Protectors seeking goal booster
Gary Koh
info@sleague.com
Home United seek to strengthen their chances of qualifying into the next round when they host Club Valencia of Maldives at Jalan Besar in their AFC Cup Group H match on Tuesday evening.
The Protectors come into the game buoyed by their morale-boosting 3-0 victory over Sengkang Punggol in the domestic league last Wednesday and will be looking to complete a double over their winless opponents.
Head coach P N Sivaji is confident his men have what it takes to finish the job against the South Asians despite trying circumstances.
He admitted: “While we have a squad capable of competing in all fronts, it is not easy to switch our focus from one competition to another, especially when we have very few days to recover in between games.”
The home side will enter the game without long-term injury casualties S Subramani (groin) and Ismail Yunos (knee) while Japanese forward Norikazu Murakami is ineligible.
In the absence of the latter, Sivaji is banking on attackers Kengne Ludovick and Peres de Oliveira to deliver the goods in front of goal and improve their position in the group on a better goal difference.
“In many of our games, we have been creating chances and playing good football. Somehow when it comes to the scoring part, it is either the goalkeeper who is on form or the crossbar that denies us,” he noted.
“Against Sengkang, the strikers were finally scoring goals and I am looking at them to carry on this (new-found) confidence against Valencia tomorrow.”
While Home have to cope with a crowded schedule, Valencia come into the game without competitive action in recent weeks.
Three from their squad were called up to the Maldives national side for the recent AFC Challenge Cup qualifiers held on home soil last week.
The only team in the group without a point, Valencia coach Jozsef Dzurjak was under no illusions on the tough task ahead after his side lost 1-0 in their previous fixture two weeks ago.
“This is a very tough group for us although we do not have a chance of qualifying for the next round,”said the Hungarian, who is now in his second season with the club.
“The other three teams are very tough and they all have an equal chance to qualify, so it will be very hard for us to get something.”
Their chances of scalping an unlikely upset away is made harder with the suspension of their national team player and regular skipper Jameel Mohamed.
The former Malaysia assistant national coach will be counting on his local stalwarts goalkeeper Rameez Hassan and midfielder Assad Abdul Ghani, and his foreign duo of Hungarian defender Norbert Elek and Cameroonian forward Nkemi Marcelin to guide the young team.
He stated how tough their continental campaign had been for his side so far and believed this experience would only benefit them.
“With a few key players leaving for another team to play, we are left with a young team,” he added.
“It has been a steep learning curve for them as they lack the confidence and international experience.”
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