Eagles aim to stun the Sailors again

Geylang International will look to continue their resurgence and make a push for the top four positions when they host AIA Singapore Premier League leaders Lion City Sailors (LCS) at Our Tampines Hub (OTH) on Saturday.

Although they face a resolute test against the sailors, the Eagles are brimming with confidence following an impressive 2-0 away victory over Young Lions last Friday, their third on the trot since ending a frustrating 11-match winless streak.

Geylang International’s good spell, which saw them keep three clean sheets in as many games, also included a 1-0 win against Tanjong Pagar and 2-0 at Balestier Khalsa.

The Eagles now sit sixth in the league table with 16 points from 15 games, just four points behind fourth-placed Hougang United.

A win on Sunday will take Geylang closer to the top four, but the reigning league champions are expected to come hard on the home side as they will want to build on their current seven-point advantage over second-placed Albirex Niigata.

Geylang International will, however, fancy their chances, having been the few teams able to give the Sailors a run for their money based on the past two fixtures.

The Eagles hold the distinction of being one of the only two teams to have defeated LCS besides Albirex with their stunning 1-0 win at OTH on the opening day of SPL in March. 

When the two sides met again at Jalan Besar Stadium in May, Geylang narrowly lost 1-0.

With the morale in the dressing room at an all-time high, skipper Zaiful Nizam has called on his teammates to ride on it to keep their fine momentum going and work their way up on the standings.

“It’s been tough the last few months, but we managed to stick together as a team to ride out the storm. But none of us should let our guard down yet because we have to work even hard to ensure we don’t fall into a slump again,” said Zaiful.

“We collected nine possible points out of the last three fixtures and we have to try to make it 12, 15 and so on because a team like Geylang must not settle for anything less.

“I feel our performances can only get better and better now, and we shall carry that on into our battle with LCS. We beat them the last time they visited OTH, I have no doubt that we have what it takes to pull that off again.

“We might still lie in the bottom three, but if you take a closer look at the table, we are actually aren’t too far behind from the top-half position. If we keep the three points coming, we will be going higher.”