Tanjong Pagar United VS Geylang International

28 Aug 2013
Queenstown Stadium

By Ong Jiing Yih

Time is the essence as Tanjong Pagar prepare to take on Geylang International in Wednesday’s re-arranged Great Eastern Yeo’s S.League fixture.

As if spanners being thrown into pre-match preparations were not enough, the unconvincing performance by the match referee did little to quell finger-pointing at harsh, biased judgement against the Jaguars.

Regardless of the real reasons behind the lacklusture display in the 0-1 defeat to Courts Young Lions, Patrick Vallee and his squad have only two days in between Sunday and Wednesday to work things out.

For a start, Ahmad Latiff and K Vikraman shall sit out the match due to suspensions.

However, the gloom amidst the doom shall be the much-anticipated return of chief playmaker Kamel Ramdani whose vision, creativity and presence have been sorely missed.

His availability should mean Hafiz Nor being reinstated to the right wing where his darting runs and crossing can be utilised to good effect.

Therefore, this upcoming match sandwiched in between two inopportune breaks represents a glorious opportunity for to bounce back ahead of their clash with Tampines Rovers 22 days later.

Up against a side who desperately need to regain their momentum following the last-gasp 2-1 loss to Woodlands Wellington last Friday, full focus is going to be a key deciding factor for the Jaguars.

The pressing aim over at the Eagles’ meanwhile nest is to get out of the rut with the capabilities of skipper Jozef Kaplan, the returning Stefan Milojevic and other first team regulars such as Jalal, Norihiro Kawakami and Takuma Ito all crucial.

Since the April 23 encounter which they came from behind to win, optimism rose considerably amongst the Geylang faithful as they oversaw an upturn in their fortunes.

A team packed full of locals and in particular academy graduates did well enough as hard work paid off during a series of wins and draws, mostly during the Starhub League Cup.

A repeat of the amazing run to the 2012 final was only halted by Woodlands in the quarter-finals, a penalty shoot which sealed their fate after a tense 120 minutes of goalless action.

Since then, their miserable form which marred their start this season returned, resulting in a sequence of one win in eight – against Hougang United on 10th July – across all competitions.

Hence, no better timing for Tanjong Pagar to maintain their grip on third place as Geylang await and red-white backlash.

A win could see the Jaguars leapfrog Albirex Niigata into second place on the same number of points for 46 hours at least, ahead of the Japanese side’s match with Balestier Khalsa on Friday.

Kick off is at 7.30pm.