Tampines Rovers FC captain Syazwan Buhari wants his team mates to build on the new-found confidence within Singaporean football when his side take on Thailand’s BG Pathum United FC in Group A of the ASEAN Club Championship Shopee Cup™ on Wednesday.
The teams face off at Jalan Besar Stadium with the Singapore Premier League outfit looking to bounce back from their Matchday 2 loss against Selangor FC having opened their campaign with a 3-1 win over DH Cebu FC.
The game comes a little over two weeks after Singapore defeated Hong Kong to qualify for the AFC Asian Cup finals for the first time and Syazwan believes that success has given the sport in the island a much-needed boost.
“There is much more belief now,” the goalkeeper said. “Even though this is our first time in this competition, the group is still open. We believe we can achieve something special, but it’s important that we don’t become complacent.”
Tampines Rovers are currently third in the standings with three points, one point adrift of leaders Selangor and second-placed BG Pathum as the group phase approaches the halfway point.
“To be in this kind of competition again is a privilege,” said Syazwan. “Having many important matches is something we are happy about. We are motivated by the level of competition, and we look forward to every game we get to play.
“Based on previous matches, we expect (BG Pathum) to push hard to change the head-to-head result. With the quality they have, we are expecting a very tough and busy match.”
The game will be BG Pathum’s first in the Shopee Cup™ under recently installed head coach Masatada Ishii, who was appointed by the club at the end of October.
The Japanese tactician, who was previously in charge of the Thailand national team, is confident his side will go into the game with several key issues addressed despite a busy schedule.
“It has been a challenging month with many matches and little preparation time,” said the former Kashima Antlers coach. “But defensively, the improvement has been significant since the first game. Now we are working to further improve our attacking play.
“(Tampines Rovers) are a strong team and currently in very good form. We never underestimate them. We forget past results, focus on tomorrow, and trust that our effort will be rewarded.”
Tampines Rovers beat BG Pathum United 2-1 in the AFC Cup group stage in October, with Trent Buhagiar and Hide Higashikawa scoring for the Singapore club and Chanathip Songkrasin replying for the Thai team. They also had the upper-hand by winning their semi-finals clash at the Singapore Cup 4-3 on aggregate earlier this year. Higashikawa has already scored twice for Tampines Rovers in the Shopee Cup™ this season.
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