S-League Preview Week 15
22nd June 2012 (Friday)
Gombak United v Home United
Jurong West Stadium, 7.45 pm
Having sat out last week’s round of fixtures when the S-League resumed, the Bulls of Gombak United will finally return to taste some action when they entertain a Home United side still reeling from a surprise 1-0 defeat to Balestier last week.
The home side will be looking to halt a run of three straight losses in the league, although some consolation is that they were all by slim 1-0 margins.
However, the loss of a number of key youngsters might be a factor here. Nur Naiim has been called up for National Service, while Shafuan Sutohmoh has already left for Balestier Khalsa. Samuel Benjamin and Fareez Farhan, two talented forwards who have both played a big part in the Bulls’ season so far, have not been training with the club due to their commitments with the Singapore U22 squad.
Meanwhile, the Protectors will definitely want to bounce back from an abject performance in the defeat against Balestier, where they were truly woeful in every department.
They barely had a shot on target throughout the whole game and they will hope skipper Shi Jia Yi, who was on the bench, returns to provide some creativity here and control the game. But they will continue to miss Franklin Anzite, who is away on international duty with the Central African Republic.
It remains to be seen whether coach Lee Lim Saeng will continue to stick to a back-three, or start with a flat back-four, after switching tactics mid-way through the first half against Balestier.
They will be up against a backline consisting of the impressive Obadin Aikhena and Ismail Yunos, flanked by full-backs Adrian Dhanaraj and Nurullah Hussein, which might prove hard for the Protectors to break down.
As such, it won’t be a surprise if the Home coach elects to go for a quartet of attackers in Indra, Mendy, Ihata and Qiu Li, given that they need to get three points to keep pace at the top of the league.
Gombak last five games: LWLLL
Home last five games: WLWWL
Prediction: Surely Home’s fearsome attack cannot be off-form again for a second successive game. The away side to win 2-0.