Tanjong Pagar United to count on Matt Silva to avoid SPL wooden spoon

SINGAPORE – Tanjong Pagar United’s new custodian Matt Silva has experienced a fair share of unusual challenges throughout his career.

From dodging chicken bones to shooing away seagulls while guarding the net for Gibraltarian side Bruno’s Magpies in a Uefa Conference League qualifier against Northern Ireland’s Crusaders, Silva has seen aplenty.

That explains the nonchalance that the 1.85m Canadian goalkeeper possesses as he takes on the daunting task of helping to lift Tanjong Pagar off the bottom of the nine-team Singapore Premier League (SPL).

The Jaguars have gone 43 competitive matches without a clean sheet, dating back to the 2023 season. In just 19 games this season, they have conceded a league-high 73 goals.

Silva, 33, who signed a contract from December till the season’s end in May, is interim coach Noh Alam Shah’s key signing as the SPL resumes after a mid-season break.

Ahead of his debut against the Young Lions at Jalan Besar Stadium on Jan 18 (6pm), Silva, who had also played in Canada, Sweden, Portugal and most recently, the Philippines, told The Straits Times about his playing experience.

He said: “When I went to Northern Ireland to face Crusaders in 2022, the fans there were really aggressive.

“All that noise was tough to deal with and then on top of that, when we scored, the fans were throwing all sorts of things like chicken wings, pizza and hot dogs.

“You step away and then you look behind and there are seagulls swooping down to come pick up the food. It can get quite intense.

“But you need to adapt. It is sink or swim. When you experience these things, you get better at dealing with anything. Maybe that is why Alam Shah has got me here to help the team.”

Alam Shah, who has returned to the club after a six-month attachment with J1 League club Tokyo Verdy, said fixing their leaky backline was one of his immediate tasks.

The 44-year-old former Lions striker said: “We conceded 73 goals and you can look at a variety of factors but I felt that the goalkeepers had a main part to play. We need somebody vocal and experienced at the back. And Matt suits us really well.”

Silva said morale at the Jurong East-based club has been lifted with players pulling together under Alam Shah’s leadership.

It gives Silva the belief that he can help the team to their first clean sheet and grind out more points to avoid the dreaded wooden spoon. The Jaguars, who have just eight points from 19 games, are 10 points behind the eighth-placed Young Lions.

“Since I’ve been here, I have seen that week by week, we’re showing better defensive organisation, better structure, better commitment, better fight, better fitness. We are better in everything,” said Silva.

Alam Shah is looking to his side to show more fighting spirit and urged his charges to believe in themselves.

He said: “We had very good, tough training sessions in the last few weeks and I hope we show how we have improved.”

While the Jaguars have strengthened in the goalkeeping department, they have lost captain Akram Azman.

The 24-year-old fullback has joined league leaders Lion City Sailors for an undisclosed transfer fee, with Sailors’ Under-21 players Marcus Mosses and Izrafil Yusof spending the rest of the season on loan at Tanjong Pagar.

Other SPL clubs have also strengthened in the mid-season window.

Hougang United have signed defensive towers in 1.93m Brazilian centre-back Daniel Alemao and 1.92m Montenegrin Jovan Mugosa, while Brunei DPMM have snapped up Iceland defender Damir Muminovic and former Latvian international forward Davis Ikaunieks.

BG Tampines Rovers, whose leading scorer Boris Kopitovic has joined Indonesia’s Bali United, have a stronger Japanese flavour after securing the services of winger Arya Igami from Albirex Niigata and Young Lions forward Itsuki Enomoto, who has scored 13 goals in 19 SPL games this season.

The Stags have also beefed up their backline with Australian defender Dylan Fox joining from Finnish club Lahti.

The Young Lions, meanwhile, will be led by a new man for the rest of the season with assistant coach Fadzuhasny Juraimi stepping up to be the team’s interim coach as Nazri Nasir is poised to join a Japanese club for an extended coaching attachment stint in the months ahead.

Fadzuhasny, 45, also a former Lions striker, said he is focused on helping the team “stay competitive and improve until this campaign comes to an end”.

On targets, he added: “It won’t be easy, and we can expect every match to be challenging. But winning isn’t the only focus – our main goal is to improve with each game, learning and developing as a team.”

Lion City Sailors v Albirex Niigata (Jan 17, 7.45pm, Bishan Stadium)

The Sailors enter the tie 14 points ahead of the fourth-placed Albirex despite having played two fewer games. Still, the league leaders will be cautious as the last encounter in August saw Albirex prevail 3-1.

Brunei DPMM v Geylang International (Jan 18, 8.15pm, Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium)

DPMM looked sluggish on returning to SPL action in their 4-2 home defeat by the Sailors on Jan 13. They will need a marked improvement to contain a free-scoring Eagles team, who have netted a league-high 70 goals in 20 matches.

Hougang United v Balestier Khalsa (Jan 19, 6pm, Jalan Besar Stadium)

Hougang’s interim coach Robert Eziakor will make his top-flight managerial bow, having replaced Marko Kraljevic during the mid-season break. The Nigerian, 38, will have his work cut out against his experienced counterpart Peter de Roo, who led the Tigers to a 3-1 win over Hougang in August.