Month: May 2022
In their first-ever Asian Football Confederation Champions League (ACL) campaign, the Lion City Sailors gave a good account of themselves as they fell just short of a historic qualification for the competition’s last 16.
The Sailors quickly bounced back from an opening 4-1 defeat to J League powerhouse Urawa Red Diamonds with a stunning 3-0 thrashing of K League side Daegu FC, before a 0-0 draw and 3-2 win over Chinese Super League champions Shandong Taishan.
A 6-0 loss to Urawa thereafter was followed by a narrow 2-1 defeat to Daegu as they eventually finished third in Group F, but there were plenty of positives to take away for the Singapore Premier League (SPL) champions as they set a few records along the way.
Here we look back on the five major talking points from a memorable maiden voyage.
Singaporean clubs can compete at this level
Most points, most wins, most clean sheets and most goals scored by a Singapore club in a single ACL campaign – the Sailors showed that with the right investment and strategy, an outfit from this tiny island can be competitive against Asia’s big boys.
To go into the final group game with qualification hopes within reach, the Sailors demonstrated that Singapore clubs are not as far off from a historic last-16 finish in the ACL as it was initially believed. And it is a journey that has hopefully inspired – and galvanised – the Singapore football community. The mindset now has to shift from participating in this competition for experience to going in and driving to get beyond the group stages.
The Sailors’ good run this year serves as a catalyst for the club to double down on its efforts to drive further improvements in the local game – be it fine-tuning structures or investing in the up-and-coming generation of young footballers so that the Singapore flag can continue to be flown high on the continent.
The team’s ability to adjust to tactical demands
Eyebrows were raised when Kim Do-hoon tinkered and experimented with the team a little in the first round of SPL fixtures, but the South Korean tactician knew what he was doing as he geared his charges up for the ACL.
Against the cream of the crop in the continent, the Sailors showed that they can mix it up and switch to differing modes against varying opponents. In the two matches against Daegu, the team excelled with five at the back with the solidity of the structure giving the attackers the licence to roam forwards in counter-attacks utilising the pace of Maxime Lestienne and Faris Ramli alongside Song Ui-young. Against Shandong, they lined up in their more accustomed 4-2-3-1 where they displayed their dominance in possession and controlling the tempo of the game.
Coach Kim’s tactical know-how and the players’ ability to adapt truly came to the fore as they put up several creditable performances.
Song showing that he can elevate his game
There were a few impressive performers for the Sailors in this campaign – Hassan Sunny was his usual steady self in goal, Pedro Henrique was a rock in defence, Shahdan Sulaiman showed his class in midfield, but Song was undeniably the Sailors’ star pupil in the Class of 2022.
The 28-year-old did not even start the first game against Urawa, but never looked back once he was handed the chance against Daegu in Matchday 2 with his majestic header leading the Sailors to that sensational 3-0 win over Daegu.
Finishing the campaign off with a long-range scorcher against the same opposition meant he became the all-time Singaporean top scorer in the ACL with three goals. But beyond getting on the scoresheet, Song led the line superbly with his infectious energy that meant the Sailors always posed a threat on the counter-attack.
With the same desire and work ethic that saw him battle back from being on the periphery to a key member of the 2021 title-winning squad, Song gave everything in Buriram and proved his worth to not just the team – but also to the continent that he truly belonged on this stage.
On the right track, but patience needed
The Sailors showed glimpses of what they are capable of, backing up that 3-0 triumph over Daegu with another creditable display in the unlucky final-day loss against the same opponents – proving that the previous victory was no fluke.
However, there were games and instances that also showed the inexperience or gulf in class that still exists between them and Asia’s big guns – and there is no hiding from that. This was the Sailors’ maiden ACL voyage and it will take more games for Singaporean footballers to get properly accustomed to the intensity and concentration required to consistently compete at this level.
Looking not far beyond Singapore shores, Malaysian giants Johor Darul Ta’zim have bossed their domestic league for the past decade but it was on their fourth try when they managed to qualify for the ACL’s last 16 for the first time.
Focus is now on earning the ticket back into ACL
After jostling with Asia’s best on the continent’s top table, the Sailors must quickly recalibrate and focus on the club’s bread and butter – the SPL – starting from this Friday’s (6 May) clash against Hougang United.
Kim’s men are four points clear of the rest, but there should be no letting up with still three rounds of fixtures (21 more games) left to be played.
Kim has already told his charges that the focus must be retaining the levels of intensity they have demonstrated they can attain, and consistently achieving results to get their hands on the SPL title again.
Only the top Singapore side gains entry into the ACL and the Sailors have to go out there to earn the right to compete at the highest level again in 2023 as well as the subsequent years to come.
Winning the SPL is a milestone on the Sailors’ lofty target of becoming one of Asia’s elite clubs, and the club must continue to consistently prove that it deserves the spot at Asia’s top table.
