Asia WCQ: Singapore Allow Tajikistan To Do The Worrying

voldemort · 11-09-2007, 04:57 PM

The Serb made his statement of intent ahead of the second-round clash, where the two teams will face off after having difficulties gathering information on each other.

With a place in the third-round draw at stake, the lack of intelligence means the Lions have no choice but to go into the match blind against a side they have never faced before.

Other than the fact that the Tajiks had won the AFC Challenge Cup when it was held for the first time in 2006, Avramovic’s dossier on the central Asian country is almost empty.

While half of the 16-man squad that have come to Singapore had been involved in that campaign, only three had played in both legs of their first-round victory over Bangladesh.

The difference in personnel has made gauging the former Soviet state’s true strength a challenge, more so because of the relative backwardness of the local information network.

But the awareness that his opponents are facing exactly the same problem has given Avramovic the confidence to turn that handicap into an advantage for his side.

He has further exhorted his charges keep their attention firmly focused on themselves, as they step onto a National Stadium field specially reopened for the World Cup qualifiers.

“It has been very difficult to find out about Tajikistan, because they used different squads in their two games against Bangladesh,” he observed.

“We don’t know much about them because they have made so many changes. They have even brought three new players here who have not played in either of the earlier games.

“But I have heard that they also don’t know much about us, which means we must discover each other and learn about each other during the game. As the home team, I think we should concentrate on the way we want to play and attack the other team.

“Let them worry about adapting to how we play; our job is to find a way to score goals.”

Scoring goals is one thing the ASEAN champions are becoming good at recently, after they had registered an emphatic 4-0 win over Palestine in the first round.

That outcome in Doha was a pleasant surprise for many, more so considering how Singapore had previously faced difficulties finding the back of the net away from home.

Avramovic, however, explained that the result demonstrated the progress the players have made over time, after being hardened by experiences gained in recent years.

That, the 57-year-old argued, has made the Lions a sharper and stronger outfit – a point he then urged the team to make in front of their supporters.

“In some previous games, we were guilty of missing chances we created,” he noted.

“But in Doha, we were able to put those chances in the right place. Maybe we were lucky, but I also think this means we now have better quality in our team.

“It’s not just the new players we now have. Some of the players who have been in this team for a while have developed over time, and they have become more mature.

“The maturity these players now have means that together, they can make a better team than what they were before. The time is now right for them to show everyone how much they have improved.”

One of the players expected to show his growing maturity on the field is 22-year-old forward Khairul Amri, who defied criticisms of his selfish tendencies by creating three of the four chances converted by his teammates against Palestine.

Another player who had performed remarkably well in Doha was midfielder Shi Jiayi, who broke his senior international duck by scoring not once but twice.

Add to that the potency of leading poacher Noh Alam Shah, and the Lions have enough firepower to take the pressure off Home United star Indra Sahdan.

The 28-year-old, who was immensely unlucky not to score against Australia the last time he had played in front of the Kallang crowd, will be leading the team out in place of Aide Iskandar, who had only recently recovered from illness.

Speaking to local media in his first press conference as skipper, Indra kept the focus firmly on the collective objective as personal targets were effortlessly put aside.

“Preparations have gone on smoothly, and the players are very much looking forward to the game,” he reported.

“It is important that we get a good result as a team, and it doesn’t matter who scores the goals for us. In fact, I’m not even thinking whether I will score at all.

“I guess I had no luck against Australia, but the team comes first for me. It’s first and foremost about us getting the result together.”

source:goal.com

11-09-2007, 04:57 PM	#1 (permalink)
voldemort Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 9,158	Asia WCQ: Singapore Allow Tajikistan To Do The Worrying The Serb made his statement of intent ahead of the second-round clash, where the two teams will face off after having difficulties gathering information on each other. With a place in the third-round draw at stake, the lack of intelligence means the Lions have no choice but to go into the match blind against a side they have never faced before. Other than the fact that the Tajiks had won the AFC Challenge Cup when it was held for the first time in 2006, Avramovic’s dossier on the central Asian country is almost empty. While half of the 16-man squad that have come to Singapore had been involved in that campaign, only three had played in both legs of their first-round victory over Bangladesh. The difference in personnel has made gauging the former Soviet state’s true strength a challenge, more so because of the relative backwardness of the local information network. But the awareness that his opponents are facing exactly the same problem has given Avramovic the confidence to turn that handicap into an advantage for his side. He has further exhorted his charges keep their attention firmly focused on themselves, as they step onto a National Stadium field specially reopened for the World Cup qualifiers. “It has been very difficult to find out about Tajikistan, because they used different squads in their two games against Bangladesh,” he observed. “We don’t know much about them because they have made so many changes. They have even brought three new players here who have not played in either of the earlier games. “But I have heard that they also don’t know much about us, which means we must discover each other and learn about each other during the game. As the home team, I think we should concentrate on the way we want to play and attack the other team. “Let them worry about adapting to how we play; our job is to find a way to score goals.” Scoring goals is one thing the ASEAN champions are becoming good at recently, after they had registered an emphatic 4-0 win over Palestine in the first round. That outcome in Doha was a pleasant surprise for many, more so considering how Singapore had previously faced difficulties finding the back of the net away from home. Avramovic, however, explained that the result demonstrated the progress the players have made over time, after being hardened by experiences gained in recent years. That, the 57-year-old argued, has made the Lions a sharper and stronger outfit – a point he then urged the team to make in front of their supporters. “In some previous games, we were guilty of missing chances we created,” he noted. “But in Doha, we were able to put those chances in the right place. Maybe we were lucky, but I also think this means we now have better quality in our team. “It’s not just the new players we now have. Some of the players who have been in this team for a while have developed over time, and they have become more mature. “The maturity these players now have means that together, they can make a better team than what they were before. The time is now right for them to show everyone how much they have improved.” One of the players expected to show his growing maturity on the field is 22-year-old forward Khairul Amri, who defied criticisms of his selfish tendencies by creating three of the four chances converted by his teammates against Palestine. Another player who had performed remarkably well in Doha was midfielder Shi Jiayi, who broke his senior international duck by scoring not once but twice. Add to that the potency of leading poacher Noh Alam Shah, and the Lions have enough firepower to take the pressure off Home United star Indra Sahdan. The 28-year-old, who was immensely unlucky not to score against Australia the last time he had played in front of the Kallang crowd, will be leading the team out in place of Aide Iskandar, who had only recently recovered from illness. Speaking to local media in his first press conference as skipper, Indra kept the focus firmly on the collective objective as personal targets were effortlessly put aside. “Preparations have gone on smoothly, and the players are very much looking forward to the game,” he reported. “It is important that we get a good result as a team, and it doesn’t matter who scores the goals for us. In fact, I’m not even thinking whether I will score at all. “I guess I had no luck against Australia, but the team comes first for me. It’s first and foremost about us getting the result together.” source:goal.com

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Asia WCQ: Singapore Allow Tajikistan To Do The Worrying

Asia WCQ: Singapore Allow Tajikistan To Do The Worrying

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