Tampines' Triple Threat

Last week was my first time watching Tampines Rovers live since the departure of Khairul Amri. I was expecting to see a side lacking in confidence missing the cutting edge that had characterised the Stags at the start of the season, the side I wrote about last month . Four goals later and I was proved wrong, Tampines Rovers are still in the hunt for this year's Singapore Premier League title. All 4 goals last week came from the Stags' 3 foreign imports, Canadian Jordan Webb, Japanese winger Ryutaro Megumi and the young Serbian attacking midfielder, Zehrudin Mehmedovic. These three players will be instrumental to the Stags' title push this season and are worth a closer look.

Memmedovic defending a corner.

The first goal of the game was scored after 15 minutes by Zehrudin Mehmedovic who found himself unmarked in the area and thumped a header in off the bar. Mehmedovic was signed along with compatriot Mirza Delimedjac, who is the more defensively minded of the two, at the start of the season and has already proved to be a vital player for Tampines. Mehmedovic has contributed six goals in the SPL this season as well as scoring twice in Tampines' AFC cup campaign. His creativity and vision is obvious to any who have watched him this year as is his technique which often looks far superior to the players he shares the field with. Still only 21 and with his whole career ahead of him Mehmedovic has arguably more potential than any other player in Singapore if he can get more consistency in his performances.. Back in 2015 he was named in the Guardian list of 50 young players to watch, was the second youngest player to appear in a Serbian top flight game, trained with Manchester City and was offered a contract by Italian giants Roma. Perhaps inevitably, given his low centre of gravity and position, he was dubbed the Serbian Messi by many but a better comparison can perhaps be made with former Red Star and Yugoslav legend Dragan Stojkovic who currently manages in the Chinese Super league and is rumoured to be a big fan. He represented his country at U17 level scoring in a team that included Luka Jović and was rewarded with a long term contract at his childhood club Cukaricki. This contract, which should have been a blessing, turned out to be a mistake for the Serbian. The former wonderkid’s trajectory stuttered as club owner, Dragan Obradović, refused to let him leave on the cheap. “He was asking for big money from these clubs,” Mehmedović told the Singapore Premier League website. “He did not really want to talk to them and simply rejected all the offers. Mehmedovic ended up dropping down the Serbian football pyramid and found himself playing for third-tier Serbian team Radnički Novi Beograd. It was Tampines' legend Fahrudin Mustafic who offered Mehmedovic a fresh start. Mustafic, born in Serbia but now a Singaporean citizen, is a big admirer of his compatriot and encouraged the Stags management team to offer him a short term deal until the end of the season. It'll be interesting to see what happens at the end of this deal. Mehmedovic's stock has undoubtedly risen and a move to China to link up with Dragan Stojkovic is a possibilty, the eye watering salary he could command could also prove a factor in tempting him away from the SPL. However, an alternative route for the 'Serbian Messi' could be to follow in the footsteps of Mustafic, take up Singaporean citizenship under the foreign talents scheme, and cement his place in Singaporean football.

Two minutes after Mehmedovic's opener Tampines struck again. Canadian born Jordan Webb getting into his familiar inside forward position, cutting in from the left and curling a shot into the bottom right hand corner. Webb moved to the US when he was young and was focused on finding a way into the MLS. He worked his way through the US college scholarship system, reprensenting Iowa Community College and playing for 3 different team in the USL Premier development league but was never picked up by an MLS side. The sight of Webb terrorising defenders in Singapore is a familiar one. He turned professional in 2010 when he signed for Hougang United (then Sengkang Punggol) from semi professional Canadian side Italia shooters. The forward has spent his entire professional career in Singapore turning out for Hougang, Home United, Young Lions and Warriors in addition to his two stints at Tampines Rovers. There has been a lot of interest in Webb from clubs outside of Singapore, from Portugal and Malaysia for example, but he has chosen to stay in the country he has come to love. Webb has made no secret of his desire to get Singaporean citizenship and represent the country he has come to call home but so far his wish has not been granted. Webb was part of the 2016 Tampines team that included Jermaine Pennant and famously outshone the former Arsenal man getting 14 goals and 11 assists in all competitions but failing to win any silverware despite being in the running for the treble. Following a disappointing year at Warriors Webb was was offered a three year deal to rejoin Tampines and hook up again with Jurgen Raab who had coached him at Young Lions. Webb was clear that he had unfinished business at Tampines and vowed to bring silverware back to the success starved Stags fans. Many fans are split over Webb's performances this season, there is no doubting that Webb can provide pace and excitement to the Tampines attack but he is often guilty of taking one touch too many, this characteristic was clearly in evidence against Balestier when Webb tried to round the keeper twice rather than score.

A hesitant Webb in front of goal

After 31 minutes it was Ryutaro Megumi's turn to get in on the scoring, showing great awareness to pounce on a rebound after poor goalkeeping. Twenty Six year old Megumi was a relative unknown when he was recruited on a 10 month contract to replace Jermaine Pennant, having previously only played for Tsukuba FC a small university team competing in regional league in Japan . Despite having big boots to fill the Japanese born winger showed no nerves and scored in his professional debut against 2016 champions Albirex Nigita going on to be the Stags top scorer in 2017 season and being nominated for S-League player of the year. It was no surprise when the Stags offered Megumi a two year contract extension. Since the return of Webb the two wingers have developed a great partnership often switching positions throughout the game. Megumi has contributed this season with both goals and assists and was particularly impressive during Tampines AFC cup campaign where he scored twice and created four goals throughout the campaign. Megumi has attracted attention from around the region and it'll be interesting to see if Tampines can keep hold of the exciting, energetic winger at the end of the season.

Memedovic added his second and Tampines 4th before the break and the game was as good as over. However, the second half highlighted the importance of another of Tampines' stars and led to questions as to how far the Stags can go this season after a shaky defence conceded 2 goals. The absence of long term injury casualty Daniel Bennett is an area of concern. Bennett was born in the British seaside town of Great Yarmouth but grew up in Singapore and has gone on to make a record 142 appearances for the Singapore National Team. Tampines is the 7th Singaporean team that Bennett has played for, having notched up 380 appearances and 5 S-league titles over his 23 year career.

However, the second half also highlighted a more positive area for Tampines with the cameo of youngster Joel Chew who looked composed on the ball and showed magnificent vision on at least one occasion with a majestic ball over the top of the Balestier defenders. This season may be all about Mehmedovic, Webb and Megumi but the future of the Stags could be all about Joel Chew. Thanks for reading, please follow me on Twitter for regular updates on the Singaporean premier league @kevindunkerley