Submitted by: Vesuvius | 29th Oct 2024
There is an unspoken rule in life — don't provoke the hornet's nest.... or something like that. Awhile back I mentioned to close friends that Albirex will find themselves in the foot of the SPL standings come the end of the season. How wrong was I?
In that time, Hougang has faltered as per the usual mid season slump and Albirex has since then acquired the services of Ryhan Stewart and has won three games on the trot to put them within a fighting chance of the fourth spot. After looking at some of their recent matches I'm beginning to see some good stuff that separates them from us. Considering we have a beefier bench and more players who've played together longer, it just brings to light how we are underachieving our potential as a club.
Bear with me in this short article on the upcoming game against the defending champions of the SPL. Let's delve into the reasons I think why.
The focus on defence — difference between us and them
Albirex's strength this season comes from their focus on defense. I know their results don't show much in the way of clean sheets but they do track back to defend ALWAYS. Their forward line works really hard to dig deep, track back, defend, and get forward when the opportunity arises. It's a shame that this time, they don't have enough quality to keep clean sheets, but amongst the bottom half of the SPL + Balestier, they are a solid defensive unit all around from the forwards to defence. Forward players like Haziq, Hoshino, Junki helps out alot in defence.
Contrast that to Hougang, we don't have that much defensive work amongst our forwards — or at least not to the same intensity as our Albirex counterparts. Not sure whether it is a part of our game plan or coach's instructions, but if all of our team don't pull together with the defending then we're not going to convert draws into wins. I understand that forwards need to preserve their energy for attacking, but if we're down and getting harassed then we need our forwards to force mistakes from the opponents. This also serve to stop their transitions immediately. Pedro Bortoluzo and Gabriel Fortunato did this quite abit in their time here. In our recent match against the Sailors, after Petar was introduced in the 2nd half, we had more players not even attempting to defend when countless counters went against us.
Once again, if we want to convert draws into wins, then the focus on defending has to come from everyone. Owe it to yourselves to work hard and get a good contract here or overseas. A high flying team always gets more offers. At Albirex, they've managed to scrape wins from draws or victory from the jaws of defeat by doing so. They remind me of the old Hougang: defend deep and break for the counters!
The focus on counter-attacks
There was a time previously where we used alot of high-octane counter attack to get the jump on our opponents. During those days, we managed to propel ourselves to the top half of the table frequently. This is also credited to our opponents going all out attacking against us.
Alas, good things come to an end ,when, after a few seasons, opponents wised-up to the counter attacking threat of Hougang and decided to sit back instead. We had trouble breaking down those said teams. And so we switched our play to something of a hybrid — able to create chances of our own as well as be able to counter attack.
So just like us previously, Albirex has now turn themselves into a counter-attacking team.
Because they know teams will be daring enough to attack them. One other team who knows everyone else will be eager to attack them is...
The Lion City Sailors. Hence it's not surprising they also rely on counter attacks... sometimes way too much especially considering they have the quality to take the game by the scruff of the neck.
Right so, Albirex... where were we?...ah
Albirex has looked very lively and alert to counter attacking opportunities with an out ball to Shingo Nakano. Nakano even has more goals than Racic!
Another person Albirex is looking to spray the passes to would be Ryhan Stewart. He's been in mercurial form for the white swans by creating havoc on his runs forward whether on the flanks or when he cuts back inside in and around the penalty box.
If we can contain these two and their linkman Shuhei Hoshino, then we can severely limit Albirex. Remember it takes a whole team to neutralize a good counter attacking team.
The focus on work ethics
The work ethics of Albirex remains a strong core of how they operate. Funnily enough, it is also the motto of our team. When Hougang is mentioned, it's also in the same breath with the "Hougang semangat". Thus, we should be able to go toe to toe with Albirex in this encounter if we show our semangat.
Come on you Hougang boys! Let's continue this #revengetour 🐆 (Oh btw, we love the new videos and designs from Hougang's social media!)
Albirex Niigata(S) vs Hougang Quick Report:
- 4-3-3 formation preferred (or other variations of a three-man midfield especially when up against another team that does this).
- Dangermen: Shingo Nakano, Ryhan Stewart
-Help! Arya Igami has been reported missing!
-Imperative to get the first goal so as to get out of their low block.
-It is a battle of one flank where Ryhan and Haziq will come up against Jordan and Stjepan. If Stjepan helps in defending his flank then we will come out on top in this "flanky" encounter.
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Who will win the "Battle of the flanks"?
0%Stjepan & Jordan
0%Haziq & Ryhan (Albirex's right flank)
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