In each of their three league-winning campaigns, Albirex Niigata have always won their first few games of the season to give themselves a good start in the title race.
They now find themselves in an unfamiliar position, however, having to play catch-up in the Singapore Premier League after losing their league opener 1-0 to Geylang International two weeks ago.
Throw in the Community Shield penalty shoot-out defeat to Home United last month, and it is almost unthinkable that the White Swans could lose three in a row if they fall to Brunei DPMM - who have two wins and two clean sheets from two games - at the Jurong East Stadium tonight.
The last time they suffered a hat-trick of defeats was in 2014, when the Brunei team beat them in both legs of the Singapore Cup before they lost to Tanjong Pagar in the League Cup.
On their part, Albirex have been pro-active to remedy their shortcomings.
General manager Koh Mui Tee said they went to Myanmar last week and played friendlies against their national Under-19s and U-22s, which they won 3-1 and drew 0-0 respectively.
He said: "We want to improve our attacking play, and general confidence ahead of the Brunei DPMM game and I feel we achieved our objectives during this trip.
"We scored against the Myanmar U-19s and managed to keep a clean sheet against their U-22s who are a fast and strong side."
Albirex coach Keiji Shigetomi was pleased to note that his attacking trio - pacey Daizo Horikoshi, and technically accomplished Hiroyoshi Kamata and Kyoga Nakamura - had a good outing in Myanmar.
Shigetomi said: "We didn't score in our first two games (this season) but we created a number of chances and that is a good thing.
"Against Geylang, we hit the post twice and had a shot cleared off the line.
"You could say we were unlucky, but we have to improve our accuracy, the delivery of the final ball, as well as decision-making.
"We continued to create against the Myanmar teams and this time Horikoshi scored once and Kamata scored twice so that is good for the confidence of the individuals and the team.
"At the other end, we conceded just once in two games against Home and Geylang, and that was from a corner.
"This means our defence actually held firm in open play and we did not give opponents many chances, so I feel our defence is quite stable overall."
While Albirex aim to get off the mark tonight, Shigetomi recognises the threat after the Brunei side's perfect start to the season.
He added: "This year, DPMM have three new imports in defence, midfield and attack (Englishman Charlie Clough, Australian Blake Ricciuto and Belarusian Andrey Varankow) who are strong, physical and dangerous during set plays.
"Their local players have been together in the team for many years, so they have good chemistry and we have to be careful of them too.
"But we are going for our first win of the season and we want to continue playing our own game, staying solid in defence and relying on good combination play to break down opponent's defence to achieve our objectives."
Almoez Ali scored with a spectacular overhead kick for a record ninth goal of the Asian Cup to set Qatar on their way to a first continental title with a stunning 3-1 win over four-times champions
Football: Ali on target as Qatar stun Japan to win first
Football: Tampines Rovers thrash Home United 5-1 to top Singapore Premier League table SINGAPORE - Two games, two wins, 10 goals scored. The 2019 Singapore Premier League may only be in its second round this week, but Tampines Rovers are proving themselves worthy contenders for their first domestic league title since 2013.
Tampines Rovers thrash Hougang United in Singapore Premier
Sergio Aguero recorded a hat-trick to fire Manchester City back into second place with a 3-1 victory against Arsenal at the Etihad. The Blues are now two points adrift of Liverpool, who travel to
LONDON (AFP) - Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey is set to seal a money-spinning move to Italian champions Juventus when his contract expires with the Gunners in the summer, according to reports on
Aaron Ramsey Set To Cash In With Juventus Move: Reports
He may still be some way off his ambition of playing in a top European league, but Ikhsan Fandi is definitely making progress, after scoring his first two goals in Norway's second-tier football
Football: 'Adulting' Ikhsan finds his footing in Norway
The Premier League's quest to find a new chief executive to replace Richard Scudamore continues. Reports yesterday claimed that LaLiga president Javier Tebas was under consideration, but LaLiga has issued a firm denial: "We are not aware of this supposed interest. That said, if a competition as
LaLiga 'unaware' of rumours that Tebas is being lined up for
Zaha sees appeal against ban for sarcastic clap at referee dismissed. The Football Association (FA Wilfried Zaha will be suspended for Crystal Palace's game against Doncaster Rovers in
FA bans Palace's Zaha for referee sarcastic clap
Lost your password? If you are stuck, please let us know.let us know.
Kahoot!
Pele to have urinary tract surgery in Brazil: hospital | The
Liverpool powered back to the top of the Premier League as Xherdan Shaqiri inspired a 3-1 win over bitter rivals Manchester United, while Arsenal's 22-match unbeaten run was shattered by a shock
Liverpool back on top as Shaqiri sinks United, Arsenal's
Get a report of the Burnley vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers 2018/2019 English Premier League football match. boost survival hopes with win over Wolves. with Wolves win (0:57) Burnley snapped a
Burnley boost survival hopes with 2-0 win over Wolves
(Reuters) - Crystal Palace all but banished any lingering relegation fears as captain Luka Milivojevic fired home a late penalty to secure a 1-0 Premier League victory at Newcastle on Saturday.
Soccer: Milivojevic penalty seals Palace win at Newcastle
0 comments:
Post a Comment