The Lion City Sailors displayed grit and character in abundance as they battled from behind to beat Brunei DPMM 3-2 in the first leg of the Singapore Cup semi-finals at the Jalan Besar Stadium on Wednesday (21 May).

Despite twice falling behind to strikes from Azwan Ali Rahman and Gabriel Gama, the Sailors held their nerve. Maxime Lestienne pulled the team level, before centre-backs Toni Datković and Bailey Wright stepped up with crucial goals to steer the Sailors a step closer to a second straight Singapore Cup final.

Coming off a physically and emotionally draining Asian Football Confederation Champions League (ACL) Two Final at Bishan Stadium just three days earlier, Sailors Head Coach Aleksandar Ranković made three changes, with Lionel Tan, Shawal Anuar, and Zharfan Rohaizad all drafted into the starting XI.

Speaking after the hard-fought win, Ranko lauded his players for the mental strength they showed in bouncing back from Sunday’s heartbreak.

“Everyone who plays football understands just how much that last match took out of the players — physically and emotionally,” said Ranko. “We knew it was going to be a tough game, and we were caught off guard for both of their goals. But I’m really proud of the way the boys responded.

“DPMM are a side in good form, and while we created several good chances in the first half, it was crucial for us to come away with the win. That said, nothing’s settled yet. We have to recover well and be fully focused for the second leg.”

Coming into the match on the back of five straight league victories, DPMM started brightly and took an early lead. In the 8th minute, Nazirrudin unleashed a fierce drive that Zharfan could only parry, with captain Azwan Ali reacting quickest to slot home the rebound from close range.

That early setback jolted the Sailors into action. Just seven minutes later, Song Uiyoung burst down the right flank and picked out Shawal in the box, but the forward blazed his effort over the bar.

The pressure continued in the 22nd minute as Maxime produced a trademark dash down the left to square the ball for Bart Ramselaar, whose instinctive inside-foot flick drifted just wide.

Shawal came agonisingly close to scoring twice around the half-hour mark. First, he glanced a header narrowly wide of the far post, before rattling the crossbar with a thunderous strike moments later.

But the Sailors’ breakthrough finally arrived on the stroke of half-time. A low driven cross from Lionel was met by Maxime at the near post, with the Belgian poking home to net his first goal of this season’s Singapore Cup.

The Sailors nearly ended the half on a high when Maxime curled in yet another teasing delivery for Shawal, but the latter’s close-range effort was well smothered by DPMM custodian Haimie Nyaring.

Just as the Sailors looked to have taken control of proceedings, DPMM struck against the run of play. From a short corner routine in the 57th minute, Gama weaved past his marker and rifled a powerful effort past Zharfan to make it 2-1.

But the Sailors refused to be rattled. Showing urgency and intent, they drew level once again in the 66th minute. Maxime — the architect once more — delivered a pinpoint cross into the box, where Toni rose highest to nod home beyond a stranded Haimie.

The turnaround was complete just three minutes later. DPMM failed to deal with a Sailors corner, and skipper Bailey Wright was quickest to react, smashing home from close range to hand the hosts the lead for the first time on the night.

As the Sailors continued to press for a cushion, Haimie was called into action again in the 86th minute — this time diving smartly to his right to parry a curling effort from Maxime.

Despite DPMM’s late push for an equaliser, the Sailors held their shape and composure at the back to see out a gritty 3-2 victory — taking a slender but significant lead into the second leg of the semi-final.

“It was a strong performance from the first to the last minute,” said man-of-the-match Maxime after the final whistle. “It wasn’t easy to recover from Sunday, and we conceded two soft goals. But the important thing is we scored three and won. There’s still one more leg to go, so we must give everything again, just like we did today.”

With the Sailors set to wrap up their Singapore Premier League (SPL) campaign against BG Tampines Rovers this Saturday (24 May) at the same venue, Ranko signalled his intent to rotate the squad.

“The nice thing is that there’s no pressure on that game for us, so we’re going to use it to give minutes to players who haven’t featured as much,” said Ranko. “It also gives the rest of the team a chance to rest and focus on preparing for the second leg next week.”

The Sailors will then return to Bishan Stadium next Tuesday (27 May) for the all-important second leg of their semi-final clash against Brunei DPMM, with a spot in the 2025 Singapore Cup final on the line.