Woodlands Wellington FC VS Tanjong Pagar United FC
18 October 2013
Jalan Besar Stadium

By Ong Jiing Yih

After a break owing to the RHB Singapore Cup and internationals, clubs in the S. League are ready to do battle for the half round one again.

Most of the top six teams in the upper tier of the standings still have very much to play for, especially for two of the league's founding members.

Both Tanjong Pagar United and Woodlands Wellington have good reason to get back on the winning trail following some indifferent results last time around.

As the hosts look to bounce back after squandering a lead in their 3-2 defeat to Home United, Yazid Yasin and his team would be looking to continue from where they left off.

In the meantime, Tanjong Pagar are not without their own concerns.

Since overcoming the Rams on their own patch in early August, the Jaguars went through a rut and garnered only one point out of a possible twelve.

Start playmaker Kamel Ramdani was the only player to find the net in consecutive games against Geylang International and Tampines Rovers.

Positively however, a run of five matches without a win in all competitions was snapped emphatically with a largely commendable display, after Philippine side Global FC were edged out 4-3 on aggregate.

Having netted a double both in the cup semi-final and during the earlier encounter, Monsef Zerka is up for the challenge and very much raring to go in his bid to hit the 20-goal mark.

While both sides retain a mathematical possibility of attaining third place, the victors in this fixture could have a major say in determining their own fate come the end of the 27-match long campaign.

This battle at the top end, right end of the table finally arrives at the opportune time – a far cry from both clubs' struggles near the foot of the table of the past two years.

Woodlands' performances since July have given their long-suffering fans much to smile about, not least after their famous 5-2 and 1-0 wins over DPMM FC and Albirex Niigata.

Likewise, Tanjong Pagar aim to give their fans the perfect setting with just four matches to go before their red-letter day on 8 November.

Potential matchups could include Aurelien Herisson v. Yazid, Zerka v. Shahril Alias and Anthony Aymard v. Moon Soon Ho.

Sit tight, relax and enjoy what could potentially be a goal-laden encounter.