Month: October 2022
Fresh off a memorable title-winning Deloitte Women’s Premier League campaign, nine players from the Lion City Sailors Women’s Team will help fly the Singapore flag as the Lionesses host Indonesia in an international ‘A’ friendly at the Jalan Besar Stadium next Monday (10 October).
National captain Ernie Sulastri, along with eight others – goalkeeper Noor Kusumawati, defenders Khairunnisa Khairol Anwar, Fatin Aqillah, Syazwani Ruzi, Umairah Hamdan, midfielder Venetia Lim and forwards Nur Izzati Rosni and Lila Tan – have gotten the nod from Singapore Women’s National Team Head Coach Stephen Ng.
Khairunnisa, better known as Nisa, is handed a recall after missing July’s ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Women’s Championship campaign due to school internship commitments.
The 19-year-old full-back will be looking to add to her three international caps as 133rd-ranked Singapore takes Indonesia – 32 places above them in the FIFA rankings – in a rematch of their recent fixture in the AFF Women’s Championship.
The Lionesses won 2-0 on that occasion courtesy of an Izzati strike and an own goal for their first win in the regional competition in 18 years.
Sailors’ Lionesses: Noor Kusumawati, Ernie Sulastri, Khairunnisa Khairol Anwar, Fatin Aqillah, Syazwani Ruzi, Umairah Hamdan, Venetia Lim, Nur Izzati Rosni, Lila Tan
The Lion City Sailors slumped to a third straight Singapore Premier League (SPL) defeat after going down 5-3 to Balestier Khalsa at Toa Payoh Stadium on Sunday night (2 October).
With three games remaining, the reigning SPL champions find themselves four points behind league leaders Albirex Niigata (S), whom they face in a blockbuster at the Jalan Besar Stadium on Friday (7 October).
After a shaky start, Song Ui-young fired the Sailors ahead against the run of play with two goals in as many minutes on the half-hour mark.
But the game soon swung in favour of the Tigers. A brace from Ryoya Taniguchi pulled the Tigers level before Daniel Goh made it 3-2 with a close-range finish in the 50th minute.
The match was temporarily halted soon after due to a heavy downpour which affected visibility on the pitch, with the lightning warning coming on at Toa Payoh Stadium, extending the delay.
It resumed an hour and a half later, and so did Balestier’s scoring, with captain Shuhei Hoshino extending their advantage on 58 minutes on a rain-soaked pitch.
Hariss Harun then glanced home a Faris Ramli corner to reduce the deficit, with the Sailors needing Hassan Sunny to save a Hoshino penalty in the 68th minute to stay in the tie.
On the same evening Albirex were held 1-1 by Hougang United, the Sailors just could not produce the elusive equaliser with the sucker punch eventually coming 15 minutes from time.
Taniguchi earned his match ball after his effort deflected off a Sailors defender and past the wrongfooted Hassan in goal.
Things got from bad to worse for the visitors who were reduced to ten men late on. Hariss received his marching orders for tugging back Goh, but it mattered little as seventh-placed Balestier hung on for a memorable victory.
Interim Head Coach Luka Lalić did not mince his words after the match.
“It was an absolute nightmare and Balestier fully deserved their win tonight,” he said.
“This is a result of the combined mistakes we made throughout. Despite having worked on our defensive issues all week long, the same old mistakes repeated themselves and it is something we need to discuss when we get back to training.”
Despite seeing their title hopes hang by a thread, Luka is refusing to throw in the towel just yet.
“Our immediate focus is definitely to bring the team back up as the mood in the camp is not fantastic,” said the 35-year-old.
“Nothing is over yet until it’s mathematically confirmed. We will keep pushing as much as we can and hopefully get a result against Albirex.”
Hard work, determination and tenacity – the Lion City Sailors Women displayed all these qualities as they came from behind to defeat a stubborn Tanjong Pagar United 2-1 at Yishun Stadium on Saturday (1 October) night.
The result capped off a memorable debut Deloitte Women’s Premier League (WPL) season, in which they sealed the title with two games to go and finished unbeaten with 10 wins and two draws.
Describing this as “one of the best matches that we’ve played this season”, Head Coach Yeong Sheau Shyan expressed her delight at witnessing how her side battled through adversity to end the campaign on a high.
“We didn’t just want to end off with that unbeaten streak, we really wanted to win this match and that was what we were gunning for from the start,” she emphasised. “We played really well initially but didn’t score, then the wave turned and we conceded the opening goal.
“It was important that at half time we managed to get everyone to cool down. There were some emotions because tackles were hard and there was a lot of sliding around and pushing. The girls just needed a bit of a reminder that they can’t play the style we wanted to when everyone is hot-headed and rushing.
