Tampines battle to keep Shahdan

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SINGAPORE - Tampines Rovers' storming start to the season is now but a distant memory. Many had predicted the eastern giants would comfortably win the Great Eastern-Yeo's S-League title this year after their start but after three defeats in their last five matches, the Stags face an uphill struggle to claim the crown.

Tampines have lost goalkeeper Hassan Sunny and defender Park Yo Seb for the rest of the season to knee injuries and are now two points behind league leaders Home United.

In a bid to keep up their title challenge, the Stags are fighting to keep in-form midfielder Shahdan Sulaiman (picture) from moving to the Courts Young Lions during the current transfer window.

"We are going to appeal to keep Shahdan here and we're meeting with Football Association of Singapore (FAS) officials within the week to hopefully find some sort of compromise," Stags coach Steven Tan told MediaCorp yesterday.

The FAS have moved to bring members of the national under-23 squad together during the S-League transfer period - it closes on July 8 - to play under the Courts Young Lions banner as part of their preparations for this year's SEA Games, which will be held in Indonesia from Nov 11 to 22. Up to 10 players from various clubs are affected.

Tan hopes Shahdan, 23, will be allowed to move in October, a month before the Games, so that the club will not lose the services of a player they feel is vital to their cause.

Tampines feel that since football may not even feature at the SEA Games - the Indonesian football association have been given till July 9 to solve ongoing internal problems or face sanctions from FIFA, which will mean the sport will be dropped from the Games - an October release date would be fair.