Stuttering Stags Sinking Fast

Back at the end of March Tampines Rovers were flying high. They had banged 5 past title rivals Hougang and Home United in their first two games of the season, beaten Geylang in the Eastern Derby and held reigning champions Albirex to a credible draw. Add to this an unbeaten start to their AFC Cup campaign and it was no surprise that Stags fan's were looking forward to a successful season. Fast forward to today and Tampines sit 4th, 13 points off the top after failing to win any of their last 5 games and cruelly out of the AFC Cup on goal difference, despite only losing one game. The atmosphere of hope has evaporated and been replaced by a growing realisation that this might be another trophyless season. So, what's changed?

Tampines have had a tough schedule to contend with. The midweek AFC games followed by a weekend SPL game have clearly taken their toll. The pace that was evident at the start of the season has been absent recently. Despite having a lot of possession against Geylang last night they seemed sluggish and unable to break them down, a lot of their passes were sideways and there didn't seem to be any willing runners. During Tampines' impressive start to the campaign through balls and long balls into the channels were employed to stretch the opposition and get behind them (read more here), but Tampines seemed to lack the pace to get onto these type of balls last night. It was noticeable how the Geylang defenders looked quicker than the Tampines front-line, whenever Webb, Magumi or Taufik looked to have got behind the defence Geylang were able to get back and deal with it. Yuki Ichikawa showed great pace on a number of occasions to get back and get vital tackles in when a fresher forward may have been too quick. Perhaps the best exmaple of Ichikawa getting back was when he superbly dispossessed Taufik when he was clean through, a great bit of defending that was punished with an unbelievable refereeing blunder. Back at the start of the season I highlighted the experience that Tampines could call on this year (you can read the article here) and how this would help them in their push for the title. However, I now believe it may be more of a hindrance. Webb is the wrong side of 30, as is former striker Khairul and Daniel Bennett is the other side of 40. Bennett missed last night's game through injury, perhaps if he had been fit he would have been able to deal with the cross that led to the Geylang equalizer. Without the presence of their talismanic centre back, a simple cross caused chaos at the back and Shawal was on hand to poke it home. Tampines need their star players to find their fitness soon, perhaps without the extra games of the AFC Cup we will see the pace and athleticism return tho their game

Webb and Magumi were almost unplayable in the first few games of the season. The tricky wingers were getting goals and assists simply by working the channels and cutting inside. In one on one situations both wingers seemed able to easily get around full backs and when they weren't scoring they were putting in crosses for Khairul. The simple, yet effective, tactic worked at this level. However, it now seems that other teams have figured out an equally simple counter measure. It was clear last night that Geylang were going to play deep, leaving no space behind the full backs for Webb and Magumi to exploit. This tactic combined with a tendency to put at least two players on Tampines' wingers seems to have negated this weapon. The problem is that the Stags don't seem to have any plan B anymore and instead keep plugging away down the flanks. Exciting playmaker Zehrudin Mehmedovic was controlling the midfield at the start of the season and showed that he was able to pick a pass if given time. If teams start to play deep and cover wide areas it should free up space for the young Serbian to exploit but this does not seem to be the case. Against Geylang, Mehmedovic rarely showed what he is capable of, against Yangon United a few weeks ago he was anonymous and taken off at halftime(match report here). If teams have figured out how to stop Webb and Magumi then Tampines need to think of another way of breaking down defences. They need to offer more threat through the middle and I'm sorry to say that Mehmedovic needs to show a bit more than he is at the moment.

A further concern for Tampines is the loss of their experienced forward Khairul Amri who recently signed for Malaysian team FELDA United. Yes, he perhaps exemplified many of things I have already written about here, he looked like he was struggling with the intense schedule and was part of the predictable forward play but he always looked a threat and got himself into great positions to provide a target for Webb and Magumi's crosses. With his departure Tampines are left with only three forwards in Webb, Magumi and Taufik. Unless there is a change in formation, all three of these are going to have to play every game now.

Tampines may be grateful for the fact that there next game is against bottom of the table Young Lions but if any team is going to make them work for it it will be the Cubs. The Stags need to string a few results together and regain some of their lost confidence.

Thanks for reading. Let me know what you think is happening at Tampines Rovers by commenting on my twitter page @kevindunkerley