Preview: Tampines Rovers vs Woodlands Wellington

Rams have point to prove at Tampines Basil Yeo info@sleague.com Eleventh-placed Woodlands Wellington will be in for a major task on Monday when they pay a visit to Tampines Rovers, even though they need only a point to propel them to ninth ahead of the Young Lions, who lost to DPMM FC in Brunei on Saturday. The Rams have done fairly well against the top sides so far this term, managing two big results in the space of eight days. A famous 3-2 victory over defending champions SAFFC was followed by a draw against the seemingly-unstoppable Gombak United, though they were on the wrong end of a 4-0 rout by Home United. There is some cause for concern though; the Rams have been winless for over a month since Jufri Taha’s own goal gifted them three points over Balestier Khalsa on 6 April, and things will be no easier with a tricky fixture schedule to come, with the Bruneians and the Super Reds lined up before the League Cup break. This time round, Nenad Bacina’s men will have the advantage of having both Stags key players Noh Alam Shah and Shariff Abdul Samat out serving bans, while Anaz Hadee will be back from suspension after sitting out last week’s draw against the Young Lions. “Tampines are one of the top four teams in the league and we respect them,” said Bacina. “But we will try to play our game and hope for at least a point. “We may be able to cause them a few problems because of their suspensions, but they still have a good squad with experienced international players like Sutee (Suksomkit) who plays for the Thailand national team. They also have a good bench. “We drew Tampines in the first game and have played well against top teams like Gombak and SAFFC, so hopefully tomorrow we will give them a good fight.” However, one problem which may plague the Rams tomorrow could be the fact that Bacina has ruled Singapore international Precious Emuejeraye a non-starter due to a training injury. “Precious will be out of the starting lineup,” said the Croatian. “He couldn’t join in for the last training with a strained muscle. I don’t want to take the risk of starting him but he will be on the bench.” Meanwhile, Bacina’s counterpart Vorawan Chitavanich is set to go all out for the win, in a bid to rescue Tampines from a steady slump in their past four league games. The Stags are undefeated at home with a fairly good record, winning three and drawing only once in their four games played so far. Echoing Bacina’s comments on the two-time S.League champions’ squad depth, Vorawan has a host of ready replacements for Shariff, with the trio of Satria Mad, Edward Tan and Fathi Yunus all capable deputies for the regular starter. Aliff Shafaein is also expected to start in place of the suspended Alam Shah, seeing that Khairul Amri has yet to make an appearance outside the treatment room all season. Three points on Monday, however, will not be enough to take Tampines ahead of fourth place, as they are now six points behind the top three, with only one game left to play after tomorrow, before the League Cup tournament begins in June. Still, they will be keen to go all out against a Woodlands side who will have a point to prove.