“We needed to play at our own timing, speed and rhythm – and the girls really did that in the second half. We’ve never done well at corners especially, but the deliveries today were superb.”
Up against a Tanjong Pagar side well drilled by former Singapore international Samawira Basri and gunning for a win to seal second spot, the Sailors dominated early proceedings but found themselves trailing after 34 minutes with Japanese striker Yuki Monden firing in off the post to put the Jaguars ahead.
This was the first time the Sailors conceded the first goal and trailed in a game this season – just the third goal that the women conceded in all 12 WPL matches.
The champions rallied after the break but found Tanjong Pagar goalkeeper Nurul Haziqah in fine form, until they finally found a way through in the 65th minute. Lila Tan bundled home the equaliser amidst a melee following Paula Druschke’s teasing inswinging corner.
The Sailors Women kept plugging away towards the end and got their just rewards six minutes into injury time, as centre-back Fatin Aqillah swept a clean shot into the bottom left corner after another Paula corner had caused chaos in the Tanjong Pagar box.
The goal sparked an outpouring of emotion with goalkeeper Noor Kusumawati racing the length of the pitch to join in the team’s celebrations. The final whistle soon sounded, marking the Sailors Women’s crowning as Invincibles.
Fatin revealed her mixed emotions on scoring the match-winning goal, having moved to the Sailors this season after six years with Tanjong Pagar.
“I felt bad for my ex-teammates, but I knew we needed to end the season with a bang,” reflected the 28-year-old. “Throughout the entire season, I was trying to score at least once, especially with Coach Sheau Shyan usually putting me up on set pieces.
“I guess I was at the right place at the right time on this occasion. Paula gave a really good ball and it somehow went to me. I chested the ball and it landed just in front of me, so I just took a shot and I’m so glad that it went in. It’s just amazing to end the season in this way.”
Confetti rained down on the Yishun Stadium as captain Ernie Sulastri lifted the WPL trophy in front of the adoring Sailors fans in a moment that would be remembered in years to come.
The team was also presented with a S$25,000 cheque for their efforts.
Even as the Sailors Women donned specially-made “Champions” T-shirts, they made sure to remember the efforts of their entire contingent, lifting up the no. 20 jersey in honour of forward Dorcas Chu who suffered an unfortunate anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in training two days prior.
Up-and-comer Nur Syafina Putri – who missed the entire season due to an ACL tear just before the campaign began – also joined the celebrations.
With the 2022 WPL season now wrapped up, Sheau Shyan is already looking to the next and beyond.
“We’ve already put our plans in place for next year,” she teased. “There’ll definitely be some ins and outs as our players are not contracted or full-time players.
“It’s important that the players continue to improve and strive to play at an even higher level. The challenge for them now is to go up one or two notches by playing against international teams and display the progressive football we desire to play.”
The title race is not over: Hafiz
The Lion City Sailors will be looking to bounce back from consecutive defeats when they go on the road to face second-from-bottom Balestier Khalsa at Toa Payoh Stadium on Sunday (2 October) evening.
It will be the Sailors’ first Singapore Premier League (SPL) outing since their 10 September 2-1 loss to Tampines Rovers, a result which came after a 3-1 reverse by Geylang International a week prior.
The defending champions might have slipped to second behind Albirex Niigata in the eight-team SPL, three points adrift with four matches left to play, but Hafiz Nor remains unfazed.
“We acknowledge that we haven’t been at our best in the last two games, but all of us are determined to put an end to this streak,” said the 34-year-old, who will return to the side after serving a one-match suspension.
“We have been working hard in training and everyone is in good spirits. As long as we bring our A-game, I’m confident we can get the three points to keep our title hopes alive.”
Interim Head Coach Luka Lalić echoed Hafiz’s sentiments.
“The short break was useful for us to have some time off to recharge and regroup after two straight losses,” he said.
“We have had the chance to look back at the Tampines game – a unique situation with the injuries and suspensions that we had to contend with. At the end of the day, we failed to make our chances count and were made to pay for mistakes at the back.
“It is however something we are working on at the moment and we hope to fix it in time.”
The return of Hafiz and club captain Hariss Harun is a welcome boost for Luka, who is treating each of their remaining SPL matches like a final.
“It’s a different team when you have your captain as well as someone with Hafiz’s experience back,” Luka added.
“We are thinking positively and our focus now is to win every game from now in order to stand a chance to retain our title.”
With fellow title challengers Albirex in action against Hougang United on the same day, Hafiz hopes the Cheetahs can do the Sailors a favour by getting a result.
“Hougang are a team gunning for a spot in the AFC Cup next season and they have nothing to lose,” he quipped.
“Hopefully they can conjure something and make the title race more exciting. At the same time, we cannot underestimate Balestier who have home advantage and we have to do our part as well.”
