Football
Kenneth Tan 8y

Warriors captain Daniel Bennett looks to end S.League season on a high

While their hopes of retaining the S.League title went up in smoke last month, veteran captain Daniel Bennett has urged his teammates to close out the season with a win over Geylang International.

Having won the coveted crown last year on the final day, the final match day this season will symbolise a different era for the S.League giants.

"We must finish the season strong," said Bennett. "We know the team will be different next year, and the club is moving forward both on and off the field. A win in our final game against Geylang will give Warriors a good platform to move towards next season."

Their opponents Geylang have also failed to fire on all cylinders in this campaign, with only six wins and seven draws to show for. As a result, the Eagles will finish the season in the bottom three of the league.

"They (Geylang) have some good players but to be honest, I had the thought even before the season started that it will be tough for them this year."

In their two league encounters this season, Warriors have yet to beat Geylang. A 3-1 loss at the Bedok Stadium in May was bettered by a 1-1 draw at Choa Chu Kang Stadium in August.

Bennett is hoping his team can get their first win against Geylang this Friday, to end a season that has seen numerous changes on and off the pitch.

Last season's young player of the year winner Nicolas Velez left the team midway into the season, to join Northeast United FC in the Indian Super League, and head coach Alex Weaver has also made way for Karim Bencherifa, who will lead the Warriors into next season.

"We have a great group of players at Warriors and it has been a really good period. Unfortunately, we lost some key players before the season began, and also during the season (like Velez) who weren't replaced." noted the ex-Singapore international.

"It has been a difficult campaign for us, so we want to at least finish with a win together as a team."

Even if they secure three points against Geylang, in what will be their 12th win of the season, Warriors will end their season in fifth spot, with 37 points, to make it one to forget for the defending champions.

Having been with the Western giants for nine years, Bennett is unsure if he will be at the club in 2016, with no contract talks getting underway as yet.

He added: "We are all in the dark about next year. But everyone wants to be at a club like Warriors. The club will be ready to challenge again next year, and we have a very good coach (Bencherifa) to lead the team."

Geylang International Probable Lineup: Yazid Yasin (GK), Anaz Hadee, Hafiz Osman, Kento Fukuda, Syed Thaha, Yuki Uchikawa, Tatsuro Inui, Hafiz Nor, Jozef Kaplan, Bruno Castanheira, Shawal Anuar

Warriors FC Probable Lineup: Daniel Ong (GK), Irwan Shah, Daniel Bennett, Marin Vidosevic, Syaqir Sulaiman, Thomas Beattie, Karlo Ivancic, Emmeric Ong, Hafiz Rahim, Miroslav Pejic, Fazrul Nawaz

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