Written By: Kenneth Ho

Balestier Khalsa coach Marko Kraljevic conceded his side are almost out of the running in the race for the Great Eastern Yeo’s S.League after a 0-0 draw with Harimau Muda.

The draw saw Balestier’s gap with league leaders Brunei DPMM stretched to eight points with seven games remaining, after the latter defeated Courts Young Lions 2-1 on the same day.

The ultimate goal is still to try and win the title if possible, but Kraljevic has told his charges to aim for a more realistic target at the moment.

“At the moment for us, is to try and get top tree. To win the title is very tough, almost impossible now,” Kraljevic said.

“But you never know, we still keep going but if we finish top three it’d be a very successful season for us.”

Missing the services of key players Poh Yifeng and Yusiskandar Yusop through suspension, Kraljevic admitted his side had struggled to play their best against the Young Tigers.

“I’m happy with the performance, we have very few chances in the game but it’s not easy to play against Harimau Muda, they keep passing the ball, they are very fit,” he added.

“Other than that I think, I’m disappointed. We could have closed the gap and jumped to second position, but what to do? We have to move on, focus on what we can do better next time against them again.”

Harimau Muda coach Razip Ismail had no complaints about the point earned, although he believed that attaining maximum points would not have been an unjust result too.

“I am happy with the point, but it was unfortunate we couldn’t get the three points,” Razip lamented.

“The way we played, the way the boys held their own and were a match for Balestier, we just couldn’t score the goal.”

Razip aims to build on this win and continue his side’s climb up the table as the season reaches its last stretch.

“We need to beat everybody now cause we want to climb up the table. Whoever we play now, we need a good performance to get the points,” he asserted.