S’pore Premier League awards the goal for Balestier’s Ryoya Taniguchi
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Balestier Khalsa's Ryoya Taniguchi is currently the league's joint-top scorer with Lion City Sailor's Maxime Lestienne.
ST PHOTO: EUGENE TAN
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SINGAPORE – The Singapore Premier League (SPL) is midway through the 2023 season and already Ryoya Taniguchi is eyeing multiple SPL awards at the end of the campaign.
The 23-year old midfielder, who is in his second season at Balestier Khalsa, said: “I want to win all the awards I can, including the Golden Boot, Player of the Year and Team of the Year.”
His form this season will put him in early contention – he is joint-top scorer with the Lion City Sailors’ Maxime Lestienne on 10 goals and also has three assists in 11 appearances for the Tigers.
In 2020, Taniguchi began his professional career at Albirex Niigata before joining Balestier two years later. He has scored 10 goals each in his last two seasons in the SPL and has matched that tally in 2023 with 13 games remaining.
With Balestier taking on his former Japanese club on Friday, Taniguchi is hungry for more.
He said: “(To score 10 goals is) definitely a good feeling, but I am not satisfied. I can improve myself and score more, hopefully even two or three goals per game.”
Taniguchi credited head coach Peter de Roo – who was appointed midway through last seaso
He said: “He is a really good coach who likes his brand of attacking football. Whenever I don’t make good plays, he will always remind me to work harder. He gives me a lot of advice.”
Currently in fourth spot, Balestier are on a three-game winning run but will face a tough test against second-placed Albirex, who mauled the Tigers 6-1 earlier this season.
The Tigers’ defence, who have leaked a league-high 29 goals this season, will have to stop the SPL’s top-scoring side – Albirex have 32 goals to date.
But Taniguchi is ready for the battle ahead, adding: “I enjoyed my time (at Albirex), it was fun. But with three wins in a row, there is a good feeling within our club and we can win. We definitely have a chance against them.”
Caretaker coach Razif Ariff will be standing in on Friday for de Roo as the latter is in the Netherlands on compassionate leave.
He said: “Even when playing against top teams like Albirex, we will play like we usually do... with the same attacking style.
“We have to be more confident and push ourselves to the level we want to be at. For us, attack is the best form of defence.”
Ariff will also be counting on Taniguchi as he added: “Ryoya has been very good. He enjoys his role and it’s nice to see him scoring 10 this season.
“He is calmer and more focused on the pitch. As a team, he helps us progress from the back to the front with his movement and the way he sees the game, it helps us to maintain possession.”
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Fresh off a two-week break, Hougang are looking to build on their last victory against Geylang, while Tanjong Pagar will be aiming to inflict damage on Hougang’s leaky defence.
