By Song Sung Hai

This season’s past result
BKFC 1-0 TPUFC

It is back to the S.League tonight and the Jaguars will be hosting Balestier Khalsa FC in this return tie. A stunner of a goal previously by Goran Ljubojevic sealed a win in the previous match against the Jaguars though the Balestier Tigers were mostly outplayed throughout.

This time though, they face a resurgent Jaguars side, now helmed firmly by the hands of captain Ahmad Latiff and the brilliant Kamel Ramdani, both of whom were missing from the previous clash with the Tigers.

Ruzaini Zainal have been performing consistently well of late and his runs in from deep will no doubt cause trouble for the opponents. The midfield will also be packed solid with Sazali ‘SuperSaz’ Salleh making a return in our 1-0 RHB Singapore Cup first round victory last week against Hougang United and it looks likely that the Jaguars’ very own tank, Tengku Mushadad will be partnering him in the centre.

Hafiz Osman will be available for tonight’s clash and he will look to excel in whichever part of defence he gets played in. Dangerman Monsef Zerka scored last week and the Jaguars will be hoping that continues for a while. Aided by midfield wizard Sebastien Etiemble and supported down the flanks by speed demons Asraf Rashid and Firdaus Idros, the Jaguars’ attack remains a formidable force no matter what the table says.

Balestier Khalsa currently sits five points ahead of the Jaguars at 7th place on the table and they will use this match as an attempt to climb further up. Goran Ljubojevic have plundered 10 goals in all competitions so far and the threat he poses will be as real as it gets. Other players to watch are Koreans Kim Min Ho and Park Kang Jin.

Head Coach Patrick Vallee will want nothing but a hundred percent showing from his lads for this home tie and knows that it is never too late for the Jaguars to mount a charge up the table. The Jaguars have the quality to do so and the league results surely have not reflected the true quality of this feisty outfit who never know when to give up.

Balestier Khalsa comes with a reputation as a hard team but the Jaguars are not a team easily intimidated and in front of the home crowd, we will definitely have that extra boost needed to overcome the opponents. Yet another electric affair awaits at Queenstown Stadium so come on down and soak yourself in the atmosphere.

See you there!