The Lion City Sailors showed resilience to come back from a two-goal deficit and salvage a 2-2 draw against Hougang United in their 2026/27 Singapore Premier League (SPL) opener at the Bishan Stadium on Saturday (12 September) night.
New signings Antonio Mance and Bobby Adekanye both opened their goalscoring accounts for the club, as the team displayed the sort of fighting spirit that Interim Head Coach Varo Moreno insists will define the Sailors’ campaign.
“We had plenty of chances to score more than two goals, but in the end, we had to be content with a point,” said Varo. “This is just the first game of the season. There’s still a long way to go, and the big positive for us was that the team never gave up.”
Varo made five changes to the side that lifted the Community Shield with a 2-0 win over Tampines Rovers last weekend, as he handed first starts to Antonio and Jorge Karseladze, but it was another new signing, Matthias Phaëton, who set the early tempo, unleashing the game’s first effort just three minutes in.
However, the heavily revamped Cheetahs, which featured nine debutants, gradually found their footing and broke the deadlock in the 17th minute when Ayman Kassimi cut inside to fire a low effort past Ivan Sušak.
Five minutes later, the visitors doubled their lead when former Sailor Zulqarnaen Suzliman embarked on a brilliant solo run before setting up Oakley Cannonier to make it 2-0.
“The difference was those opening 25 minutes,” Varo reflected. “I know many people expect us to win every match, but other SPL teams have strengthened significantly. The league is getting better, which is great for Singapore football.”
The reigning champions responded immediately, and Matthias thought he had halved the deficit in the 26th minute after finishing off a sublime outside-of-the-boot pass from Song Uiyoung, but VAR ruled the goal out with Diogo Costa adjudged to have made a foul in the build-up.
Nonetheless, the Sailors kept pressing, and the breakthrough finally arrived six minutes before the break. Diogo did brilliant work down the flank before crossing to Antonio, who showed wonderful composure to control the ball on his chest before tucking it home to make it 2-1.
The Sailors dominated the remainder of the half, with Bart Ramselaar and Ilhan Fandi both coming close in stoppage time, only to be denied by Hougang custodian Takahiro Koga.
Varo then injected fresh legs in the second half, introducing Bobby, Ryhan Stewart, Giovanni Haag, and Captain Hariss Harun in a bid for the equaliser, and the positive changes eventually made the difference in the 86th minute.
Matthias threaded a precise pass into the box for Bobby, and the former Liverpool youth winger made no mistake with a deft finish over the advancing Koga to restore parity.
Ivan then produced a spectacular flying save in added time to push Kassimi’s curling effort around the post and ensure the Sailors secured a point in their first SPL game of the new season.
“I’m happy to get my first goal, but as a team, we want to win every game,” said Bobby, who arrived in Singapore with top-flight experience in Serie A and the Eredivisie. “We have high standards here, but it’s early in the season and we’ll refine our play.”
Off the pitch, the 27-year-old Dutch forward revealed that he is settling in seamlessly to life in the Lion City. “This is my first time in Asia, and both my wife and I are loving every second of it. I hope to be here for a long time.”
While not getting the win was disappointing, there is little time for the Sailors to dwell on the result, as they now turn their focus to continental action. The team will host Thailand’s BG Pathum United at the Jalan Besar Stadium in their AFC Champions League (ACL) Two Group F opener on Thursday (17 September).
BG Pathum will come into the clash with a similar season record as the Sailors (one win, one draw) after opening their Thai League 1 campaign with a goalless draw against newly promoted Pattani FC, followed by a 3-2 victory against fellow newcomers Rasisalai United on Saturday.
Raniel Santana’s early brace had given the Rabbits a 2-0 lead, only to be pegged back in the first half itself before João Magno struck an 88th-minute winner and the Sailors will be well aware of the threat posed by Thai clubs.
“We have to analyse what happened in this match (vs Hougang), but our preparations for the next match are already underway,” revealed Varo. “Our team is used to playing every three or four days, as all our focus will now shift towards a very important AFC Champions League (ACL) Two match in midweek.”
