Singapore: Home United captain Hassan Sunny has admitted that reaching the 2017 AFC Cup ASEAN Zone Final is an achievement for the entire nation of Singapore ahead of Wednesday's first leg against Filipino side Ceres Negros.
The Protectors reached the semi-finals of the inaugural AFC Cup in 2004 and have followed up Tampines Rovers' quarter-final finish in last year's edition with a place in the Southeast Asian decider, after defeating Global FC in May.
"We've played teams from Vietnam, from Myanmar, many quality teams on the road to the ASEAN Zone Final, but we didn't expect to get to where we are," said the Singapore goalkeeper.
"We did set a high target at the beginning of this competition but, yes, I can't quite believe we've made that target.
"We know that all eyes are on us now, and the Singaporean people are proud of us. And I believe that to be in the Zonal Final and representing Singapore is something we should be proud of."
Home's success comes at a particularly opportune moment with the national side undergoing a difficult time of late.
Although Singapore started the final round of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers positively with a 0-0 draw away at former semi-finalists Bahrain in March, football in the Lion City was brought down to earth with a bump last month.
Sunny in action against Than Quang Ninh in the AFC Cup.
Facing underdogs Chinese Taipei on home turf at Jalan Besar Stadium, the visitors pulled off an unlikely upset as they outplayed Singapore 2-1 to go top of Group B with goals from Xavier Chen Tsan-yuan and Chen Chao-an.
But, Sunny insists, the success of Aidil Sharin's Home United has lifted spirits and the 33-year-old custodian believes this goes for fans and players alike.
"Even though the national team hasn't been getting good results lately, this is something over which we can fly our flag high," he said.
"There are a lot of national players in this team so, in a way, it kills two birds with one stone. We're representing Home United and Singapore."
"It's a big achievement for club and country."
Ceres Negros do, though, represent a formidable obstacle for Sunny and his teammates and Wednesday's tie at Jalan Besar Stadium will no doubt be a tricky test, particularly when faced with the visitors' powerful offence.
"Yes, we have to be wary of their attack," added Sunny. "We saw what happened in the game against Johor Darul Ta'zim - they really struggled against several of Ceres' forwards.
"Their two main attackers [Bienvenido Marañón and Fernando RodrÃguez] are very good and they have a lot Philippines national team players with a lot of experience.
"But I'm confident in my defence, my team, and all our players. It's not going to be easy for Ceres either. It is certainly going to be an interesting final."
Photos: Lagardère Sports
Source: the-afc.com