Harimau Muda coach Ong Kim Swee has hailed his players’ teamwork in ending a two-match winless run with a 3-1 triumph over Hougang United at the Yishun Stadium in the S-League on Friday.
Skipper Affize Faizal Mamat was the hero for the team.
Affize bagged a brace in the 29th and 90th minutes after A. Thamil Arasu’s opener from a spot kick in the 25th minute.
Winger Jordan Webb scored Hougang’s consolation goal in the 49th minute.
The win lifted Harimau Muda into third spot in the 13-team standings with 20 points after 10 matches – three behind leaders Brunei DPMM and one adrift of second-placed Balestier Khalsa.
Kim Swee was all the more impressed with his men’s teamwork.
They had only 13 players available for the match following a spate of injuries and national team duty.
“I’ve been facing this problem (of missing players) since last year,” said Kim Swee.
“Whenever there are national call-ups this happens.
“But we stayed positive to win the match.”
“It was teamwork that won the game for us. The boys helped each other out as they knew we didn’t have enough players.”
Kim Swee also reserved special praise for Thamil and Affize, who showed good example to their younger team-mates.
“Thamil and Affize showed very good examples. I never asked Thamil to play centreback but he came back and took up the position after Syazwan (Tajuddin) left,” said Kim Swee.
“Although we were under pressure, Affize still went up to support the attack and made it easier for us to maintain pressure on Hougang.
“It was also a good experience for first-timers like Syazwan and Izuan Salahuddin.
“They coped very well and have certainly given me more options for our next matches.”
The Harimau Muda take on 12th-placed Geylang United FC next at the Yishun Stadium on May 3.
0 comments:
Post a Comment