Competition: Woodlands Wellington FC vs Tampines Rovers
SC
Date & Time: 7 May 2005 7:30:00 PM
Venue: Woodlands
Showtime for S-League aspirants Tampines Rovers SC
They have made their intentions clear of joining the S-League. What
better way for Tampines Rovers SC to prove themselves on Saturday
night when they face a weakened Woodlands Wellington side.
With Woodlands playing their second match in four days and having
four S-League players out, it has paved the way for amateur outfit
Tampines to claim the scalp of an S-League side.
Although there may be tired legs amongst the ranks of the Rams,
coach Karim Bencherifa cannot afford to rest any of his players due
to injuries to several others.
He said: I cannot give any of my players a break. If you watched
our last game, I had only 10 S-League players that I can use. The
rest are from the Prime League.
We have injuries in our squad now. Gusta Guzarishah is out injured
and Jaslee Hatta will be out for six to eight weeks. Our two
foreigners are out also.
While coach Karim may not have the depth in squad to rotate his
squad, they have the undoubted quality.
With the likes of Daniel Bennett, Goh Tat Chuan and Ahmad Latiff
Khamarudin, Tampines, the NFL Division One side, will have their
work cut out.
While Woodlands come into this match after a heavy 3-0 defeat in
the S-League, Tampines earned themselves a morale-boosting 4-1 win
over Police SA last week.
Not surprisingly, Bencherifa was at the game to gather intelligence
for this Singapore Cup clash.
Although the Moroccan coach does not underestimate the NFL outfit,
he wants his team to put up a solid performance and earn a good
result.
He said: It is important to get a good win. A comfortable win will
allow us to build on it for our next league game.
A comfortable win will also give any side a psychological advantage
for the quarterfinals of the Singapore Cup should Woodlands
Wellington or Tampines advance.
Last year, the Rams only managed to get to the quarterfinals as
they were stopped in their tracks by Geylang United. The Eastern
side beat them over two-legs to deprive the Rams of a semi-final
place.
The NFL side's involvement in last years Singapore Cup was
restricted to just one match as they crashed 4-1 to Sinchi despite
putting up a brave performance.
Tampines will certainly want to see themselves go beyond the first
round this time and prove their mettle against the big boys of the
S-League. And for that, Woodlands Wellington better not expect it
easy from them.