An angry rain pelted Buriram’s Thunder Castle on Saturday (30 April) night, virtually flooding the field of play and forcing an hour-long suspension of proceedings in the Group F Asian Football Confederation Champions League (ACL) fixture between the Lion City Sailors and Daegu FC.
Under the stormy barrage of raindrops, the Sailors’ hopes of becoming the first Singapore club to qualify for the ACL’s last 16 were extinguished – Kim Do-hoon’s men fell 2-1 to the K League 1 side to finish third in Group F.
A sensational Song Ui-young strike had given the Sailors the advantage at half time, but Lee Keun-ho’s header and a Zeca penalty that came either side of the hour-long stoppage due to a waterlogged pitch smothered the Singapore Premier League (SPL) champions’ aspirations to make history.
Despite the loss and a group-stage exit, there has been plenty for the Sailors to savour on their maiden voyage into Asia’s top club competition. The Sailors acquitted themselves well with some assured performances and achieved the best-ever points tally – seven – by a Singapore club in the ACL group stages.
“We exceeded our own as well as people’s expectations. There were several doubts coming into this campaign on whether we can compete at this level. Our target was to show that we can be competitive against these higher-ranked teams from top Asian leagues and we showed that,” reflected captain Hariss Harun.
Hariss and company set a few other records in Buriram: the most wins (two), most clean sheets (two) and most goals scored (eight) by a Singapore club in a single campaign – a solid platform to build on as the club targets a return to the ACL and a further reduction of the gap between them and the cream of the continent.
“From the way some teams set up against us, it shows that they respect us. Of course we didn’t start too well in our first game against Urawa (Red Diamonds), but the team showed a lot of growth throughout the campaign and the fact that we’re in with a chance (to qualify) till our last game says a lot about the team,” added the 31-year-old.
The Sailors fell 4-1 and 6-0 to Urawa, but came away with a 3-0 win over Daegu and a 3-2 victory over Chinese side Shandong Taishan.
“Of course there were some down moments, and we have to acknowledge there’s still a gap in quality and class in some games – that’s something we have to continue to work on and improve on if we qualify for future campaigns.”
Kim paid tribute to his team’s performance in what was a challenging campaign that saw the Sailors play six games in a space of 16 days even as the majority of the team was fasting during the month of Ramadan.
He said: “Seeing the amount of effort the players put in during the last three weeks under difficult circumstances – I have more than respect for them.
“To be honest, there’s still a big gap in terms of the personality, performance, and tempo of our game that we need to show on the pitch, but over the six matches we’ve definitely reduced the gap.
“Instead of hiding or shying away, the attitude and mentality of the players have become better and they began to show their personality on the pitch. We need to continue to develop ourselves in this manner and not drop our standards when we return to domestic football,” said the man who masterminded Ulsan Hyundai’s 2020 ACL triumph.
Kim’s charges had a decent start to the game, but Daegu settled in and proved their aerial threat, going close with a couple of headers in the first 15 minutes.
The Sailors wrested control of proceedings and remarkably broke the deadlock in the 26th minute. As the ball fell to him some 30 yards from goal, Song smelled blood and let fly with a missile that sliced through the Buriram air before nestling into the bottom left corner of Oh Seung-hoon’s goal.
That peach of a strike saw wild celebrations erupt among the pocket of travelling Sailors fans who were acutely aware they could be witnessing history in the making. With that goal, the third in his maiden campaign, Song did indeed write himself into the country’s sporting history books as the Singaporean with the most ACL goals.
The Sailors brought the one-goal advantage into the break, but Daegu upped the ante in the second half and restored parity on 54 minutes. Former South Korean international Lee Keun-ho – a half-time substitute – popped up at the back post to knock in Hong Chul’s teasing left-wing cross.
Kim Shin-wook and Hafiz Nor were then thrown into the fray for the Sailors as the rain came pouring down at the Thunder Castle, resulting in an increasingly unplayable waterlogged pitch.
The referee eventually stopped play in the 76th minute with the Thunder Castle groundsmen quickly coming on, working tirelessly to get the pitch in order. The game eventually resumed an hour later.
Four minutes after the restart, Daegu netted the match-deciding goal with Brazilian forward Zeca converting from the spot after Amirul Adli was adjudged to have hauled down Kim Jin-hyuk in the penalty area.
The Koreans held on to qualify for the ACL’s last 16 for a second straight season.
The Sailors will now turn their attention to defending their domestic crown, but their first taste of ACL action has made them hungry for a return to the continent’s top table.
“We know the road that we have to take and what we need to do. We’re going to continue to develop in our domestic league and play even better football. Hopefully the Sailors’ name can be back at this top-tier competition very soon,” said Kim.
Skipper Hariss was in complete agreement, and he looked to the road ahead with optimism.
“The boys have seen for themselves the level that is required to compete at this level. Now we have to focus on defending the league title so that we can get to play in the ACL again and produce bigger performances here,” said Hariss.
“For us, the only way is forward.”
