Azkals-laden Global sets sights on Singapore Cup Final
Global Football Club's search for silverware takes them once again to Singapore this week. The goal: to reach the final of the 2013 RHB Singapore Cup.
The 2012 UFL league champs play Singaporean side Tanjong Pagar United in a two-legged, aggregate-goals semifinal series, with Game One on Tuesday in Queenstown stadium and Game Two on Friday in Jalan Besar Stadium.
Tanjong Pagar was the club that took out Loyola Meralco Sparks in the quarters via a 5-4 aggregate scoreline, spoiling a chance at a dream all-Filipino semifinal that would have assured Pinoy representation in November's single-game final match.
Global began the campaign with a first-round win over Singapore side Warriors via a 2-0 score (just one game in the opening round), then followed that up with the triumph against DPMM last July.
The Singapore Cup is a single-knockout competition that draws teams from both the S-League, the city-state's top tier, and clubs from neighboring countries like Malaysia, Laos, and Cambodia.
Global will feature Spanish threat Rufo Sanchez in attack. The former Stallion scored in both legs of Global's 5-4 aggregate victory over Brunei DPMM in the quarterfinals. Azkals like Misagh Bahadoran, Jerry Barbaso, and Jeffrey Christiaens will likely suit up. There is a report that Paul Mulders may be suspended and thus unavailable for the series.
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Mark Hartmann is already with Global after transferring from Loyola, but he is ineligible for this competition due to his being “cup-tied” because he already played for the Sparks in an earlier round.
Also conspicuous in his absence will be Carli De Murga. The Filipino-Spaniard, who scored a first-half hat trick in the second leg against DPMM, injured his anterior cruciate ligament in a game against Union Internacional Manila in the UFL Preseason Cup and is headed home to Spain for rehabilitation.
Ironically, that game was eventually declared a default win for Union by the UFL because Global fielded Sanchez without securing a Player Transfer Certificate from Stallion.
De Murga is a utility player who can play right back or even center back. He's even had to play emergency goalkeeper for the Azkals in last year's Challenge Cup. Against DPMM he lined up as an attacking midfielder.
“I told him to get attached to a good rehab center and to get back into shape” said Azkals and Global boss Dan Palami.
Palami says he will be patient, adding “I don't want to force a re-injury like with Aly Borromeo.”
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De Murga, 24, is much younger than Borromeo, and Palami thus expects a quicker recovery than what Borromeo is going through. However the UFL Cup, which kicks off on October 12 is surely out of the question for De Murga, and even his availability for the AFC Challenge Cup final stage, now set for May of 2014, is not a sure thing.
It is expected that either Marwin Angeles or Englishman Ben Starosta will take De Murga's place in the center of the park for coach Brian Reid.
Palami is counting on support from the expatriate Filipino community in Singapore to give the team a big boost.
“We rely on our kababayans to get us through to the finals. Every time they cheer, every time we hear them shout in support it somehow gives us added strength, added speed and even the motivation to get us through the difficult times of the game,” said Palami.
Global certainly had a difficult time in the second leg against DPMM when they took a seemingly unassailable 4-0 lead (5-0 on aggregate) before the Brunei club mounted a furious four-goal comeback that just fell short.
Tanjong Pagar United, nicknamed the Jaguars, lie sixth of twelve teams in the table of the ongoing S-League and feature the wily Monsef Zerka, 32, in attack. Zerka, a French-born former Moroccan International, has struck three times in twelve caps for the North African squad and has played in France, the United States, and Greece.
Zerka scored in the first leg for the Jaguars against the Sparks, a 2-1 win.
There are four other Frenchman on the team, with another, Patrick Valleé, serving as their coach.
The winner of this match up faces either Home United or Balestier Khalsa in November's final match.
The second game of the Global-Tanjong Pagar series will be aired live on Solar Sports on Friday, October 4, with coverage beginning at 7:15 pm and the kick off at 7:30 pm. Follow the team on Twitter @GlobalFC_PHL for a tweetcast of the first game on Tuesday, also kicking off at 7:30 pm. A tweetcast will also likely be offered by Gabe Tan @gabetan13
Follow Bob on Twitter @bhobg333.
