Preview: Home United vs Tampines Rovers

Vorawan looks for more from defence

Syahrom Sulaiman
info@sleague.com

Matches between these two founding members of the S.League have traditionally been highly charged, entertaining affairs to say the least, and the latest encounter between Home United and Tampines promises more of the same on Wednesday.

Home are on a high despite sitting four points behind Tampines and for good reason – they ended Brunei DPMM’s unbeaten record this season over the weekend, and coach P N Sivaji will hope the victory gets their thus-far indifferent season back on track.

The Stags on the other hand had their first defeat of the season, after 11 games, inflicted on them by SAFFC on the weekend. At Choa Chu Kang, they had to suffer the ignominy giving up a 2-0 lead to eventually go down 4-2, and also lost Noh Alam Shah to a late red card.

The incidents that took place in the game have been major talking points for the past few days but Tampines coach Vorawan refuses to be distracted by what has happened in the past.

“Alam Shah might not be playing because he is out for two games for violent conduct but we will still be okay. I have still have confidence in the rest of my players to have a good game on Wednesday,” said the Thai.

“Our backs now are against the wall. If we lose, the gap between us and teams like SAFFC, Gombak United and DPMM will be very big. Therefore it is very important for us to beat teams like Home United,” Vorawan admitted.

Vorawan also admitted that the task of beating Home at the Clementi Stadium is easier said than done. Assessing his own team’s performance last Saturday, the coach knows that they need an improved showing against the Protectors.

“Home beat DPMM without using key players like Peres de Oliveira, Shahril Ishak and S Subramani. Shi Jiayi was used as a substitute in the second half. So they will be well rested when they play against us.

“We will have to be at our best this Wednesday. When we played SAFFC (on Saturday), I actually have no complaints in terms of our attacking performance.

“However, we really need to improve in our defensive department. We need to be tighter at the back when defending the lead. In that game, we gave them (SAFFC) a lot of space and they took advantage of it when scoring all four goals,” Vorawan added.

Centre-back Shariff Samat was a revelation last season but has looked shaky this term alongside new recruits Benoit Croissant and Seiji Kaneko.

Individually, the three defenders are blessed with speed, height, pace and technique. However, with the season a third gone, all three will have to work on their understanding with each other, starting with Wednesday’s game.

For the Protectors, Jumaat Jantan is a slight doubt for the game with his ankle injury and Isa Halim is not available for selection after collecting his fourth yellow card of the season on Sunday.

Nevertheless, they do have good replacements waiting in the wings. Shahril Alias may deputise for the suspended Isa, and Rosman Sulaiman could be shifted to the left-back position to make way for S Subramani.

For the Stags, Vorawan must think of a strategy to cope with the loss of Noh Alam Shah. Qiu Li could be given the responsibility of leading the line on his own but the 27-year old is most effective with a strike partner.

Aliff Shafaein and Sutee Suksomkit are likely candidates to partner Qiu Li and with the return of Fahrudin Mustafic from suspension, the Stags will have someone to direct traffic in the middle of the park in this must-win game for both sides.