Author name: Eddy Hirono

Let’s get one thing quickly out of the way. Congratulations to Albirex Niigata (S) – worthy winners of the SPL title. They are the standard-bearers in the league and I genuinely hope that they stay forever, so that any local team that wants to gauge their improvement has this high bar with which they can compare themselves with. Winning the title against Albirex, heck, even winning games against Albirex is always such a special feeling because we all know the vast disparity between the grassroots football system in Singapore and the system in Japan. But I digress -you came here to read about why tomorrow’s game is the toughest Hougang game this season, so let’s go through some of my thoughts ahead of tomorrow’s match. We Want a Win You might think that since we cannot win the title, tomorrow’s match is not that important. I don’t think that’s true. I think the players will be annoyed and upset that they could not win the title this season, or make the title race even more exciting. That the title has been mathematically decided with 2 games to spare, and realistically a foregone conclusion a few games ago, will sting. Getting 2nd is important not just because of continental qualification. It is also a matter of pride. Tampines Rovers have done really well to stay in the title race for so long, but a club of Sailors’ might and resources should not be anywhere close to Tampines in my opinion. A win against Hougang will guarantee 2nd spot for the Sailors. Technically, they could win the next game against Geylang too, but that match is all the way on 16 September. And that date is important why? Because of our AFC Champions League fixtures. Below is our provisional Champions League dates. (Source – https://fas.org.sg/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/AFC-Competitions-Calendar-Aug-2023-Jul-2024.pdf) Matchday 1 – 19/20 Sep Matchday 2 – 3/4 Oct Matchday 3 – 24/25 Oct Matchday 4 – 7/8 Nov Matchday 5 – 28/29 Nov Matchday 6 – 12/13 Dec You probably don’t need me to break down in detail why we would want to sew up 2nd spot without leaving it to the 16 Sep game against Geylang. We will want to be 101% focused on our opening matchday fixture against what is likely to be far superior opposition. If we wrap up 2nd spot tomorrow, we can even afford to play youngsters/reserves against Geylang. That could give us more of a physical edge when it comes to the Champions League. Mobile Maksimovic I have been quite impresseed by Maksimovic since he came into the Hougang lineup. Of course, it’s easy to do better than Brian Ferreira, but even judging him on merit, he has 4 goals and 3 assists in 616 minutes of play – that is very impressive. That’s 1 goal contribution every 88 minutes. Part of why he has been so effective is his mobility. He has good pace on him and he is always making runs to try to create space for his teammates (usually Krajcek). He will be looking for more goals tomorrow so our defence has gotta keep an eye on him. Hougang’s Lineup The last time we played Hougang, they didn’t have Zulfahmi Arifin playing for them. With Shahdan Sulaiman also out, that effectively meant they played us without anyone able to control central midfield. This is particularly important to how Coach Marko Kraljevic plays. Those with a good memory may already be twitching and calling me out – come on Eddy, Zulfahmi played when we thrashed Hougang 5-0. Ah, but that’s slightly different. In the 5-0 game the Sailors scored half their goals by waiting for a Hougang attack to break down, and then swiftly countering. The coach then was Firdaus Kassim, who seemed to favour a more possession-based style of play. Zulfahmi’s supreme ball-playing ability will be dangerous to us under Coach Marko because of the slightly more pragmatic style under him. We’ve already seen it in the last few games or so – Zulfahmi’s ability to spread the ball with his left foot wondrously helps turn defence into attack at the flick of a switch. That he was unavailable against us last time out was a stroke of luck – he had a little surgery that he had to do and so didn’t play us. In defence, the difference is that the last time they played us, they did not have their defenders available. Kuriyama was not playing. Since then, they have even added old boy Abdil Qaiyyim into the mix, so they even have strength in depth should they need it. And of course, the first time Hougang played us, they used Brian Ferreira, who is a liability. And the second time they played us, was Maksimovic’s first game for them. This time around, we’d do very well to continue to keep a clean sheet against them. Last but not least, Shahdan Sulaiman – I don’t know how his recovery is going, but just purely based on the fact that he is an ex-Sailor, I hope to see him back in action soon. Singapore football needs him back. Form and Incentive Hougang come into this one in great form. 4 wins in 4. These wins include wins against Geylang and Balestier, so really, no slouches. After a disastrous start to the season, it is somewhat amazing that they are still in a position to finish 4th, in the top half. If they win all 3 remaining games, they will be on 37 points, and will just need Balestier Khalsa to drop points in their remaining games. Just like us, Hougang can be said to have under-achieved given their resources and who they have on their roster, and as such, they will be hoping to at least gain some respect back by finishing 4th or 5th. Conclusion As with most of my previews, while we can say how this factor and that factor give our opponents a bit more of an edge here and there,

