Interim coach Fadzuhasny Juraimi wants Young Lions to step up after Itsuki Enomoto’s departure

SINGAPORE – To fill the large void left by goal machine Itsuki Enomoto, Young Lions interim coach Fadzuhasny Juraimi has urged his charges to step up and provide a collective solution.

The Japanese forward’s departure was a blow to the developmental side. He had scored 13 of their 31 goals in 19 Singapore Premier League (SPL) games before joining BG Tampines Rovers in early January.

Fadzuhasny, who took over from Nazri Nasir on Jan 16, said: “With Itsuki going to Tampines, the backroom staff and I discussed and we planned what is best moving forward, how we want to approach the games, how we can work together to combine to create scoring chances.

“We fielded Amir (Syafiz) in his position and throughout the three games that he played so far, I think he did well, scoring two goals.

“I don’t depend only on him, the rest of the players also need to step up to score goals.

“It has got to be a collective effort.”

Since Enomoto left, three other Young Lions have also got on the score sheet as they drew 1-1 with Tanjong Pagar United, beat fourth-placed Balestier Khalsa 3-2 and lost 5-1 to second-placed Tampines.

Besides Amir, who scored against Balestier and Tampines, midfielders Kaisei Ogawa, Kan Kobayashi and Ethan Pinto also found the net.

The Young Lions, who have another Japanese player – defender Jun Kobayashi – in their squad, did not get a foreign striker to fill Enomoto’s boots before the transfer window closed on Jan 31.

Fadzuhasny explained: “Because there are only a few months left in the season and I can give another local boy an opportunity to play in that position.

“And who knows? Maybe he can improve and do well, maybe we can consider him for the SEA Games.”

The 46-year-old, himself a Singapore international forward during his playing days, added: “As a striker, you don’t only score the goals.

“I’m always looking at the processes before scoring, in terms of movements, awareness of space and how you get away from defenders and the connection between the midfielders. All that is important to me.”

Asked if he would want to be considered for the job of leading the Singapore U-22s at the Thailand SEA Games in December, Fadzuhasny, an assistant coach at the last edition in 2023, said that did not cross his mind.

For now, he is focused on the Young Lions’ next match, their first game in the 2024-25 Singapore Cup against Brunei DPMM at the Jalan Besar Stadium on Feb 15 (6pm).

They will be hoping to extend their winning run against their opponents, having beaten them 3-1 and 3-0 in the league this season.

He added: “The boys want to achieve something, but I think we will take one game at a time. It starts this Saturday with DPMM.

“As much as possible, we want to qualify (for the semi-finals). But it’s going to be tough.”

DPMM coach Jamie McAllister, whose side have yet to win in five games in 2025, said: “We know the Young Lions are a young team, so we need to match their energy and take more chances in attack.

“There will definitely be a slight change in tactics. But, whatever the game plan is, we’re focused on the task at hand, making fewer mistakes and being more clinical.

“This is something we want to extend to the rest of the season, keep working harder, smarter and always looking to improve.”

Albirex Niigata v BG Tampines Rovers (Feb 15, 6pm, Jurong East Stadium)

Both sides will be looking for their maiden win in this season’s Singapore Cup, having dropped points in their first match. Albirex lost 2-1 to Hougang United, while Tampines drew 1-1 with DPMM.

BG Pathum United v Geylang International (Feb 16, 6pm, Jalan Besar Stadium)

Geylang will be looking to bounce back from a 5-4 loss to Balestier in their opening Cup match. They take on Thai side BG Pathum, who beat Tanjong Pagar 2-1 on Feb 2 without stars such as Chanathip Songkrasin and Singapore international Ikhsan Fandi.

Lion City Sailors v Tanjong Pagar United (Feb 16, 6pm, Bishan Stadium)

The Sailors are facing a fixture crunch, with this Cup game sandwiched between both legs of their Asian Champions League Two last-16 tie against Muangthong United. But the Jaguars, who lost 4-1 to the Sailors in the league on Feb 9, could still face an uphill task.