DPMM FC head coach Jamie McAllister urged his players to display greater quality and belief on the ball ahead of their 2024/2025 Singapore Cup match against Hougang United at the Jalan Besar Stadium in Singapore this Saturday.
The Gegar Gegar men secured a 1-1 draw against the Young Lions in their most recent Singapore Premier League appearance, with Gabriel Gama cancelling out Danish Qayyum’s opening goal.
Jamie McAllister said in a post-match interview, “I thought we were poor in the first 30 minutes. We started slowly, didn’t win enough one-on-one battles and we didn’t pick up second balls.
“They dominated the first half hour and we conceded a poor goal. But after that, we created some good chances in the last 15 minutes of the first half and in the second half I thought we came out and dominated for the first 20-25 minutes.”
He added, “We had some good chances, especially from corners. Probably a draw is a fair result upon reflection, but we could have nicked it (the win) as well.”
The head coach admitted that his side showed improvement after the interval, following their performance in the opening half.
“We didn’t show enough quality in the first half and we didn’t do the basics well enough. We didn’t win second balls and we didn’t keep possession.
“We kept giving away sloppy possession, particularly for the first half hour. But after that, we came into the game in the second half and I thought we were a lot better.”
The Brunei-based side will aim to secure their place in the knock-out phase of the Singapore Cup with a positive result against the Cheetahs.
The Group ‘A’ leaders are currently in pole position with seven points and could secure top spot with a victory.
The Scotsman said, “We want to show more quality, confidence and belief on the ball and in possession. We didn’t execute our patterns well enough today and the goal conceded was poor.
“But, you have to move on and in the second half the boys reacted very well. We created a lot of chances and hit the crossbar to make it 2-1.” He concluded, “We were unlucky with the back post a couple of times, but we’re happy with the point. We will continue to progress and improve.” – Fadhil Yunus
