Written By: Kenneth Ho

Hougang are relentless in their quest to earn a first ever top-six finish in the Great Eastern Yeo’s S.League and with four games left in round two that may soon turn to reality.

Following a 2-0 victory over Geylang International, Hougang coach Amin Nasir has issued a challenge to his boys to hold their position in the top-six after staying unbeaten for the month of June.

“It is a huge challenge for us now, now it is down to us to grab the opportunity,” Amin declared.

“Three points were crucial today, and I am happy but it was not easy; Geylang are a quality side, they created chances for themselves. I am so happy with the defence, besides the three points we collected a clean sheet.

The Hougang coach was also pleasantly surprised by the Cheetahs’ seven-game unbeaten run, and said that it has inspired his players and that has translated into excellent performances on the pitch.

“Knowing our history of poor results in previous seasons, it is very nice to be unbeaten in June so far. It is good for the clubs and players,” Amin shared.

“Especially in a team sport like football, when you get a positive result and collect points it is always very encouraging for morale and this helps give better performances.”

For Geylang coach Jorg Steinebrunner, he has given up on a top-six finish as he believed his side has lost too many points to make up ground on their competitors.

“At the moment we are making individual mistakes, and that has costed us the game. It happens in football, it is something we need to learn from. We are also lacking the killer instinct, and that is a burden for the team,” Steinebrunner lamented.

“When I came in the top-six was a target, and I think we gave it a go. But now I think we have to forget about it and focus on finishing as high as possible.”

The German insisted that he was satisfied with his players’ effort in the defeat to Hougang and that it was a marked improvement from his side.

However, Steinebrunner has called on his squad to not let their game drop when they face other teams besides the top clubs.

“As a team I think we played better than in the last game against Harimau Muda. We played as a team, and we dominated the game more in the second half,” he said.

“What the players need to learn is that you need to have the same mental strength and concentration as when you play the top teams to keep a clean sheet because we have shown that it can happen.”