Preview: Young Lions vs Sengkang

Experience the key to victory for Sengkang

Gary Koh
info@sleague.com

Hiroyuki Yamamoto wants Sengkang Punggol to crave more of the winning feeling they have recently tasted when his side visit Young Lions at Jalan Besar on Monday evening.

The Dolphins head into the game high on confidence after they beat Woodlands Wellington 1-0 at home to earn their second win of the season last Thursday.

The points tally the Hougang-based club have collected thus far is better than what they had at this stage last season, but Yamamoto wants his colleagues to aim higher.

Boasting seasoned players in the likes of skipper Aide Iskandar, Noh Rahman and Indra Sahdan Daud, the former Albirex Niigata (Singapore) player, one of the few survivors from 2008, believes Sengkang have what it takes to continue their ascent up the league table.

“This squad is very experienced and has many quality players in the side,” he noted.

However, there is something that Yamamoto believes is lacking and needs more of, starting from their Monday game.

“For me, there is something which is not enough despite the team we have,” he admitted.

“We do not have enough winning mentality.

“Now that we have the confidence back after winning the last game, we need to look at getting the desire to win.

“We can still play better and take more initiative during games, so we must begin by working harder in everything and put in a lot more effort during training.”

While his side boast seasoned league campaigners, their opponents contain several rookies who are making their first steps in professional football.

With the departure of former skipper Isa Halim to Home United after completing his national service, the Young Lions turn to new skipper and club top-scorer Obadin Aikhena for inspiration and goals.

The gap in terms of experience is advantageous to Sengkang, but Yamamoto does not want to get carried away on what some may see as three certain points in the bag for his side.

“While we believe we can get the win, we will not look down on our opponents,” he said.

“We must concentrate on giving our best and aiming for the win from the first minute. If we can do so from the start to finish, we are confident on getting the win we expect.”

After seeing his 4-4-2 work into fruition against Woodlands, Dolphins coach Jorg Steinebrunner is likely to keep faith in the lineup that earned the club three precious points.

Thus Yamamoto is expected to retain his place at centre-back alongside Aide while Canadian forward Anthony Bahadur will partner Indra upfront in the two-man strike force.

Excepting the 1-2 loss to SAFFC, the Young Lions are not to be messed around with two wins and a draw in their other home matches played so far.

Apart from injury casualty Khairul Nizam, head coach Terry Pathmanathan is likely to keep faith with the core of the team that have done credibly despite their inexperience.

That credibility will again be tested on Monday as Sengkang seek a rare second straight victory.