finds himself under a bit of pressure to deliver the goods.

Last year’s second-place finish is a hard act to follow and recent results have seen the team lose their confidence.

The first win of the 2009 season will go a long way in helping them regain the belief and momentum, and it could also serve as a stepping stone for the team to get their season back on track.

Meanwhile, hosts Sengkang Punggol have undergone major changes at the start of the season.

With experienced coach Jorg Steinebrunner as the man in charge, along with the addition of key Singaporean internationals like Noh Rahman, Indra Sahdan Daud and former Lions’ skipper Aide Iskandar, great things were expected of the team.

But four games in, Sengkang sit in seventh place with only four points.

It is still too early to assess the club’s performance but one man who has certainly caused a huge impact in the Dolphins is star striker Indra Sahdan.

Having joined the Hougang-based outfit from Home United this season, Indra didn’t take too long to settle in the team.

Currently, he is the only Sengkang player to have gotten his name on the score sheet and he has fired in three goals in four games which puts him joint top scorer in the league.

Much more will be expected of the striker and the team and a performance against Super Reds in front of the home crowd is sure to give the team a big boost in their aim to climb up the table.