Written by: Muhammad Yazid

Home United gained a 2-1 victory over Balestier Khalsa prior to their crucial AFC Cup game against New Radiant from Maldives this Wednesday.

Head coach Lee Lim Saeng was delighted with the win as it not only lifted his team up the table to fifth, but also instilled confidence and raised morale in his players.

“We needed the three points for us to stay in form for the next AFC Cup game which I believe we will do our best, and we achieved it by the players’ efforts, so credits to them,“ Lee mentioned.

“We still need to prepare for that game and we have many games coming up this month, so I hope my players can recover as soon as possible.”

“We are happy with the victory because we deserved to win the match. Balestier is a good team too, they wanted the three points as much as we did and they were very strong in long balls.”

This game also saw  Precious Emuejeraye being played in a new role in central midfield, and the former Singapore International earned praises from his gaffer.

“He was disappointed with himself after scoring the own goal last week but I encouraged him and he wanted to show his commitment on the pitch.

“He played in this position for the first time this season. Although he made a few mistakes, he tried his best and I want him to get used to this position,” Lee stated.

Balestier head coach Marko Kraljevic was reluctant to admit to the loss after seeing his side squander a host of chances in the game.

“A draw would have been fairer. We scored a bit too late and if we had another 10-15 minutes, we would have equalised.”

“We gave them chances and they punished us, killed us with the second. This is the quality of a good team.”

“I told them at half-time to add hard pressure because we had nothing to lose. 2-1 is the worst result, because the opponent’s morale will shoot up,” the former S.League player shared.

Despite the loss, Kraljevic felt that he has learnt how to cope without talismanic midfielder Park Kang Jin, who is missing out through injury,

“We lost the game but we gained something new. Emir Lotinac is doing well in the new midfield position and I think he is a good replacement for the injured Park Kang Jin,” the tactician revealed.