Written by: Muhammad Yazid
Tanjong Pagar United most recently beat Courts Young Lions on Thursday evening to leapfrog Woodlands Wellington to ninth place, and Coach Patrick Vallee could not have been more contented.
“The second consecutive win is a good run to start off with. The most important thing is that we got a second clean sheet in a row,” he mentioned.
“They managed very well tactically and performed very well, with passion. We also scored at good moments.
“I am very happy tonight because we have been waiting for this kind of result for a long time.”
The Frenchman was also delighted with the confidence level of his team.
“Everyone in the team is confident now and this is what I am expecting from them. I am very happy with the mindset and spirit of the team. Everyone was focused in avoiding mistakes and to create chances in the game.”
“It is not over yet; for now it is only two wins. We will try to keep winning like that and see what happens,” he declared.
His counterpart, Aide Iskandar, admitted that it was a poor game.
“It did happen the way I expected; we were second best,” the former national skipper said.
“The let-down was the goals we conceded. The first one especially, it was too soft.”
“Nevertheless, I am not going to point my fingers on Syazwan Buhari because everyone makes mistakes and I cannot judge him based one game. He did try his best and is having a very good season here at Young Lions.”
The tactician then mentioned that his side’s hopes were dashed after the second goal.
“The second goal killed the game. We tried to press them as high as possible but we were just not good enough,” he shared.
“We need to work on defence and be consistent. Tanjong Pagar is an experienced side with quality foreign players and used their tactics very well, credits to them.”
“Overall, they tried their best in going forward. We are a young and developmental side but I am not going to give excuses about fatigue,” the gaffer commented.