Of all the clubs in the league, I find the fiercest rivalry is with Tampines Rovers. Albirex Niigata (S) is of course the standard-bearer when it comes to quality, and they are perennial title contenders, so many would assume that our rivalry would be the fiercest – but it really isn’t, and there are a few reasons for that. Enough talk about why the rivalry with Tampines feels fiercer than the rivalry with Albirex. Let’s dive straight into the preview. Fitness of Boris Boris Kopentovic has gone off the boil a bit this season – which is amazing considering he has scored 15 goals this season. Of course, close to half of them are penalties (6), but it’s his profligacy in front of goal that has truly been amazing this season. You can hear the groans even in the Tampines stands as sections of the crowd audibly turn on him. That being said – if he is unavailable for this game, it’s still definitely a good thing. He came off injured two games ago and it looked like he had dislocated his shoulder – not a minor injury. Boris has contributed 3 assists this season as well, but he is much more than just goals and assists. He is a pest who occupies defenders and distracts them from the very many other threats that Tampines Rovers possesses. His physical presence and threat allows Faris Ramli, Joel Chew, Yasir Hanapi to capitalise on opportunities and loose balls around him. He was on the bench for the last game against Albirex, but an eagle-eyed Tampines fan informed me that he was not wearing his jersey under the bib unlike the rest of the substitutes. He was merely wearing a training top. We’ve seen this before – Diego Lopes for 1 or 2 games last season also had the same situation. This suggests that he might be a little short to start for tonight’s match. (On a sidenote I don’t really understand this training kit thing. Someone please explain to me why they can’t just wear the jersey to complete the act? I mean obviously the player was picked on the bench to perhaps play some sort of mind games right? Like, keep the opposition coach guessing whether the injured player is well enough to come on for 15-20 minutes at the end. Is one jersey really that difficult to wash? Food for thought) If Boris doesn’t start this game, then it’s gonna be Taufik Suparno, who has 3 goals all season. He too, seems to have fallen off a cliff in terms of performance. Defensive Unit Instability This season, Tampines have passed out the back very well. This is in large part due to the stability offered by their goalkeeper and back three (in attack) being assured on the ball. In the last two games, it has been way below their usual standard, and it’s really quite hard to blame them. They’ve had to use substitute keeper Ridhuan Bahrudin, and deal with the loss of both Irfan Najeeb and Milos Zlatkovic. That’s a major defensive reshuffle at the back. For this game, Syazwan comes back in goal, while Milos Zlatkovic I think will start. After all, while he was on the bench against Albirex too, he played more than half an hour, which could mean he is fit for this one. Let’s hope he is still a bit ring rusty because his impact on the defence is huge. In the 13 matches that he started, Tampines conceded 10 goals. (0.77 goals conceded a match) In the 8 matches after where he did not start, Tampines conceded 13 goals. (1.63 goals conceded a match) You can see that the rate of concession of goals almost doubles when he is not around. Of course, this is a very rough-and-ready approach that ignores other factors such as game state, and also who else is suspended/injured, but I believe that the huge variation proves the point adequately. Stakes are High Big shoutout to my friend Kenneth who pointed out to me that the stakes are very high tonight. A win keeps us alive with the faintest hope of a title. A draw hands Albirex the title. I have long given up on this, so this isn’t why the stakes are high. The importance of this game lies in the form of bragging rights and AFC qualification. While there is unlikely to be an AFC Champions League spot next year for the top local team, we should still be aiming for that because at the very least, it will stop Tampines fans bleating on and on about how they are the top local side despite having a much smaller budget. It’s true, and it deserves to be pointed out, yes. But you know you hear it so often that you start getting sick of people telling you the obvious (that Sailors should be doing much better). A win for us will leave us 4 points clear with only 2 games to go. A draw will leave us 1 point clear with 2 games to go. Both of these are good results, although we will want to kill off the challenge of Tampines swiftly and decisively. If Tampines win, then … nope they won’t win. Conclusion I believe the injury doubts that plague Tampines Rovers will lead us to a handsome victory. If even their own fans don’t have faith in the team…I believe at the third time of asking this season, we will finally beat them. COME ON YOU BOYS IN BLUE! Score Prediction Joseph and I predict the scores and track our success in a table. Stay tuned to find out who is the prediction king! 3 points for exact scoreline predicted correctly, 2 points for predicting the winner and margin of victory correctly (but not the exact scoreline), and 1 point for predicting the outcome correctly (win, lose or draw). Eddy’s prediction: TAM 1 LCS 4 Joseph’s prediction: TAM 2 LCS 3 And here’s the leaderboard

