Singaporean side Balestier Khalsa will be hosting Johor DT in what could potentially turn out to be an exciting affair at the Jalan Besar Stadium on Tuesday night.
The Southern Tigers got their AFC Cup campaign off to an explosive start after clinching a 4-1 victory over East Bengal in their opening game two weeks ago. In fact, their performance in that game was largely admirable because they did so without depending on their foreign players, with the exception of Hariss Harun, who has been a constant fixture in their midfield this year.
They will certainly be looking to extend that run against Balestier and similarly, they will have to do it without Luciano Figueroa and Jorge Pereyra Diaz, both of whom did not travel with the squad to Singapore, due to injuries. But that being said, Bojan remains optimistic of securing a win, claiming that their short-term goal for now, is to qualify out of the group.
“Our first ambition is to win tomorrow’s game, then the second is to get past the group stage, and the third is to go further than any Malaysian side and reach the semi-finals,” Bojan told reporters.
“For us to cope with this, we need to have a big squad and rotate players regularly, where those from the bench have to be ready to come out to play when needed.
“Balestier are a hardworking and well-organised side. We know each other well, but the ones who decide the game are the players out there on the pitch.”
Meanwhile, the Singaporean side had a disastrous start to their campaign, losing 3-0 to Hong Kong’s Kitchee FC. They aren’t exactly the most dangerous side from across the causeway; in fact they finished 6th in the S.League last year. Balestier secured qualification into the AFC Cup, by winning the Singapore Cup; though Johor DT should certainly not be undermining them ahead of this match.
Besides having the experienced Paul Cunningham at the heart of their defence, Balestier are also spearheaded by two South Korean forwards, who can cause Johor DT trouble on Tuesday night. Head coach Mark Kraljevic though, believes they have another significant advantage as well.
“Playing on the artificial pitch could be advantageous for us because our players played last year on this pitch for at least 10 games,” he told reporters. “I believe we can win at home and will play my three foreign players. With the field in our favour, we can get a result tomorrow,” he added.
Either way, the home side will go into this match as underdogs, if we were to compare the quality available on paper. But based on sheer form, Balestier will be encouraged by the fact that Johor DT haven’t exactly been at their riveting best in the Super League. They have been efficient in regional games though; precisely why this game will be interesting to watch.
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