Albirex keen on three points

Ong Jiing Yih
info@sleague.com

Two of the country’s youngest competitive outfits do battle in the Great Eastern-YEO’S S.League on Thursday evening at Jurong East Stadium.

High-flyers Young Lions stand in the way of Albirex Niigata (S) as they embark on the westward journey to challenge the White Swans.

The young boys have begun to portray promising signs of progress under the tutelage of their new headmaster Terry Pathmanathan.

Obadin Aikhena capped a fine individual performance at centreback with the winner in the 1-0 victory over Home United in their previous outing.

That result nudged the Young Lions into the top half of the S.League standings at the expense of the Protectors, who dropped to ninth before the start of the week.

Earlier on, a livid Pathmanathan had demanded his boys to shape up, having lost right at the death to Gombak United.

Most of the squad, still wet behind their ears in their maiden season, were also guilty of gifting a goal in the final minute of their opening fixture against DPMM FC.

But the timely combination of Aikhena’s strength, Isa Halim’s presence and promptings of Fadhil Noh up front appear to have helped turn things around and secure a priceless win.

Confidence is now sky high as the young ones continue their next assault, drawing confidence from three unbeaten encounters with Albirex in 2008.

Meanwhile, reality suggests the White Swans need to make a quick return to the drawing board.

Last Thursday was one to forget for the Japanese as they suffered a 0-6 mauling at the hands of Singapore Armed Forces FC.

Having kept the reigning champions at bay for the first half-hour, a mix of incessant Warriors pressure and slipshod defending by the Albirex backline contrived to seal their fate.

The possibility of extending their two-match winning streak virtually went up in smoke as goal after goal went past an embarrassed Yoshito Matsushita.

“We couldn’t play our game as planned. For now we focus on is needed to be improved for the upcoming game,” spoke head coach Naoki Naruo as he reflected on that result.

The current Albirex side this year is a younger, meaner outfit that the 2008 cohort.

After six points from two wins, they sit in the bottom half of the league standings, having netted five and let in thirteen.

As the team enters a transitional phase with another slow start, the spine of the team has also taken a new dimension this season.

Goalkeeper Norio Takahashi, playmaker Tetsuya Okayama and striking ace Ryota Doi have all departed for pastures new.

In their places, the youthful Matsushita has shaped up as the regular shot-stopper, while new signings Kenji Adachihara and Tetsuya Kishida ease into the attack alongside Akira Takase.

Still, the task does not get any easier for Albirex as three key players from last year eagerly await an upturn in their respective fortunes.

While commanding skipper Takatoshi Uchida has recovered from pre-season injuries, Yoshitaka Komori has hurt his foot during training and shall not be involved in the near future.

At the same time, Shunsuke Sunaga has been relegated to the bench for the last three matches after an uncertain start to the season, and he is chomping at the bit to force his way back into first-team contention.

Even with the league campaign still very much in its early stages, getting three crucial points is uppermost in the minds of the Albirex squad.

Naruo is confident that his charges can produce the goods and make further progress.

“It is important to concentrate on our style of play,” he remarked.

“Each player in the team has to focus and put in a maximum effort. If we’re able to do so we can win.”