In case you thought I’d gone mad and forgotten that Albirex have scored 67 goals, 9 more than Sailors’ 58 and 17 more than Balestier’s 50 goals, I was referring to the individual top-scorers’ tally. Ryoya Taniguchi and Maxime Lestienne are both locked on 20 goals and as the league title is almost a foregone conclusion, I am gonna get invested in this particular race. These, and other thoughts, in our match preview ahead of tomorrow’s game. Hafiz Nor Suspended First up, Hafiz Nor is suspended after picking up his 4th yellow card of the season against Tanjong Pagar United. This is probably one of those suspensions I am least worried about. While Hafiz Nor has been a vital part of the team all season, I’ve long banged the drum of “PLAY MAMAT MORE, ROTATE THE SQUAD”, and so this is an enforced change that will definitely see Mamat come in on the right side of defence. I see Hafiz Nor and Mamat as being very similar players in terms of how they affect the team. If you imagine yourself playing FIFA or Football Manager, then Mamat is essentially Hafiz Nor, but with a bit more defensive attributes and a little less offensive attributes. One thing they do share in common is a love to gallop down the wing and contribute to attack, so we will hopefully see not much change in terms of how we approach the game. It’s also perhaps the perfect time to see Mamat back in the team. He was widely praised for his defensive efforts up against Son Heung Min, and his confidence must be very high. For more on Mamat, check out this excellent article by CNA writer Matthew Mohan. Bailey Wright is Back Bailey Wright will want to make things right (pun completely intended) when he returns from suspension tomorrow night. I don’t think it’s unfair to say that his dismissal against Brunei DPMM was not how he saw his debut going when he went to sleep the night before, and that it essentially torpedoed our chances of getting a victory against the Bruneian team. But what’s done is done, and the players have talked about how it’s important to win our remaining games to try to regain some momentum for the upcoming Champions League fixtures. I completely agree because that’s all we can really do now. A huge part of it for me is to see how Bailey Wright will adapt to this system. He looked comfortable against Spurs, only really being beaten once, when he lost track of James Maddison in the box and it took a good Zharfan save to bail him out. However, that was a back 5 system, and we’ve all seen how defenders usually look good in a back 5 system because they have much less space to protect. It’s early in Bailey’s career, but if he is to give the fans some confidence, this is probably going to be a good test for him, up against Ryoya Taniguchi and Shuhei Hoshino. Which brings me to … Shuhei Hoshino – More Than Just a Goalscorer? All the Balestier talk this season has been about Peter de Roo, Ryoya Taniguchi, and maybe also Daniel Goh. Ho Wai Loon also comes to mind as someone who has taken a lot of plaudits for his limitless energy. Madhu as well, has rolled back the years with some sublime performances at centre-back, so much so that some fans have started calling him Madhu Maldini. But Shuhei doesn’t really get a mention. Which is strange. It might be because Shuhei sometimes is super profligate in front of goal, but I reckon it’s more because of his barren seasons in front of goal when he was paired with Zuzul. 4 goals and 3 goals respectively in 2020 and 2021 is absolutely pathetic. There is a good reason for that though. In those seasons, Peter de Roo had not come yet, and Shuhei was reduced to someone who was just known for being a targetman – knocking down long passes for his quick partner Zuzul to burst onto and score. Since he has come, Balestier have produced an exciting brand of football, which has been accelerated ever since they moved to Bishan Stadium – the better pitch allowing them to actually create nice passing patterns and link up play all over the pitch, advancing the ball methodically and assuredly, instead of just lumping it up the field. And as a result, Shuhei has really come into his own (despite a slow start to the season). He is a vital part of Balestier’s attack, having scored 9 goals and registered 8 assists. His tally of 17 goal contributions is surprisingly more than that of some people who have really excelled this season, such as Hakeme Yazid (15), Shuto Komaki (14), Keito Komatsu (14) and equal to that of Boris Kopitovic (17). (Of course, the Albirex ones being so high up is amazing in and of itself considering their limited minutes, but that’s why they’re gonna win the league.) One other thing about Shuhei that people don’t really comment on, is that he helps with quick transitions with his passing. He doesn’t have the highest passing accuracy, but that’s because he tries some really ambitious passes – and it is usually to set Daniel Goh free. Look at this one vs DPMM – he is circled in pink. Look where he is when he plays that pass over the defence. Harry Kane receives a lot of praise for doing this for Spurs, so I have to point out as well that this is something else that Shuhei has in his arsenal – he drops back into midfield where the centre-backs can’t really follow, picks up a pass, and then without really wasting much time, he seeks to exploit the pace of Daniel Goh in behind. This was something I referenced as well in the preview of our first meeting with Balestier Khalsa. On average, Shuhei

