The Lion City Sailors fell to a 4-1 defeat against BG Tampines Rovers in the 2025/26 Community Shield on Saturday (16 August) night at Jurong East Stadium.

Played in support of the Singapore Cancer Society, the match saw new signings Anderson Lopes, Ivan Sušak and Safuwan Baharudin making the starting 11, with Head Coach Aleksandar Ranković looking to set the tone for the campaign.

Despite the defeat, Ranko struck an optimistic note. He said, “It was a good game, a good opening to the new season. These are two teams who will challenge for the league title. BG Tampines deserved to win today, they were very effective.

“You want to win every trophy, but this will give us insight into what we need to work on.”

The Stags also unveiled fresh faces, with Akbar Nawas back at the helm and several new signings in the starting line-up. Among them was Trent Buhagiar, who broke the deadlock in the second minute after racing onto a weighted pass from fellow debutant Koya Kazama.

“With the opening goal, there was a lot of space behind the defence. It’s something we already know how to deal with, but today we didn’t,” admitted Ranko.

The Sailors regrouped quickly after the early goal and pressed for a response, but the Stags patiently soaked up the pressure before turning the screw. 

Sailors’ new Croatian goalkeeper Ivan was soon called into action to deny Irfan Najeeb, before Safuwan cleared a Takeshi Yoshimoto effort off the line. 

However, BG Tampines’ pressure eventually told in the 43rd minute, when Buhagiar raced onto Seiga Sumi’s long pass and clinically fired home his second of the night.

The Sailors then went close to halving the deficit just before the break, but Bart Ramselaar’s goal-bound drive was tipped over by BG Tampines’ Thai custodian Nalawich Inthacharoen. 

“I think we had some unfortunate moments, especially in the first half with the goals, but Tampines defended very well. They didn’t give us enough space to exploit behind their backline,” reflected Ranko.

Seeking to shift the momentum of the game, Ranko brought on Hami Syahin and Hariss Harun after the restart, but the Stags stayed compact. In the 61st minute, it was instead BG Tampines who struck again, as Kazama curled in a free-kick to give his side a three-goal lead.

Despite the deficit, the Sailors kept fighting. Song Uiyoung struck the base of the post in the 72nd minute, Anderson headed narrowly wide soon after, and debutant Tsiy Ndenge was denied by a sharp save from Nalawich.

The Sailors’ persistence paid off on 87 minutes when Tsiy won possession from Jacob Mahler and teed up fellow substitute Lennart Thy, who coolly fired home from the edge of the box to open the Sailors’ scoring account for the season.

But in stoppage time, Hide Higashikawa struck to seal a 4-1 victory and BG Tampines’ first Community Shield since 2020.

“This match shows the league’s not going to be a walk in the park, like some people think. It’s good for my players to see what needs to be done to adjust and step up this season,” said Ranko. “The big games are yet to come, and we’re confident we’ll bounce back.”

The Sailors will now turn their attention to this Thursday (21 August), as they travel to Johor to face Malaysian giants Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) in their ASEAN Club Championship (ACC) Shopee Cup Group B opener.

“It will be a totally different opponent in a totally different venue, and a big rivalry. I’m sure our players will get themselves up for it,” Ranko said. 

“This defeat is disappointing, but it’s still only the first game of the season. We’ll continue to work on the things that we need to work on, and push forward step by step.”