Young Lions vs Geylang United FC
Date & Time: 20 May 2007
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Sunday night’s game at Jalan Besar Stadium offers the Young Lions a chance to regroup after some tough matches and a meagre points haul, when they come up against a Geylang United team in a similar frame of mind.
Both teams sit on 11 points and share seventh spot.
They share this precarious position with Balestier Khalsa and a loss could soon plunge either of the sides on Sunday deep into the confines of the cellar region where improving teams like Sengkang Punggol and Liaoning Guangyuan wait to pounce.
Points are therefore critical.
Young Lions mentor, V Sundram Moorthy, knows it will be tough.
“I have said all along that you won’t see the best of the Young Lions until after July,” he said when S.League.com caught up with him at Jalan Besar Stadium on Friday night
“We have problems getting all our players to training sometimes and fitness can be a worry.
“All I can tell you is that eleven players will take the field but which eleven depends on how things go at the next training session and we will do our best to put in a strong performance.”
For Young Lions’ fans, blessed with a team that has so much talent, it can be a frustrating time.
“You need to remember that we have only one foreigner this season and in the past we have had more.”
There have been fitness problems with Brazilian Leandro Rodrigues.
“Other clubs have up to four foreigners and a wealth of experience,” he expanded.
Other clubs, it is true, also can let the younger ones lean on the older more experienced ones while the Young Lions are on a steep learning curve on their own most of the time.
So for this game against Geylang United the Young Lions will need to do it all largely by themselves, urged on by an enthusiastic home crowd as always.
Geylang will approach the game cautiously too
“My players and I are aware of our predicament,” said Lim Tong Hai, Geylang’s young coach..
Unfortunately we still have Syed Thaha serving the last game of his two match suspension and top scorer, Syed Fadhil, collected an ankle injury against Woodlands and at best would only sit on the bench.
The Eagles will need big performances from playmaker Abdelaziz Dnibi and striker Kim Grant.
Goalkeeper Hassan Sunny has been suffering from flu and the team’s reserve keeper, Fajar Sahib, also has had a stomach bug.
“If either of those is not fit I might have to look to my Prime League team for cover,” said the Geylang coach.
Hassan, however, should be recovered in time for the game, easing Tong Hai’s worries.
Geylang played well but could not manage better than a 1-1 draw against Woodlands Wellington in their latest game, which was also played at Jalan Besar Stadium
Apart from a win over Liaoning recent results have been disappointing for Geylang.
“It is never easy playing at Jalan Besar on that pitch,” the coach went on.
“Young Lions definitely have a big advantage there.”
But the home team’s form has been inconsistent. They did beat Balestier at home but suffered a home loss to Albirex Niigata prior to that.
Draws at Sengkang and Gombak were creditable but they were unable to gain anything from visits to either of the Home United or Singapore Armed Forces stadiums.
Goals have been hard to come by too so we will expect a tight game against Geylang, who themselves are struggling.
“We just can’t find the net often enough,” admitted Tong Hai.
Maybe Sunday will provide a different story and prove us all wrong and we could see a high scoring game for once with these two young and talented sides?
Singapore League (16-20.05.2007)