This is not gonna be your regular match preview – because this is not a regular match. No real use writing about Spurs because this is only their second pre-season friendly, and they are using this trip to Singapore as more of a marketing and commercial exercise – this is a game with no stakes for them. Instead this preview will focus more on how this match impacts the Sailors, both positively and negatively. (And OK maybe at the end I’ll talk a little about Spurs). Let’s dive right into it. Initial Reaction – Disbelief When I first heard about the friendly match with Spurs being scheduled in between two league fixtures (vs Tanjong Pagar United and vs Balestier Khalsa), I was not the happiest camper around. I was in disbelief, actually. Why would the club schedule a friendly right in the middle of a title race? It was announced right after we had lost to Brunei DPMM as well and we were barely clinging on in the title race. We had to beat Albirex next, then Tanjong Pagar, play a meaningless friendly, and then play Balestier Khalsa. Not an easy stretch of fixtures by any means, and if we were coasting in the league with a healthy lead, I guess I would have no complaints. However, it seemed like we were introducing another fixture into an already-packed July calendar. It didn’t seem to make any sense to me. There’s the risk of injury and then there’s the risk of players and staff getting distracted by the real challenge at hand – winning the title against a dominant Albirex side, and a spirited Tampines side. I guess rather weirdly, the fact that we lost to Albirex kinda takes some weight off this factor? We are all but out of the title race – I cannot see Albirex slipping up enough from this point to allow us back in. In that sense, whether we play 1 friendly game, 2, or even 3, might hardly matter. We simply cannot control what Albirex does and they should be deserving champions this year. Had we beaten Albirex though, I think i’d still be a little upset that this friendly has been inserted into a packed fixture list. 5+1, 3+1 – Looks Like Math but it’s Actually Chemistry One of the benefits that makes the most sense to me is that this friendly allows us to field 6 (5+1) foreigners at the same time. This is crucial in our preparation for the AFC Champions League (ACL) because unlike the SPL where we can only field 4 (3+1) foreigners, we are allowed to field 6 in the ACL. The brackets may confuse people who are a little less acquainted with the rules. The +1 usually refers to the quota that is reserved for a player hailing from an AFC nation. So you will see in the SPL, players from Japan mostly taking up this slot. Our +1 slot was also taken up by a Japanese player, last season’s SPL Player of the Year, Kodai Tanaka. However, he suffered a bad knee injury and in the mid-season window, we signed Aussie international, Bailey Wright, from Sunderland. Our 4 foreign players registered for the SPL are – It remains to be seen who will be the 2 foreigners added to this list of 4 – we have a few in contention. I will briefly talk about them – OK after that long explanation and setting the context – back to the point. We have not seen Rui Pires play despite him signing a few weeks ago, and we have never played the 6 foreigners together. This friendly might be very telling in terms of who will likely be registered for the ACL squad. The 6 foreigners will not have played together before, except maybe in training – and what better opportunity is there than this for the Sailors to try out how they will line up in the ACL? They will need to gel, so any gametime together would be beneficial. To make things even better, we will be facing a team much better than us, and it will be very useful for us to practise how to play against way superior opponents, given that in the ACL, we may come up against J-League or K-League sides. A pre-season version of Spurs may thus actually be ideal for us to come up against. A Chance to Impress Already, fans around the world are laughing at us. I don’t really blame them – to go from AS Roma to an unknown club in Singapore is a bit of a “downgrade”. Realistically, we will not be able to put up a fight on the same level that Mourinho’s Roma would be able to. However, I guess what is really unsurprising yet still hurtful is the online comments that local fans are making. I have never been one to say that Singaporeans are obliged to watch their local league or support their local athletes. I feel that everyone is entitled to their own choice – it would be a bit strange to admonish someone for choosing to watch Maroon 5 in concert as opposed to say, Electrico just because they are a local band. However, I think some local fans have taken to criticising the Sailors without even having watched them play before. It all seems a bit unfair but I guess I have to learn to ignore online criticism. It will thus be a chance for our Sailors to try their best to impress, or at the very least, not embarrass themselves on a stage like this. There will be viewers from all corners of the world, given that Spurs have such an international following. When we spoke to Chris van Huizen after the Tanjong Pagar game about whether he was looking forward to the Spurs friendly, he mentioned that all his career, he has not had the chance to play against such a big team, so I am

