Written By: Kenneth Ho

After repeatedly calling on his side to demonstrate the quality of S.League teams in the AFC Cup, Home United coach Lee Lim Saeng finally felt like his team had done as he asked.

The nod of approval from Lee came following Home’s 2-0 win over New Radiant in an AFC Cup Group E encounter on Wednesday evening.

“As you watch our performance, it is thanks to my players’ efforts. Because they showed the S.League pride, that’s why they deserved to win the match tonight, “ Lee said.

“We have many injured players when we started the season, that’s why it was not easy to manage winning the games. They are getting back into the team slowly and I hope we keep this way.“

New Radiant coach Simon McMenemy was less happy as compared to his counterpart, as he lamented how he was stung by the fact that his side failed to muster a single goal to their name.

“2-0 is a really difficult one to take when you see that Persipura came here for a 1-1, Churchill still got a goal, it’s difficult to come here and not score, “ McMenemy rued.

“The first half I’d give it to Home United, but the second half I think we demanded the game, we passed the ball really well.“

The win has allowed Home to draw level with Churchill Brothers on points in Group E, with both teams garnering seven points so far and each having one game remaining. However, Churchill stands to qualify for the next round should they remain level on points with Home as they have a better head-to-head record.

With that in mind, Lee insisted his side had to go for a win in their last game against Persipura Jayapura.

“I think we cannot afford to draw or lose, we must win. I think we are a better side [than Persipura] but we cannot be overconfident, because we are playing an away match,“ he said.

Home will also be counting on New Radiant to deny Churchill any points in their penultimate game, and will be heartened to hear that McMenemy intended to win their last game even though they were already out of the running for progression into the next stage.

“We haven’t really given a good account this year, hopefully second half we’ve proved that when we play well, we can beat teams, but we can’t give them a goal head start, “ McMenemy said.

“It’s not in my nature to not try and win games. My team never lie down, We will go in guns blazing, I will not be swayed any other way.“