Written by: Shawn Lim

RHB Singapore Cup (Quarter-Finals 2nd Leg)

Global FC vs Tampines Rovers
(Saturday, 2 July, 8pm, Jalan Besar Stadium)

After suffering their first-ever defeat this season at the hands of Tampines Rovers in the first-leg of the RHB Singapore Cup quarter-finals, coach Leigh Manson has challenged his Global FC side to show an immediate response in the second-leg.

The People’s Club have to overturn a two-goal deficit against the Stags after losing 3-1 on Wednesday, but Manson believes that his charges can turn the tide in their favour if they find the back of the net first at Jalan Besar Stadium on Saturday night.

“This is the first time this team has lost and we will see now..a reaction on Saturday how they feel, because they are hurting now,” said the Scot after the loss to Tampines.

“They have done nothing but win. They had no draw, no losses until tonight. So now, we will see if we can get a reaction from them.

“They are honest enough to know that they didn’t play their best tonight. The tie is not dead and if we can score first, then the tie becomes alive.”

Manson however, acknowledged that Global will need to contain the likes of Jordan Webb, Jermaine Pennant and Billy Mehmet in order to keep a clean sheet if they want to keep their hopes of progressing alive.

“Obviously, if they score first, it will be very difficult. We need to look at where did the goals come from in the first-leg,” said Manson.

“The loss of possession for the second goal, where we were caught on the counter because we were too high up the field and lost the ball.

“So we will see what we can do to try to highlight these situations to the players. Sometimes they try to be fancy and lose the ball, which means we get countered and concede.

“We may change our formation, but we don’t want to change too much.”

For Tampines, coach Akbar Nawas is keen to ensure that his side do not become complacent even though they hold the advantage and are currently in the form of their lives, winning all their last five games.

“Complacency is definitely something we are trying to prevent. We are all humans, so complacency will definitely creep in,” said Akbar.

“So it’s up to us the coaches, the staff and everyone in Tampines Rovers to make sure that we are up for the game in the second-leg.

“Because if complacency sets in, it will kill you. So it is really down to the coaches to ensure that the players are in the right frame of mind.”

Global FC – WWWWL

29/06/16  Tampines Rovers 3-1 Global FC (Singapore Cup)
14/05/16  Global FC 1-0 Loyola FC (United Football League)
28/05/16  Nagaworld 0-5 Global FC (Singapore Cup)
12/06/16  Kaya FC 0-3 Global FC (United Football League)
02/06/16  Global FC 3-0 Pasargad FC (United Football League)

Tampines Rovers – WWWWW

29/06/16  Tampines Rovers 3-1 Global FC (Singapore Cup)
24/06/16  Tampines Rovers 1-0 Albirex Niigata (S) (S.League)
17/06/16  Balestier Khalsa 2-3 Tampines Rovers (S.League)
14/06/16  Tampines Rovers 6-1 Garena Young Lions (S.League)
11/06/16  Tampines Rovers 4-3 Brunei DPMM (S.League)