A coaching musical chair at Tanjong Pagar United will see Geylang International head coach Noor Ali facing his third opposite number in as many games this season, when his side play hosts at Jalan Besar Stadium on Thursday (February 26).
After dismissing the services of Hasrin Jailani - now an Eagles assistant coach - the Jaguars appointed Hyrizan Jufri who was himself replaced by Noh Alam Shah.
While Noor had seen off the challenge of the two managerial casualties with 5-3 and 7-2 victories, his face-off with Noh - nicknamed 'Ah Long' for his fearsome reputation as a combative striker in his playing days - will not be a walk in the park.
After a flying start to the 2024/25 campaign which saw the Eagles soar to third spot in the Singapore Premier League, their form turned wobbly at the start of the new year with only one win from five matches to show for. A creditable away triumph at Brunei DPMM is followed by a four-match winless streak in all competitions which has left many fans worried.
Not for Muhammad Sufian, an Eagles supporter who has been backing the team since their heyday in the mid-1990s. The long-time fan, having experienced the trials and tribulations of the fallen Singaporean giants, keeps the faith that Geylang's strong firepower up front would propel the team to victory.
Pointing out the Jaguars' defensive weaknesses, he shares: "Tanjong Pagar custodian Matt Silva had a few clangers in the last three matches. I believe Geylang can capitalise this with Tomoyuki Doi and co scoring a few past him."
However, ardent fan Alex Bong is not fully convinced that the Eagles frontline would be good enough to secure all three points in midweek. "Doi can score a hattrick, but we can let in four to five goals. Our defence has not been up to the mark lately," he bemoans.
"Hopefully Rio Sakuma and his fellow defenders can go back to the basic of doing better in marking and communicating across the defensive line."
"We need to have better control of the game," adds Sufian, in nod to Geylang's well-documented frailities at the back. "Especially when playing against 10 men, we should avoid succumbing to poor defensive decisions that would lead to conceding of easy goals."
Having said that, the globetrotter - who crosses borders to catch the Eagles in action in Bandar Seri Begawan and Melaka - is proud of his heroes in green for not throwing in the towel amid the rough patch. He observes: "I can see that the players are battling their best to get three points."
Urging his fellow diehards to give the players much-needed encouragement, Alex issues a rallying cry: "Let's get united during this difficult period. Geylang boleh!"
Team news: Rio Sakuma, Vincent Bezecourt and Zikos Chua look set to remain in the treatment room, with no words from the Geylang camp on their return.
Joining the trio on the sideline this Thursday is Akmal Azman who will serve his one-match suspension after picking up his fourth yellow card during the previous league fixture against Albirex Niigata.
Player to watch: Ryoya Taniguchi - While goals had continued to flow in recent matches despite the prolonged absence of Vincent Bezecourt, the winless Eagles were yet devoid of creativity in the midfield engine resulting in them not able to kill their opponents off. Fans are calling for attacking midfielder Taniguichi - with only one goal and one assist to his name in the past five games - to improve on his attacking output and give his team a decisive edge in the final third of the pitch.
תגובות