Football
Teng Kiat 9y

S.League: Hafiz enjoying new Geylang partnership with Fukuda

When Geylang International troop out at Bedok Stadium to take on Brunei DPMM in the Great Eastern Yeo's S.League on Thursday night, Hafiz Osman knows his side will be facing one of the most potent attacks so far this season.

Steve Kean's charges have racked up nine goals in four games, with only Home United (10 goals in six games) having scored more. The Wasps have only failed to win on one occasion, setting a blistering pace as one of the title contenders.

Much of the goal-scoring threat will come from strike duo Rafael Ramazotti and Paulo Sergio, who account for eight of DPMM's goals. The former banged in six in his first three matches, while the latter bagged a brace on his debut last week against Hougang United.

However, Hafiz told ESPN FC ahead of the clash that the Eagles should not be fixated on any particular player, and instead focus on their own performances.

"If we are doing all the right things, following the game-plan and helping and encouraging one another, we should be able to handle DPMM," he pointed out. "We, as a team, have to keep believing that we are good enough to compete against the other teams above us."

The 31-year-old, who has been ever-present and has missed only 45 minutes of action so far, is relishing his new-found partnership with Japanese Kento Fukuda in the heart of the Eagles' defence.

"He's as good as Kenji Arai," Hafiz said of Fukuda, referring to the former defender he played with during his time at Singapore Armed Forces FC (now Warriors FC).

"Partnering with Kento has been brilliant [so far]; I feel confident and at ease playing alongside him, and I am enjoying it."

In contrast to DPMM's form, the Eagles have registered only one win in five games and lost 1-0 to Albirex Niigata last week after beating Tampines Rovers five days prior.

But Hafiz believes the victory over the Stags demonstrated their potential and revealed that team morale remains high.

"Against Albirex, we were poor and did not play to our strengths and potential, but we did [do] much better in the second half when we searched for the equaliser," he said.

"We are confident we will put in a much better performance than in the last game. It's our home ground and we are not going to let DPMM take anything away from us."

Hafiz is also grateful to have been handed the opportunity to continue his playing career at Geylang under coach Jorg Steinnebrunner.

He spent the last three campaigns with Tanjong Pagar United and captained them, but the club have sat out the current 2015 season due to financial difficulties.

"I've to be grateful towards Jorg, [assistant coach] Owen Monaghan and [goalkeeper coach] Scott Starr for believing in me," he asserted.

"It has been a breath of fresh air [so far] and I am happy to work with everyone here. It's very encouraging and motivating.

"To be honest, I'm not satisfied yet with my overall performance at the moment. I know and that I can be much better and I will be soon; hopefully against DPMM, I'll be at my best again."

Geylang International Probable Lineup: Yazid Yasin, Anaz Hadee, Kento Fukuda, Hafiz Osman, Yuki Ichikawa, Hafiz Nor, Mustaqim Manzur, Shah Hirul, Tatsuro Inui, Jozef Kaplan (C), Bruno Castanheira.

Brunei DPMM Probable Lineup: Wardun Yussof, Joseph Gamble, Boris Raspudic, Brian McLean, Sairol Sahari (C), Hendra Azam, Aminuddin Zakwan, Azwan Saleh, Azwan Ali, Paulo Sergio, Rafael Ramazotti.

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