The Lion City Sailors Women concluded their maiden Asian Football Confederation Women’s Champions League (AWCL) group stage campaign with a 5-0 defeat to Stallion Laguna on Wednesday (19 November).

The result marked the Sailors’ third loss in as many Group A games and sealed their elimination from the tournament.

Nonetheless, Sailors head coach Daniel Ong praised his players’ efforts, and acknowledged that they had faced stronger opposition in all three matches.

“The level of physicality and technical ability at this stage is much higher,” said Daniel. “We need more opportunities to train and compete against teams of this calibre, and continue improving technically and physically so we can match the demands of top-level football.

“But I must say the players gave everything until the final whistle, and I truly respect their effort and commitment throughout this campaign.”

The Sailors made just one change to their starting lineup from the previous match, with Zhang Qiaoling replacing Irsalina Irwan. Stallion, meanwhile, named a strong side that included Philippines internationals Chandler McDaniel and Olivia McDaniel.

However, it was the Sailors who registered the game’s first meaningful effort in the ninth minute, when Eri Kitagawa’s sharp strike was gathered by Olivia. 

Stallion responded three minutes later as Mia Bookhard tested Izairida Shakira with a fierce shot.

As the game wore on, the Filipino champions gradually took control, with Angelica Teves releasing Chandler in the 21st minute, only for Shakira to make an excellent stop. But from the resulting corner, the breakthrough arrived as Chandler’s delivery was headed home by American centre-back Halle Johnson to open the scoring.

Chandler continued to threaten, and the Stallion captain doubled her side’s lead just before half-time when Tayla Christensen slid a pass into her path for a powerful finish high into the net. It was a quality strike that underscored the pedigree of a player who had featured against Switzerland and Norway at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

The Sailors looked to regain a foothold after the break, but Stallion continued to look a threat whenever they poured forward in attack. The next chance of note came on the hour mark through Chandler’s free-kick, which was well gathered by Shakira. 

Five minutes later, the Sailors fashioned a chance of their own through a set-piece, but Ami Takeuchi’s free-kick was saved by Olivia.

But Stallion put the contest beyond doubt in the 74th minute, after fine work down the left by McKenna Davidson ended in a simple tap-in for Christensen. The forward then completed her hat-trick in the 84th minute with a stunning long-range effort to make it 4-0.

The Sailors then introduced Rivka Ramji and Farah Nurzahirah as they looked to freshen things up, but it was Stallion who struck again in stoppage time when substitute Kaya Hawkinson released Chandler to slot home.

While the Sailors ended their debut group stage campaign without any points to show for, the experience has only strengthened resolve within the club to return stronger.

“It feels like going back to square one, similar to how we felt in the preliminary round last season,” said Daniel. “But it’s important to see firsthand the standard at this level. It gives us clarity on where we must improve.”

It has nevertheless been a campaign of marked progress. From finishing bottom of their preliminary group in 2024/25, the Sailors stepped up this season by defeating Jordan’s Etihad Club, SDYUSHOR SI-Asiagoal of Kyrgyz Republic, and Malaysia’s Kelana United — scoring eight goals across three matches — to reach the group stage for the first time.

“By getting here, we’ve shown the community back home the level they can aspire to,” said Daniel. “Hopefully it gives young players the motivation to compete well in the domestic league every week.”

Sailors captain Umairah Hamdan admitted that progressing from the group was always going to be a tall order, but emphasised how proud she was of the team’s bravery and effort in every match.

“One of the clearest learnings is the difference between full-time footballers and part-time players. You can immediately see the gap in fitness, intensity and endurance. But our girls really pushed their limits and kept going regardless,” said Umairah.

“On top of that, coming into a competition of this calibre — where the physical demands and quality of football are higher than what we faced in the preliminary rounds — required strong mental readiness. We had to adapt quickly, stay composed and embrace the challenges head on.”

Echoing Umairah’s sentiments, Daniel added, “Facing professional clubs who train, eat and breathe football every day was never going to be easy. Our players need to grow physically, mentally and technically. There’s still a sizable gap in terms of attributes and fitness, but we’ve definitely improved from our first AWCL season.

“There’s plenty of work ahead before we can truly compete with professional clubs at this stage, but we’ll keep pushing.”