Written By: Kenneth Ho
Home United will take on New Radiant SC in their fourth AFC Cup Group E match on Wednesday evening at Jalan Besar Stadium, with anything less than three points for both teams almost certainly spelling elimination from the competition .
Home coach Lee Lim Saeng was aware of the threat New Radiant possessed, especially after his side lost to the Maldives side in their first group game.
However, the Korean pointed out that anything can happen in football, and so his team would be looking to get a win.
“We lost to New Radiant in the away match but now we are waiting for the home match tomorrow. It is not easy to play against the opponent, but we need to get three points, ” Lee said.
“I think we are getting better slowly [but the] opponent is also a good side, but we won’t know the result, after all it is a football match.
“Now the players’ morale is very high, we work hard as a unit, I think the players will do our best with our plan and we can expect what we want.”
Home United winger Yasir Hanapi agreed with his coach about the positive morale surrounding the Bishan-based team, and insisted Home would give everything they have got to secure a result.
“It’s getting better, our chemistry is getting better, we know our team-mates’ style even better so I think tomorrow, we will be a better team than from the one we were in Maldives,” Yasir said.
“We have to win this game, we will give everything until our legs cramp up.”
With the Maldives’ domestic league due to start only in June, Lee’s counterpart New Radiant coach Simon McMenemy voiced his concerns that he was unable to adequately prepare his team for their AFC Cup matches as they lacked match fitness.
“Week in, week out we are playing against teams who are in the middle of their league, who are sharp and match fit,” McMenemy noted. “With our guys it’s very difficult, we’ve played a very limited amount of matches.”
However, Mcmenemy was confident his team would be able to provide a good account of themselves against Home United.
“I think Home United will obviously be favourites at Jalan Besar, We have to respect the fact that Home United are very strong at home,” he said.
“But the club (New Radiant) has a very good history playing in this competition, they like to upset the odds.”