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發表於 2014-2-3 15:36:09
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Salim proud of brave Tampines despite end of ACL dream
Tampines Rovers coach Salim Moin was proud of his side’s display despite seeing their AFC Champions League dream come to an end with a 2-1 loss to South China on Sunday.
The visitors took the lead in the 20th minute at Jalan Besar Stadium thanks to Andrew Barisic’s close-range strike, but Miljan Mrdakovic turned home Shaiful Esah’s cross four minutes after the hour mark to equalise and force extra-time.
However, Barisic netted again in the 103rd minute to win the first round qualifier for South China and condemn the Stags, who ended the game with nine men after Imran Sahib and Mrdakovic were sent off, to defeat in their first competitive match of 2014.
But despite seeing his side’s dream of playing in the Champions League group stage come to an end, Salim was full of pride at the final whistle for the effort his charges put in.
“I’m very proud of my team,” he said. “Despite the two red cards, we showed great fighting spirit and this is one thing I really like about the players.
“As I mentioned before the game, South China have already begun their campaign but we are still in pre-season.
“I think for us to have put up such a good fight against South China shows what an excellent performance it was.
“As you can see, we created more chances than South China in the first half. A few of our shots were only just saved off the line.
“Both teams created chances as the play in the first half was quite careless, but I think our team certainly were in the running when it was 11 vs 11 in the first 45 minutes.
“I thought all the new signings were fantastic.”
The Stags were left wondering what might have been had it been an even contest for 120 minutes; Imran saw red shortly after the half-hour mark after picking up a second yellow for a high challenge, before Miljan followed him in the 103rd minute following a second booking for dissent.
However, Salim has leapt to the defence of his players and believe it was more of their determination to win, rather than malice, that saw Tampines reduced to nine men.
“Things like these happen in the game and I don’t want to comment too much on the red cards,” he added. “What I want to say is that, considering the two red cards, the performance was excellent.
“In a game, it happens in the spur of the moment. Players can get overzealous but I should say my players know how to control themselves.”
Yet, it might have been a heavier defeat had it not been for the heroics of goalkeeper Hyrulnizam Juma’at, who produced a series of outstanding saves to keep the Stags alive until the very end.
Although the 27-year-old was disappointed his side were not able to advance, he believes the future looks promising if they continue to work as hard as they have.
“We fought very hard as a unit and I think we deserved to go through,” Hyrulnizam said.
“This is our home ground and we’ve been together for two months now training hard for this game.
“It certainly showed on the pitch; the effort we’ve put in was clear in our performance tonight.
“Although this has now ended, I hope we can continue working hard for the next game and the coming season.”
Another player to impress was Luis Closa, who was introduced ten minutes after the break and immediately made an impact by playing a part in the build-up to Miljan’s equaliser, before catching the eye with his playmaking ability.
But when questioned if it might have been better for Tampines to have started with the Paraguayan, Salim insisted it was part of his plan to keep him in reserve.
“At certain times you have to keep your trump card for the right moment,” the ex-Singapore international explained.
“You can see when I introduced Closa, it changed the game and he was providing a lot of passes.
“Whenever he made a pass, it led to a bit of dangerous play for the opponents. Sometimes it is a tactical decision to hold him back.”
Tampines begin their domestic campaign in the Charity Shield clash against Home United on February 21, which will also double up as the first game of the Great Eastern-YEO’s S.League season with three points at stake.
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樓主: JIMMYBOY
在線雷達
發表於 2014-2-4 12:20:28
