Football
Gabriel Tan 9y

Young Lions' Farhan won't give Tampines second S.League chance

Courts Young Lions' defender Farhan Rahmat is keen to end Tampines Rovers' Great Eastern Yeo's S.League title chances when the two teams clash on Sunday night at the Jalan Besar Stadium, in a bid to repay the faith shown in him by coach Juergen Raab.

The Singapore U23 side suffered an unfortunate 2-1 defeat to Brunei DPMM at Jalan Besar Stadium on Tuesday night. A late goal by Rosmin Kamis broke the hearts of the brave Young Lions, who matched their more illustrious opponents for much of the game.

Despite that loss, Farhan has urged his teammates to focus on V. Sundramoorthy's team, whom they beat 1-0 last week, with M. Anumanthan netting the winner.

"That last gasp loss was hard to swallow," said Farhan. "But we have to put that defeat aside because Tampines is up next.

"We've done it against them last week and if we play collectively as a team and hold our game plan, I don't see why we cannot get the three points again."

Tampines themselves will be looking at this fixture as a golden opportunity to keep their slim title hopes alive. Their midweek game against Home United was called off due to the hazy conditions, with the Protectors leading 2-1.

A defeat in that match would have ended their hopes of securing a sixth S.League title, and the Stags cannot afford another poor outing against their younger opponents.

"Tampines have a lot of quality all around the pitch." noted Farhan. "[Rodrigo] Tosi and [Mateo] Roskam] will be the biggest threat to our defenders like how they did to the other defenders in the league all season.

"Another player who can hurt is [Roberto] Alviz, who loves to orchestrate the game from the middle, and our midfielders must work out something to stop his influence on the game."

With Sundram going all out for the win, Young Lions' new-found enthusiasm, under the guidance of Raab, means that they will be no pushovers. They've climbed off the foot of the table since the Southeast Asian Games break, with five wins and three draws.

"We are very happy that coach [Juergen] has extended his contract with us," Farhan said. "He has groomed us into a better team in a very short period of time, and for him to stay longer with us means we can all improve and continue to learn from him."

Farhan credited his coach for their change in attitude.

"As players, we can only repay his truth and faith by performing well on the pitch, and it will be no exception when we take on a more experienced Tampines side who are chasing the title."

Tampines will need to channel their experience to finish the season strongly, especially with their two games in hand. Sitting 11 points adrift of pacesetters Brunei DPMM, a win against Young Lions on the Jalan Besar turf will keep open their hopes of making a late charge for the title. Courts

Young Lions Probable Lineup: Syazwan Buhari, Fadli Kamis, Faris Azienuddin, Amirul Adli, Farhan Rahmat, M. Anumanthan, Afiq Noor, Adam Swandi, Shahfiq Ghani, Nur Na'iim Ishak, Daniel Razali

Tampines Rovers Probable Lineup: Rodrigo Pacheco, Ismadi Mukhtar, Predrag Pocuca, Jufri Taha, Shaiful Esah, Firdaus Idros, Fabian Kwok, Naeem Rahimi, Zulfadli Zainal, Mateo Roskam, Rodrigo Tosi

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