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."
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has confirmed Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is ahead of schedule in his recovery from a serious knee injury and could return to training as early as February.
Football: Oxlade-Chamberlain could return to training in
allmysportsnews.com/soccer/football-oxlade-chamberlain-could-return-to-training-in-february-says-klopp/
Football: Oxlade-Chamberlain could return to training in February, says Klopp Posted on 12/28/2018 LIVERPOOL, England (REUTERS) - Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp has confirmed Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is ahead of schedule in his recovery from a serious knee injury and could return to training as early as February.
Football: Oxlade-Chamberlain could return to training in
SINGAPORE - Ikhsan Fandi's rich vein of scoring form continues as the Singapore striker found the net in his third consecutive match for second-tier Norwegian club Raufoss IL in just 11 days..
Ikhsan Fandi scores first competitive goal for Norwegian club
Football: Wayne Rooney bags first MLS hat-trick in D.C. romp
PARIS • Paris Saint-Germain may have clinched their long-expected sixth Ligue 1 title in the past seven seasons, but that triumph cannot mask the French club's shortcomings on the European stage where results have failed to match their huge investments.
Title cannot soothe PSG's pain in Europe - theworldnews.net
Socceroos bounce back to knock Palestine out. Apostolos Giannou (right) rising to nod in Australia's third goal in the Socceroos' 3-0 Asian Cup Group B win over Palestine yesterday.
Socceroos bounce back at the Asian Cup with Palestine win
Search for missing Cardiff City's Emiliano Sala resumes in
To own a pet wolf, start by researching your local laws to make sure it's legal to own one where you live. Then, talk to an expert or volunteer at a wolf center before you buy one so that you know what to expect when trying to raise a wolf as a pet.
Wolf Ecology and Behavior - Western Wildlife Outreach
westernwildlife.org/gray-wolf-outreach-project/biology-behavior-4/
Wolf pups are weaned at about 8 weeks of age once they have begun eating semi-solid food, regurgitated by the mother or others members of the pack. As pups begin eating more solids, they are moved to one or more "rendezvous sites," where they spend the remainder of the summer learning proper pack behavior and etiquette.
Wolf - Official Minecraft Wiki
Reds get back fear factor, says Van Dijk AFP. The Anfield side fell behind domestic and European rivals but Tuesday's remarkable 4-3 aggregate win over Barcelona secured back-to-back Champions
Liverpool news: Virgil van Dijk warns Reds of Huddersfield
Pep Guardiola Stays Cool Despite Shock Man City Defeat Ilkay Gundogan opened the scoring for the home side at the Etihad but Palace hit back with goals from Jeffrey Schlupp and Andros Townsend followed by a Luka Milivojevic penalty.
Guardiola stays cool despite shock Man City defeat - Punch
Valencia stroll into last four with 2-0 Villarreal win. Valencia eased into the semifinals of the Europa League for the first time in five years with a comfortable 2-0 win at home Villarreal.
Valencia stroll into Europa semis with Villarreal win - CNA
It's off to all the races as Harrah's offers full-card Philadelphia simulcasting of both thoroughbred and standardbred signals, seven days a week. Harrah's Philadelphia Racetrack and Casino also provides a state-of-the-art indoor wagering area with plenty of seating and simulcast video options.
Russell Westbrook is with the Oklahoma City Thunder for the long haul. The next 16 games could determine what kind of help he has beyond this season. The clock is ticking on this Thunder core
Clock Ticking on MTA Overtime Glut as Union Sours on Cuomo
0 comments:
Post a Comment