Football: Defender-turned-attacker Takahiro Tezuka steps up as injury-hit Albirex push for SPL title

SINGAPORE - Albirex Niigata have been without their talisman since mid-May, after a knee injury sidelined their 11-goal scorer Kiyoshiro Tsuboi.

But the defending champions' engine is still chugging along in his absence, with seven different players getting on the scoresheet in the last five Singapore Premier League (SPL) games. In that time, they have notched three wins, a draw and suffered their only loss of the season.

Central midfielder Takahiro Tezuka in particular is one who has been in sparkling form of late, nabbing three goals - two of which were match winners - and grabbing three assists in the team's last five fixtures.

He had started the season as a centre-back, but moving upfield has added another dimension to the 23-year-old's game.

Tezuka said: "I didn't think I could score and assist, so I'm very glad.

"I played the first game as a centre-back, but I didn't want to play as a centre-back. Now I'm a centre midfielder and it's a very good feeling for me. I like to play offensively."

While the success of his attacking exploits in the last few games has come as a pleasant surprise for Tezuka, it is something that he has been working on over the past few months.

Wanting to score and assist more, the Japanese began spending 30 minutes practising shooting drills after training.

He also worked on his fitness so that he would be able to push for goals towards the end of matches, when fatigue starts to set in.

Tezuka, who joined Albirex this year from Tsukuba University, feels that he has gradually become more comfortable with playing in the SPL, improving his passing and his involvement in the team's build-up play.

He said: "In the beginning, I didn't have good performances but it's getting better now I'm playing good, feeling good and I'm getting used to this league."

White Swans coach Keiji Shigetomi was pleased with Tezuka's recent displays, especially with forwards Tsuboi, Fumiya Suzuki and Fairoz Hasan out of action due to injuries.

He said: "I didn't give him the task to score the goals, but as you know we have many injured players, so in those situations, his performance really helps us."

He also lauded the performances of the rest of his charges, whom he said have trained and worked harder to fill the void left by the absentees.

With just six games left, Tezuka hopes to score at least two more goals and notch another two assists to add to his current tally of five goals and three assists as Albirex aim to win their fifth title in six years.

But they face a tough challenge from Lion City Sailors, who leapfrogged Albirex to go top of the table on goal difference after a 2-1 win over Tanjong Pagar United on Friday (Aug 20).

But Shigetomi's focus is on his side's next game against the Young Lions, who bagged their second victory of the season last weekend with a convincing 4-2 win over Balestier Khalsa.

The Young Lions may be last in the eight-team table, but Shigetomi expects a tough game against them.

He said: "Young Lions are united and getting better as the season passed, so the match won't be easy for us, but we need the three points so we have to play with confidence to be at the top of the table."

While Young Lions coach Philippe Aw believes that the win over Balestier was good for morale, he stressed that the emphasis was on performance not results, and felt there were areas for improvement in last weekend's match.

But he remained encouraged by how his team have performed since the league resumed in mid-July after the international break and is pleased with the progress of his players over the course of the season.

Despite Albirex missing a few attackers, Aw admitted that things will not be any easier, saying: "Albirex are not about one or two good players. Their strength has always been teamwork.

"Their mentality to work hard for each other is something they do very well. We will need to execute our game plan well if we are to get a positive result."