Football
Kenneth Tan 9y

Geylang's Yazid warns against playing for League Cup draw against DPMM

In a crucial Group A clash at the Jalan Besar Stadium on Thursday night, Geylang International and holders Brunei DPMM will battle it out for a spot in the semifinals of The New Paper (TNP) League Cup.

After a 4-0 win against semi-professional side Singapore Recreation Club (SRC) and a 2-2 draw against Hougang United, the Eagles currently hold top spot in the four-team group with four points. A point against DPMM will send them into the final four.

DPMM are third with three points after a 1-0 defeat to Hougang and a 5-0 thrashing of SRC. Thus, anything less than three points will thwart their aspirations of retaining the trophy they won last year.

Given the circumstances, it may be tempting for Geylang to hold out for the point which they need.

However goalkeeper Yazid Yasin is keen to remind his teammates that the task is easier said than done. The Eagles have never beaten DPMM in 11 competitive encounters, losing eight and drawing three in the process.

"A draw might be good enough for us to qualify but playing for one is dangerous," he told ESPN FC. "It may just backfire on us."

It was a disappointing result for the Eagles five days ago as they looked set to claim all three points against Hougang before Diego Gama popped up with a late brace to salvage a draw.

A defiant Yazid believes the result will not hurt his team's morale as they look to get the job done against Steve Kean's side.

"The draw was hard to take, but regardless of the result in that game, we knew that we have to get a result in this last group game to progress," said the 36-year-old. "The morale in the camp is still good and, of course, we'll be doing everything to get a result."

The obvious threat in the DPMM side is Brazilian hotshot Rafael Ramazotti, who has scored 13 out of their 22 goals in all competitions so far. Nevertheless, Yazid firmly believes DPMM are not a one-man team.

"Ramazotti is their focal point in attack, but they also have a lot of quality and speed in attack to hurt teams," emphasised the 36-year-old. "We must be aware of that and not just mark him."

With the Eagles failing to lift any silverware since their 2009 RHB Singapore Cup triumph, Yazid and the current crop of players have set sights on winning their first-ever League Cup.

"Every cup competition is a chance to win something for the club so that must be the aim," said Yazid, who won the inaugural League Cup in 2007 with Woodlands Wellington. "Of course we want to try to win it, but we're not looking beyond the game against DPMM."

Geylang International Probable Lineup: Yazid Yasin (GK), Yuki Ichikawa, Hafiz Osman, Kento Fukuda, Syed Thaha, Nor Azli Yusoff, Shah Hirul, Tatsuro Inui, Jozef Kaplan (C), Hafiz Nor, Bruno Castanheira

Brunei DPMM Probable Lineup: Wardun Yussof (GK), Aminuddin Zakwan, Brian McLean, Boris Raspudic, Sairol Sahari, Maududi Hilmi, Joe Gamble, Rosmin Kamis (C), Azwan Ali, Paulo Sergio, Rafael Ramazotti

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