Subara raring to go after injury layoff
Balestier Khalsa defender Goran Subara is raring to go after making his long-awaited Great Eastern-YEO's S.League return in last Sunday's 1-0 win over Home United.
By Gabriel Tan
The Australian was just one of several key members of the Tigers squad that was hit by injury after suffering several fractures to his wrist in a 2-0 win over Harimau Muda back in April.
In the absence of Subara and Ridwan Jamil, and with playmaker Tengku Mushadad being hampered by a knee problem, Balestier suffered back-to-back defeats towards the end of the first round of the campaign and slipped to sixth on the table.
However, they got their title hopes back on track last weekend when they beat the Protectors at the Toa Payoh Stadium, and having been a surprise inclusion in coach Darren Stewart's starting XI for that match, Subara is now hoping to play a big part in what could yet be the Tigers' best season ever.
"It's good to be back and it was really important to pick up the three points [against Home] as well," the 25-year-old told ESPNSTAR.com exclusively. "I'm just happy to be back on the field and to be helping the team.
"I was a bit nervous going up for a few headers - wondering how I was going to fall - but at the end of the day, it went pretty well.
"A few of the headers I went up for I did miss, so I wasn't really happy with myself. But it's all about trying to get the confidence back."
And while last weekend's victory was a much-welcome return to winning ways for Stewart's charges, it does not get any easier as they take on reigning league champions Tampines Rovers on Saturday.
Nonetheless, Subara reveals the team have been buoyed by their win over last season's runners-up, and will be looking to make it two wins in a row when they take on the Stags at the Clementi Stadium.
"It's a great start [to beat Home in the first game of the second round]," he admitted. "In the first round, we picked up a point against them and now we've picked up three points.
"Especially since we've only got one game left before we go on a break again, if we can pick up maximum points from these two games, it would be really good.
"It's going to be another big game again on Saturday and hopefully we can put in a nice performance and come away with the three points."
Saturday's game could also mark the debut of Montenegrin striker Zdravko Dragicevic, who passed the league's mandatory beep test earlier this week and could slot straight into the Balestier starting XI.