Match: Hong Kong v Singapore
Date: 11 October, Tuesday
Time: 8pm SGT/5:30pm IST/1pm BST
Venue: Mong Kok Stadium
Competition: International Friendly
TV Coverage: In Singapore, the TV coverage of the international friendly between Hong Kong and Singapore will be on Okto.
Overview
Hong Kong host Singapore in an international friendly at the Mong Kok Stadium on 11 October.
The Lions head into the match after failing to clinch a win against their arch-rivals Malaysia at the National Stadium on Friday. Despite being dominant in the tie, titled as Causeway Challenge, Singapore were not able to find the back of the net.
However, caretaker coach V Sundramoorthy said his team was "unlucky" and could have beaten the Tigers by at least a three-goal margin. Notably, skipper Hariss Harun, Fahrul Amri, and Daniel Bennett were on top of their games but failed to get into the scoresheet as the woodwork came to Malaysia's rescue on multiple ocassions.
Sundram would want to end his winless run before his team heads into the 2016 AFF Suzuki Cup in November. Despite making a winning start as Singapore's caretaker, the 51-year-old suffered three straight losses before Friday's draw against Malaysia.
The presence of veterans Daniel Bennett and Mustafic Fahruddin in the squad will give the former LionsXII coach a lot of confidence. While the Geylang International defender came up with a solid show on Firday, Sundram has hinted he would field the Tampines Rovers midfielder and striker Sahil Suhaimi on Tuesday.
Despite his players showing intent against Malaysia, Sundram knows the enormity of the task in hand when he takes his team to the Mong Kok Stadium to face the higher-ranked opponents. He maintained that his side is versatile enough to face different kind of oppositions.
"We're playing a Hong Kong team that are bigger and stronger than Malaysia and our tactical approach to these opponents must be different. They are bigger boys who are more physical, and they put more balls into the box," Sundram was quoted as saying by The New Paper.
"We must be able to vary our style of play. It's important that we are able to play different types of opponents before the start of the Suzuki Cup."
On the other hand, Hong Kong come into Tuesday's clash on the back of an impressive 2-0 win against Cambodia, against whom Singapore lost in July, on 6 October. Notably, Kim Pan-gon's side have not lost a game in their last four outings at home.
The presence of naturalised players, who are from countries like Brazil and England, in the Hong Kong team will give them the edge over the Lions. England-born forward Jaimes Mckee will be crucial to the hosts' chances as he has been in good goal-scoring form recently. His combination with Sandro and Paulinho up front is likely to cause headaches to the Singapore backline.
Singapore coach had insisted Hong Kong are an ideal opposition to face in their preparation for the Suzuki Cup. The visitors though need to be solid at the back and persist with the attacking intent they displayed on Friday if they are to stand a chance against the home side at the Mong Kok.
TV Schedule
Singapore: Okto HD
Hong Kong: Now Sports 3
Team News
Hong Kong
Possible XI: Hung Fai Yapp; Alexander Akande, Chi Ho Lee, Baise Festus, Jack Sealy; Yang Huang, Roberto Orlando Affonso Junior, Andy Russell; James Mckee, Sandro, Paulinho
Singapore
Possible XI: Hassan Sunny; Hafiz Abu Sujad, Daniel Bennett, Baihakki Khaizan, Juma'at Jantan; Gabriel Quak, Hariss Harun, Mustafic Fahrudin, Anumanthan Kumar, Faris Ramli; Sahil Suhaimi
