To the casual observer, it can be hard to discern exactly what position Lion City Sailors’ Raeka Ee plays.

Is she a defender? A midfielder? A winger? A forward?

The answer, of course, is that Raeka is a forward – a deadly one at that, with 12 goals to her name this season, making her the Sailors’ leading scorer and the second top scorer in the Deloitte Women’s Premier League (WPL) behind Albirex Niigata (S)’s Manami Fukuzawa who has 17.

Her goalscoring feats are even more impressive considering she spends most of the game outside the penalty box and away from the goal. While most forwards may prefer to remain in the attacking third, waiting for the opportunity to score, Raeka is often seen tearing around the pitch, helping the team in any way she can.

As such, the pacy 20-year-old can sometimes be found in the defensive third trying to win the ball off the opposition, in the middle of the pitch providing an option for a pass, or on the wings creating scoring opportunities for her teammates.

This all-action style of play stems from Raeka’s desire to contribute to every aspect of the game for the team in their quest to retain the WPL title.

“It would definitely be nice to top the WPL goalscoring charts, but my primary focus is on winning the league with the team,” Raeka shared. “While I understand that scoring goals as a forward is crucial, I aim to contribute to the team in any way possible, whether by scoring goals, creating chances, or defending.

“Forwards are often the first line of defence, so it’s very important that I help out by pressing opposition players and disrupting their play early. After all, football is a team effort, both offensively and defensively.”

While Raeka has led the line well this season, she is confident that she can achieve even more, especially with the Sailors set to compete in their inaugural Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Women’s Champions League campaign later this month.

Revealing that she is working on the psychological aspect of her game, Raeka said, “Confidence means staying composed during crucial, high-pressure moments and quickly recovering from setbacks in games. While I haven’t fully mastered this trait yet, I am constantly working on it to improve as a player. The attacking drills in training have been helping me build on that.”

Raeka’s work ethic and willingness to go the extra mile for the team has not gone unnoticed by her teammates. Defender Qarissa Putri, who helped marshal the backline alongside Umairah Hamdan in the Sailors’ 3-0 win over Hougang United last Saturday (27 July), highlighted the importance of players like Raeka dropping deep to help defend when needed.

“If we don’t drop when needed, a good long ball can break our defence,” Qarissa explained. “Communication is crucial, especially when we identify an opponent planning to play a long ball. Someone has to signal for us to drop together and move as a team.

“Raeka’s work rate allows her to make runs that open up space in the attack and score. Meanwhile, her ability to win the ball in the attacking half prevents counter-attacks and dangerous plays that could lead to opposition goals.

“Having both of these qualities in a player is a great asset, and we’re very lucky to have Raeka on our team.”

Up next for the Sailors is a clash against Tanjong Pagar United on Saturday (3 August) at the Choa Chu Kang Stadium, where they will look to strengthen their position at the top of the WPL table with another convincing victory.

Qarissa believes that it is important for the Sailors to put in another good performance, as she said, “I hope we continue playing as well as we have been. At the same time, we need to learn from any mistakes made in the Hougang game to ensure we don’t make the same errors against Tanjong Pagar.”