It was not entirely surprising that we lost to Albirex Niigata (S). They are table-toppers and reigning champions for a reason. Anyway, that match is done, we move on. I don’t really wanna talk about it anymore. You can read my post-match thoughts here, or come back later tomorrow when we publish our tactical analysis of the game (HURRY UP ZACH!). We take on second-from-bottom Tanjong Pagar United, and I think we are strong favourites to bounce back from this one – but let’s just give you some food for thought in case you think it will be a walk in the park based on their recent form. Deceptive Form + Player Availability At first glance, you’d think they are in terrible form, and that this will be a stroll. However, if you look closely at those games, they were all over Geylang and perhaps should have scored more than once before Geylang hit back with 2 goals, and they ran Tampines and Balestier very close. It is not easy to do that, because Tampines and Balestier are the form teams in the league, with better form than us at the moment. TPU have simply been on a very tough run. They did lose to us 7-1 the last time, but that was a match where Blake Ricciuto and Shakir Hamzah were both suspended. That really ripped the spine of the team right out of TPU, so I am not surprised at how easy it was to dismantle them last time out. They also posed very little offensive threat to us, though they did score a good goal from a well-worked corner kick. With Shakir and Blake back, they have both their joint 2nd top-scorers and their 1st and 3rd most prolific assist-makers lining up for them. It’s a huge boon for them. Two players who played against us the last time we met sit this one out. Mirko Sugic is suspended for amassing 4 yellow cards, while Fathullah Rahmat has gone for National Service. This will be good for us as we hope to dominate the midfield, as it somewhat offsets the return of Blake. Chris van Huizen is available for selection again as he returns from reservist training, and I wonder if he will get a start – Nur Adam has played a lot of football in the last 10 days or so. Chris also offers an extra dimension in that he can swing in excellent crosses from the left if we struggle to break down TPU’s backline. Abdul Rasaq came on against Albirex and so will most likely be available for this game – unless this photo suggests that he may have had a minor hand procedure done. Not sure! Will Coach Ranko try something radically different and name 2 strikers? It would be quite a sight I think, seeing Abdul Rasaq flanked by Maxime Lestienne and Richairo Zivkovic, with both of them very capable of cutting in to wreak havoc. Let’s hope for some shuffling around as I think the players do look a little tired. TPU’s Foreign Players Marin Mudrazija and Pedro Dias have not impressed or even played much in the league this season. I went down to the U21 game between TPU and LCS last night at Jurong East Stadium, and the pair of them played the full 90min. Marin was full of hard running, and even scored the winning goal, while Pedro Dias was imperious in the air, winning every aerial challenge that came his way. If you’re wondering about the Sailors, Haiqal Pashia was the most-utilised attacking outlet by us, and came closest to scoring for us. Rusyaidi Salime was an absolute beast, as he seemed to smash anything that was in his way (legally, as well), drawing angry responses from some TPU fans. It was a nice experience being in the stadium for a U21 game for the first time, to see the standard of play and hopefully gain some insight into who is bubbling under for the Sailors. I thought captain Asis showed many good touches and is one to look out for as he hopefully gains more minutes with the senior team. A secondary consideration for me going down was so that I could make educated guesses about who was going to play tomorrow. Marin Mudrazija has had his fair share of critics, although he still remains the top-scorer for TPU with 5 goals (3 of them have been penalty kicks). He does seem to be out of favour, having not featured at all in the past 2 games. Could it be an injury and they played him in the U21 game to let him regain some fitness? Even if so, it would be a bit strange to play him for the whole game. Pedro Dias is much the same – he seems to be really out of favour as well after suffering a spate of injuries earlier this season plus a suspension. Having seen him complete a dominant 90min, it is pretty clear that he is back to full fitness. However, once again I do not think he will play in tomorrow’s game. Physical Approach of the TPU Players TPU is known to be a team that has a reputation for a strong fighting spirit – sometimes literal. They are the team with the joint-most number of red cards in the league (5). There are some interesting stats to pick out for TPU when it comes to fouls and cards. While they have the lowest number of fouls in the league, they have the most number of yellow cards and the joint-most number of red cards. It suggests that their players go in hard on the tackle or they are prone to getting involved in scraps/scuffles. Coach Ranko may want to push for an early lead so that at half-time we can preserve some of our more important players for the tougher games that will come ahead, and to protect them from unnecessary injury. Conclusion There