Noor readies for final showdown with Sailors

Geylang International boss Noor Ali insists his side has no fear for the free-scoring Lion City Sailors (LCS) as they visit the Singapore Premier League leaders for the last time this season at Jalan Besar Stadium on Sunday.

The Luka Lalic-led LCS are enjoying a four-match winning run where they scored 30 goals in the process, with the latest being an unorthodox 9-4 over Hougang United last Friday.

They also thumped Balestier Khalsa 4-0, Young Lions 10-1 and Tanjong Pagar 7-0 to sit three points clear of second-placed Albirex Niigata on the SPL standings with 51 points.

However, Noor remains unperturbed knowing that The Eagles are more than capable of rising to the occasion when it comes to battling The Sailors.

In fact, Geylang hold the distinction of being one of the only two SPL sides apart from Albirex to have beaten LCS this season.

Geylang stunned the reigning champions 1-0 during the season-opener in March courtesy of Vincent Bezecourt’s early strike.

Although the success could not be repeated in the next two fixtures, Geylang managed to give LCS a run for the money in their 1-0 defeat in May and held them to a 1-1 draw in July.

Noor said his side is also not short of confidence as they head to Jalan Besar Stadium on the back of a three-match unbeaten run and sitting fourth on the standings.

This includes beating Balestier Khalsa and Young Lions with an identical 3-0 scoreline in their last two fixtures.

“We’re looking forward to it. LCS are obviously in an imperious form, but Geylang’s recent records aren’t too bad either,” said Noor.

“I know that these are the games my boys yearn to play in…big match, big occasion.

“We’ll take on LCS with good confidence after our two recent wins. As underdogs, we showed in previous matches that we managed to match them, we aim to do that again.

“Anything can happen on any given day, we’re looking to upset them as we did earlier in the season.

“If we can do that, it will be a massive lift in our quest for a top-three finish.”

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