Hougang United vs Tampines Rovers

(25 May, Thursday, 7.30pm, Hougang Stadium)

Written by:  Rashid Sulaiman

Hougang United head coach Philippe Aw is confident his charges have the ability to return to winning ways in the 2017 Great Eastern-Hyundai S.League when they face title hopefuls Tampines Rovers at the Hougang Stadium on Thursday night.

The Cheetahs were on a two-game winning streak before it was halted in the previous game by Geylang International in a 1-1 draw.

Speaking to S.League.com ahead of their match against Jurgen Raab’s team, Aw believes that his team did not perform badly in the matches where they dropped points.

“We just need to find consistency in our results and in front of goals too. We played decently in some matches but we were not able to find the back of the net,” said Aw.

“We need to finish our chances and I believe we can pick up more points. I know the boys have played to their best ability and we are capable of beating any team if we play as a unit.”

Their first meeting this season saw the Stags come away with a 2-1 win, but Aw believes that the scoreline was not a true reflection of his team’s performance on that night.

“In the first match against Tampines we were unfortunate to lose 2-1. We had a good game but could not come away with a win,” added the Cheetahs’ head coach.

“Tampines may be the stronger team on paper but I am confident that my boys are prepared for this match and will do their best to get the three points.

Although the Stags went down 4-1 against S.League leaders Albirex Niigata (S) over the weekend, Aw believes that the Jurong West-based club did not have a bad day out on the field.

“Tampines did not play badly against Albirex in their last match. They were unlucky to be hit by two late goals,” explained Aw.

“Although they will be missing Shakir for this match, it won’t be much of a problem for them as they got depth in their squad and several national team players.

“We are not far behind from them and a win for us would be good for the team to climb the table.”

Hougang is currently in fifth position on 13 points, five points behind Tampines who are in third spot.

While Raab will be without the services of defender Shakir who was shown the marching orders in their previous match, Aw will be missing Ali Hudzaifi and Delwinder Singh who are serving out their one-match suspension.

Suspensions: Ali Hudzaifi, Delwinder Singh (both Hougang United), Shakir Hamzah (Tampines Rovers)

Hougang United – LLWWD

20/05/17 Geylang International 1-1 Hougang United

11/05/17 Warriors FC 0-2 Hougang United

27/04/17 Hougang United 1-0 Balestier Khalsa

14/04/17 Albirex Niigata (S) 2-0 Hougang United

09/04/17 Hougang United 0-2 Home United

Tampines Rovers – WWLWL

21/05/17 Tampines Rovers 1-4 Albirex Niigata (S)

12/05/17 Tampines Rovers 3-2 Home United

03/05/17 Tampines Rovers 2-4 Ceres-Negros FC (AFC Cup)

28/04/17 Brunei DPMM 0-1 Tampines Rovers

23/04/17 Tampines Rovers 1-0 Garena Young Lions

Head to Head (S.League)

03/03/17 Tampines Rovers 2-1 Hougang United

17/08/16 Tampines Rovers 1-2 Hougang United

04/05/16 Hougang United 1-1 Tampines Rovers

26/02/16 Tampines Rovers 4-1 Hougang United

17/10/15 Tampines Rovers 1-0 Hougang United