Tampines Rovers vs Garena Young Lions

(28 October, Saturday, 7.30pm, Our Tampines Hub)

Written by: Phoon Jia Hui

Shannon Stephen is eager to put on a good showing for the Tampines Rovers faithful when they host Garena Young Lions in the Great Eastern-Hyundai S.League at Our Tampines Hub on Saturday night.

The Stags, who sit second, trail leaders Albirex Niigata (S) by nine points with a game in hand and will thus be looking for three points to stay in the title hunt – albeit mathematically.

“We go into every match we play wanting to get the win, but it’s playing in front of the home fans that gets you hyped up and motivated to go all out,” said the 23-year-old.

“Also, to finish the season on a winning note would be great for the fans and give them something to look forward to for next season.”

The youngster marked his first start for the Stags with a brace and an assist as they downed his former side 4-0 at Jalan Besar just a month ago.

With Ismadi Mukhtar suspended for this tie, it is likely that head coach Jurgen Raab will keep faith with Shannon at right wing-back and the latter is looking to impress.

“Scoring in what was my first S.League game after being out due to National Service commitments is always a great feeling,” the defender enthused.

“It makes me feel really good and believe that I can achieve a lot more in time to come. I was very happy when coach told me I would be playing as it would be an opportunity to show what I can do.

“It would be nice if I could replicate my performance but I’m always looking to improve other aspects of my game and I will be happy if I can do that.”

Playing alongside seasoned campaigners like skipper Fahrudin Mustafic, Daniel Bennett and Ismadi in the team this season, Shannon believes it has been beneficial to his development.

“I try to learn as much from them in training and in games,” he shared. “They are always very supportive in giving me advice in different game situations and I believe I can only get better.”

Young Lions are meanwhile reeling from a narrow 1-0 home loss to Hougang United earlier this week.

Head coach Vincent Subramaniam has however backed his boys to bounce back even stronger as they take on the Eastern giants.

“The game against Tampines will be interesting because we would like to see another way of playing against them,” he said.

“We also have got an extra day of rest, but we have to keep working on the boys. That’s the only way to move forward.

“When you are in charge of a developmental squad, you don’t talk about defending deep – you need to have a fair share of attack and defence. You might expose your defence and lose games but that’s how these boys learn.”

Suspension: Ismadi Mukhtar (Tampines Rovers)

Tampines Rovers – WWDWW

23/10/17 Home United 0-2 Tampines Rovers

15/10/17 Geylang International 2-3 Tampines Rovers

20/09/17 Tampines Rovers 1-1 Warriors FC

17/09/17 Balestier Khalsa 0-1 Tampines Rovers

12/09/17 Garena Young Lions 0-4 Tampines Rovers

Garena Young Lions – LLWLL

24/10/17 Garena Young Lions 0-1 Hougang United

21/10/17 Garena Young Lions 0-4 Geylang International

14/10/17 Warriors FC 0-1 Garena Young Lions

07/10/17 Brunei DPMM 7-1 Garena Young Lions

20/09/17 Garena Young Lions 0-1 Balestier Khalsa

Head to Head (S.League)

12/09/17 Garena Young Lions 0-4 Tampines Rovers

23/04/17 Tampines Rovers 1-0 Garena Young Lions

15/10/16 Garena Young Lions 1-3 Tampines Rovers

14/06/16 Tampines Rovers 6-1 Garena Young Lions

03/04/16 Garena Young Lions 1-2 Tampines Rovers