October 18, 2004
Both will
square off against Syrian opposition in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup
semi-finals, with both teams now in the Syrian capital for their respective
tricky first-leg clashes.
Teams from the 2 countries have
previously never met in Asia’s continental club competitions but the clash at
the Al Abbassiyyin Stadium in
First Syrian
league champions Al Wahda will take on Geylang United in the first semi-final while Syrian
cup winners Al Jaish take on 2003 S-League double
winners Home United in the second two-leg semi-final.
Still
Singapore history has already been made as no Singaporean team have ever made
it to the semi-finals of any Asian club competition but a good result
from both teams will surely boost the hopes of an all-Singapore AFC Cup final,
which will guarantee the Republic its first silverware in a regional club
competition.
Problems though are on the arisen with
Eagles Australian coach Scott O'Donell lamenting the
lack of time he had to prepare his charges.
The Australian said 5 national players
on duty with the national team for the last 12 days preparing for the
Nevertheless O’Donell
is glad all 5 of his national players were back from national duty in 1 piece
for with midfield anchorman O'Sullivan out of this match, O'Donell
is looking to the talented Syed Fadhil
to add some bite in the middle. Upfront he will depend on the new found attack
of veteran skipper Alexander Duric & 19-year-old Fazrul Nawaz to get a crucial
away goal.
For the other semi-final, it
represents a clash of contrasting styles as the AFC Cup’s best attack meets the
tournament’s strongest defence.
Protectors have bludgeoned their
opponents thus far, netting 24 goals in just eight games with Brazilian-born
striker Egmar Goncalves the
competition’s leading scorer with 8 goals while
Singapore international Indra Sahdan
just a goal behind with 7. Syrian military side Al Jaish
have managed only 11 but have yet to concede a goal in 6 games. They also have
a formidable home record, winning all 3 AFC Cup matches that they have played
in
The AFC Cup represents Home United’s last hope for silverware this season after
finishing second to Tampines Rovers in both the
S-League and Singapore Cup but Darby is unwilling to take a cautious approach
for their match-up with the reigning Syrian cup champions.
Coach Steve Darby does not intend to
curb his side’s attacking instincts for their vital AFC Cup semi-final clash
with Al Jaish
The Englishman said we have attacked
all the way to success so far in the AFC Cup so there is no need to change the
strategy. They are stronger & more physical team but we are probably the
quicker so we hope to use our pace to good effect against them. It has been a
long, long season for us but we badly want to win this competition after
missing out on both the league and cup in