Written by: Ryan Low

Home United vs Warriors FC

(Thursday, 4 Aug, 7.30pm, Bishan Stadium)

Home United will be looking for a positive start under new coach Aidil Sharin when they host Warriors FC in their return to Great Eastern-Yeo’s S.League action at the Bishan Stadium on Thursday night.

The local football fraternity was left in shock over the weekend when the Protectors announced on their Facebook page that there will be a re-organisation of their technical team.

Philippe Aw, who had been at the helm for the past one and a half years, was handed a new role as the Head of Youth Development and Performance Management – with Aidil taking over the coaching hot seat.

The 38-year-old former Singapore international will surely be aiming to revive Home’s fortunes in a season which had promised so much, but delivered so little.

The Bishan-based club are likely to end a third successive season without silverware – having gone out of both domestic cup competitions and being 16 points off leaders Albirex Niigata (S) with just eight games left in the league season.

However, there is still all to fight for as there is still a possibility of clinching a spot in next season’s AFC Cup. Should the Singapore Cup go to a foreign team, the second best-placed local side in the league will represent Singapore in the continental club competition.

Home are currently in that position, but other teams like Hougang United and Geylang International could catch up if they are not careful.

Meanwhile the Warriors are similarly having a bad year. If being knocked out of the Singapore Cup at the first hurdle and languishing third-from-bottom in the league was not enough, they then suffered the ignominy of being the only team to end the League Cup without winning any game.

Four straight losses – conceding 12 and scoring just one – tells you the story about Razif Onn’s struggling outfit, thus the return of Madhu Mohana and Hafiz Nor from international duty comes at no better time.

With first-choice goalkeeper Yazid Yasin, club captain Zulfadli Zainal Abidin and top scorer Jonathan Behe all back from their respective injury lay-offs, the nine-time champions stand a good choice of toppling their much more fancied rivals.

That said, Home will also be able to call upon the services of Abdil Qaiyyim, Zulfahmi Arifin, Azhar Sairudin and Khairul Nizam again too – so that rather even things up.

The Warriors will be looking to end a run of six games without a win in Uniformed Derby encounters – with their last success coming in a 4-1 win at Yishun Stadium last April.

Home United – DLWDL

26/07/16  Brunei DPMM 1-0 Home United (League Cup)

22/07/16  Balestier Khalsa 2-2 Home United (League Cup)

18/07/16  Geylang International 0-5 Home United (League Cup)

14/07/16  Home United 0-2 Albirex Niigata (S) (League Cup)

30/06/16  Home United 2-2 Balestier Khalsa (Singapore Cup)

Warriors FC – WLLLL

25/07/16   Geylang International 1-0 Warriors FC (League Cup)

21/07/16   Hougang United 4-1 Warriors FC (League Cup)

17/07/16  Warriors FC 0-3 Tampines Rovers (League Cup)

13/07/16  Brunei DPMM 4-0 Warriors FC (League Cup)

23/06/16  Hougang United 1-3 Warriors FC (S.League)