LEAGUE CUP AWAITS NEW WINNER

A NEW winner will lift the League Cup at the end of 90 minutes – maybe longer – this Friday evening, when Brunei DPMM FC and longtime kingpins SAFFC march out of the tunnel at Jalan Besar Stadium to contest the final.For the two teams, though, the reasons to win the match could not be more different.In the blue corner, SAFFC are eyeing the missing piece in their collection of domestic trophies over the years, which includes seven S.League titles, four Prime League championships, three Singapore Cups and three FA Cups.Over in the red corner, glory beckons for DPMM as they stand a single match away from completing the first leg of an unprecedented treble in just their first year in the S.League.Having stunned many observers by muscling their way into the upper tiers of the S.League table, the Wasps have carried their momentum into the League Cup, winning every single match en route to the final.That string of results has translated into a noticeable swell in numbers among the sultanate club’s fans in Singapore, with many regular faces from other fan clubs openly switching allegiances to cheer for the newcomers.DPMM’s players may have few complaints about their recently-upsized bandwagon, even if the chants coming from the stands on Friday night may sound nothing like what they are used to hearing back in Bandar Seri Begawan.They will have to shut out the noise for as long as the match would last, though, as they strive to summon one last effort to win their first piece of silverware since 2004, when they had swept the domestic treble of Premier League, FA Cup and Super Cup in Brunei.Considering the fact that they are facing the most successful club in S.League history, most people associated with the Wasps would agree with the neutrals on the enormity of the challenge.There is one man who sees it differently, however; recent comments from Vjeran Simunic reveal that as far as he is concerned, the organizers might as well pack the trophy and ship it directly to his office in Brunei.“We are the best team in Singapore now,” said the Croatian in a television interview after DPMM had narrowly defeated Woodlands Wellington 2-1 in the first semifinal on Monday.“We are already champions because we have beaten SAF twice this season,” he then told the Brunei Times, who duly published the quote the following day – even before the Warriors had played and overcome Home United 2-0 in the other semifinal.Full marks to Simunic for correctly predicting which side DPMM would meet in the final, but the suggestion that the Wasps would easily maintain their recent hot streak against SAFFC would appear to be at once arrogant and presumptuous.Had the 53-year-old been hoping to cow Richard Bok and the players into submission, however, he can only be disappointed by his opponent’s response.“Is the trophy already theirs? We have to check before the game on Friday!” said Bok with a bemused chuckle in an exclusive interview with sleague.com.“This game will be tough, I know their team, but for me, we want to just focus on our own game. As long as we put in good effort, play simple football and take our chances, we can still do well in this game.“The main thing is that we have to actually take those chances, because we have been creating them throughout the competition, even against DPMM in the group phase. It’s important that we score goals and work hard not to concede any.“But there is a game to be played. If the DPMM coach thinks the game is over already and they’re sure to win, well, we’ll see about that.”Bok has reason to be optimistic about his team’s chances, given the way the fixture schedule has worked out so far.Having started the tournament later than most other sides due to their status as a seeded team, the Warriors will be playing their fifth match in little over a fortnight.Exhausting as that may seem to be, the reality is that this is hardly anything new for the Warriors, who have been accustomed to packed schedules complete with long-distance flights due to their involvement in continental competitions in the last three years.In contrast, the compacted nature of the League Cup calendar is a new experience for the Bruneians, and Bok considered this a potential advantage to his side.“The packed schedule is good training for us, actually!” quipped the Warriors coach.“Once our league campaign resumes with the Young Lions game next Saturday, we will have four games in eleven days. For some reason, that sounds familiar!“I think we have been so used to this fatigue, the players have already got through the psychological barrier. With some rest and recovery over these two days, I think the players will be alright as they break through the fatigue barrier.“This is one thing we have seen that DPMM has not. As long as our players deal with the fatigue barrier well, we can show that we have adjusted better to it with our experience.”DPMM have two other problems they have to contend with – the absences of skipper Sallehuddin Damit and star striker Abdel Hamid Berguiga through suspension.Much as Simunic has tried to brush off the issue, not having the duo around will cause much concern among the players as they take to the field.Sallehuddin’s ability to command and rally his fellow Bruneians has been key to their uncompromising performances in the backline, as is the wealth of experience he brings as he approaches the final years of his lengthy career.His importance at the back is matched only by Rene Komar, who has been a hit with the Wasps ever since he was brought to DPMM by ex-coach Ranko Buketa in 2005.With Sallehuddin out, Komar will be required to do double duty at the back as he attempts to shield goalkeeper Wardun Yussof, who has yet to convince despite playing every single minute of DPMM’s campaign in Singapore so far.Wardun will need to raise his game to shut out the resurgent attacking line of Aleksandar Duric, Park Tae Won, John Wilkinson and Ahmad Latiff Khamarudin, who appear to have learnt to cope without the rapidly-recovering Therdsak Chaiman in the past month.At the other end, Simunic can expect more headaches over whom to pick as stand-in for Berguiga, with neither option looking particularly suited to his palate.Between Abu Bakar Mahari – whom the DPMM coach has regularly lauded but never started – and Oh Ddog Yi – in whom he appears to place little trust after openly sidelining him in recent weeks – the decision appears fraught in a net of personal issues.The key to victory for the Bruneians could well lie in Croatian midfielder Ivan Jerkovic, who leads the goal charts in this competition going into the final with four to his name.Remarkably, three of those four goals came from dead ball situations, including a penalty against Geylang United in the quarterfinals.In that light, SAFFC will need Masahiro Fukasawa to deliver a top-drawer performance in his holding midfield role to keep the former Pelita Jaya man under the leash, even as the rest of the midfield push on for attacking opportunities.The Jerkovic-Fukasawa duel will in all likelihood be the central battle that decides the outcome of this match – but as Bok stressed, nothing is a done deal until the final whistle.May the
best game win.

Courtesy by;
Tam Cheong Yan
info@sleague.com