Group H preview: Depleted Valencia hoping for victory

AFC CUP 2009

MALE: Valencia coach Jozef Dzurjack is hoping his side can break their AFC Cup duck and collect their first three points of the tournament when they tackle Home United in Group H on Tuesday.

The Maldives side are bottom of the standings having suffered a 3-1 defeat at home to Thai side Provincial Electricity Authority in their opening game before losing to Binh Duong 3-0.

However, those defeats have not dampened Dzurjack’s spirit and he is hopeful his side can get off the mark against Home United despite the fact they are missing five players through injury.

“We haven’t won any game yet but still we are hopeful that we can get a win tomorrow,” Dzurjack said.

“We have five players injured, but still we are not hopeless.”

An added concern for Dzurjack is that his players have been without competitive action for several weeks after their domestic league was temporarily suspended.

“League games have been temporarily stopped and we haven’t played a competitive game for some time and that will have an impact on players’ fitness levels,” he added.

Meanwhile Home United have been boosted by the news that Ridzuan Fatah Hassan appears set to start in goal.

The shotstopper last played in the AFC Cup in May last year when the Singapore side lost 4-1 to Kedah.

Home need a victory to keep them well in contention for qualification as they currently lie in third place in the table with three points from two games.

And coach PN Sivaji looks set to put his faith in Ridzuan, who has started the last three games for his side in the S.League.

“Ridzuan will play,” Sivaji said. “Based on the last few games, he has been playing very well.

“Whenever he was called to do his job as a goalkeeper, he showed a safe pair of hands and was an inspiration to the team with his performance.”

Meanwhile, in the other game in the group PEA will tackle Binh Duong of Vietnam as the Thai side look take control of the group.

PEA are top of the standings with six points from two games having defeated Valencia 3-1 and Home 2-1.

Binh Duong, meanwhile, are second in the group with three points and will be looking to maintain their recent good form after defeating Hai Phong in the V-League at the weekend.