"It was really painful to watch the last two games," says a heartbreaking Lutfil Hadi, slumped in his seat at Jalan Besar Stadium after witnessing Geylang International’s 5-4 loss to Balestier Khalsa in their Singapore Cup opener last weekend. That marked his team's back-to-back defeat after a 2-1 loss to Lion City Sailors in the Singapore Premier League.
"I know we have the ability to put goals and win games. But we are not showing it," the diehard fan struggles to come to terms with that disappointing result.
Shortly after the club posted the latest setback on their social media platforms, fans did not hold back in venting their frustrations, particularly on the side's leaky backline.
Ultras Eagles (UE) chief Idi Bakhtiar explains why the Eagles faithful are more unforgiving towards the players' performance this time round. "On the one hand, losing to LCS by a goal is not a bad loss considering the quality of the opponents. On the other hand, Balestier are not a good team honestly. To concede five goals against a team without great firepower, except for one Japanese player (Kodai Tanaka), I think it is bad."
He then says without mincing his words: "Basically, we just suck on that day."
According to fellow UE member Fabian Siew, who was watching the horror show on TV, he sensed that the mood of the Geylang camp was off that night, with his heroes in green not in their usual selves.
With the Balestier game held three days after the Chinese New Year break, he observes: "It felt the team was in holiday mood. Everyone just felt lacklustre and disinterested. The incentive for a good cup run could not lift the mood around the pitch. Simply bochup (not care about) and going through the motion."
From Fabian's viewpoint, the Singapore Cup performance "was the worst I had seen, for the matches I managed to catch this season.
"The way the team lost possession through errant passes under no pressure was criminal," shares the long-time fan. "Senior players were guilty of this, which just cascaded through the whole team, including the younger players."
When asked what his beloved side must do to snap their losing streak when facing Albirex Niigata in a league match this Sunday (February 9), Idi - with his patience running thin - responds: "Geylang should first stop all the excuses."
While the Eagles were without six first-team players due to suspension or injury for the Tigers clash, the diehard strongly feels that Coach Noor Ali still managed to field a good starting 11. "A bad lineup couldn't have scored four honestly. The defensive line was basically the same. We had Rio Sakuma, Keito Hariya...
"As a pro team, they should already have thought of suspension and injuries. I just feel that it's an excuse when they say so many people are down."
Fabian hopes that Geylang in their next league assignment at Jurong East Stadium will "do the basic things right and be more interested and motivated.
"These should provide a good base for an improved performance... hopefully," the long-suffering supporter says with his fingers crossed, holding on to the faith that his adopted local side would not let him down again.
Team news: Shakir Hamzah and Ahmad Syahir return from suspension and are available for selection. With no further news on the injuries to Vincent Bezecourt and Joshua Pereira which kept them out of the cup game, it remains to be seen whether they will play any part in Jurong East this weekend. Injury-striken Zikos Chua is the only player ruled out of the White Swans clash.
Player to watch: Rio Sakuma - With the porous Geylang rearguard under intense scrutiny in recent weeks, the Japanese defensive rock has to bring his 'A' game against his former side, where he came through their academy system before having his first taste of professional football with them in 2020. As the vice captain and one of the more senior defenders in the squad, he has a heavy responsibility in getting his out-of-sorts defence in order. As a saying goes, "no defence, no victory".
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