Written by: Kenneth Ho

After taking only a point from three games in the AFC Cup Group E, Home United are on the brink of elimination from the regional tournament.

This has prompted Home coach Lee Lim Saeng to rally his team to get maximum points in their next match against Churchill Brothers on Wednesday at Jalan Besar Stadium.

“I think tomorrow match is a final match, that means we must get three points, so we will do our best,“ Lee said.

“We have our own style, as we prepared in the pre-season tour, unfortunately we haven’t shown that in the AFC Cup, so I think I believe we will show it tomorrow. “

Initially cutting a confident figure prior to the start of the AFC Cup, Lee attributed players’ injuries as one of the reason why Home were struggling in the competition.

“We did well in pre-season in Kuning that time, so I was confident with the players, suddenly we had injuries, we struggle in the league and AFC,“ he said.

“I think injured players are coming back slowly, so I think we will get better to show our strengths.“

The South Korean was also looking forward to Fazrul Nawaz first appearance in the AFC Cup, after the striker returned from injury to score three goals in his last two games.

“Of course I am looking forward to him scoring tomorrow, but we must play together as a unit, hopefully every player knows his role and position, “ Lee shared.

Despite beating Home 3-1 in their last group game, Churchill coach Mariano Dias believed the match up against Home will be a different affair altogether.

“The team is good, we have seen them play, they have good players like Ismail Yunos, “ Dias continued. “Playing again at home will be a difficult job for us and we have come without two , three main regular players, so things may change at home for Home United but I am sure that we will give our best to play well. “

Dias was also concerned his team may be distracted by their domestic obligations, with the club languishing among the cellar-dwellers currently.

“We are playing every third day, we are playing here tomorrow, we are playing back in Goa on the 6th, the next match AFC is on 9th,“ Dias said.

“It’s very very close, without good rest for players, you know how it is. It’s not exactly a distraction but since we are not doing very well in the I-League, it can affect our performances down there.

“The mood is not so good at all, we are not doing that good in the I-League, we are doing quite well in the AFC Cup, so we want to really get it on par, the way it’s going on in the AFC Cup and in the I-League.“