Strugglers face off

Gerald Lee
info@sleague.com 

The 1st of April is traditionally be known as April Fools’ Day, but neither Sengkang Punggol nor Balestier Khalsa will step out of the tunnels on Wednesday in the mood for jokes.

After six matches, both teams find themselves propping up the S.League table, and though it is still early days yet, a win on Wednesday for either team will go a long way in terms of confidence.

Sengkang started out the 2009 season with plenty of hype, completing the signings of big names like former national team skipper Aide Iskandar, prolific national striker Indra Sahdan Daud and right-back Noh Rahman.

But coach Jorg Steinebrunner has yet to transform the Dolphins’ theoretical strength into results on the field.

One consolation though is the effectiveness of national striker Indra in front of goal: of the Dolphins’ five goals so far, three have come from the former Home United hit-man, lifting him high up in the S.League top-scorers charts.

Balestier, on the other hand, go into the game buoyed by a 2-1 win over Geylang United last week. Labeled by Geylang coach Lim Tong Hai as “a hard-working and disciplined team”, the Tigers will count on their fitness and heart to claim the three points up for grabs.

One problem that has been evident though is their goal-scoring department: Balestier has only managed four goals in six games, an unflattering record that is buffered only by the Young Lions, who have a mere three goals to their name.

Whatever the differences between the two teams, they are separated in the league standings by just a point – perhaps an indication of how close the game might be.

However, circumstances suggest that either team will not get presented with a better chance to lift themselves off the bottom of the table. In view of this, a win on Wednesday is essential for both teams; for no one likes to be victims of an April Fools’ joke.