03 October 2015

MANSON: TIE IS NOT OVER YET

Written by: Nigel Chin
Global FC coach Leigh Manson is confident his side will be able to overturn the tie in the second-leg of the RHB Singapore Cup semi-finals.
The Filipinos currently trail Albirex Niigata (S) by a goal on aggregate after losing the first leg 1-0 on Friday evening at the Clementi Stadium.
Rion Taki scored the only goal of the game in the second half, and despite their valiant efforts, Global could not force an equaliser.
They will have all to do in the second-leg as a result, but Manson is optimistic that they can turn it around, like they did in the previous round.
“It’s obviously a disappointment,” Manson said. “Nobody likes to lose the first-leg, but we showed in the previous rounds we can come from behind so I’m confident we can certainly make the second-leg interesting.
“I’m confident we can come back. It’s a shame the game was done with a mistake - it was our mistake that led to the goal.
“I thought we had a great chance; Mark (Hartmann) was only a studs length away from making it 1-1. The game was close - a draw would have been a fairer result for our play.”
However, Global will have to do it without sufficient players as they have released several players after their domestic league ended six weeks ago.
As a result, Manson named just three substitutes on the bench.
“That’s just a difficult we have to face because our season is over and some of the players have been released,” Manson explained.
“I’m left with a squad that’s thin, but that’s no excuse. We are hoping maybe the will let us add one or two players for the next leg, but if not we will make do with whatever there is.
“That’s just how it is with our season different from the S.League season.
“I don’t like making excuses; we’ve got good players and a good team. In the second leg we will be stronger.”
On the other hand, Albirex coach Tatsuyuki Okuyama felt his team were not at their best because of a lack of preparation, which he attributed to the haze.
“I think we didn’t get many chances today, but because of this weather, we didn’t have enough time to train so it’s a disappointment for us, but we did a good job today,” Okuyama said.
However, Okuyama shared that he is confident his side can advance into the final, and believes his team is fully capable of winning the competition.
“Of course we are playing a competition which we think we can win, and we will do our best to win our trophy,” Okuyama added.

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