The Lion City Sailors Women delivered a spirited performance in their second Asian Football Confederation Women’s Champions League (AWCL) Group Stage fixture against Ho Chi Minh City Women, but were edged out 2-0 by the hosts at the Thong Nhat Stadium on Sunday (16 November) night.

The Sailors held firm for much of a tightly contested affair and put in a resilient defensive shift, only to be undone by two late strikes. The match also saw a worrying moment in the second half involving Nur Ain Salleh, but the team showed admirable resolve to press on until the final whistle.

Reflecting on the result, Sailors Head Coach Daniel Ong noted that while there remains ground to cover to match the competition’s top sides, he was proud of his players’ unwavering commitment.

“Although there is still a significant gap between us and the other clubs, the girls have always given their all in every training session, even after coming from work or school,” he said. “They have pushed themselves to their ceiling, so let’s not take anything away from them.”

Up against a side that had previously made a surprise run to the semi-finals, the Sailors showed no sign of intimidation, and even created the first real opening of the match with a slick move in the 15th minute, which ended with Ami Takeuchi forcing goalkeeper Tran Thi Kim Thanh into a smart save.

As the hosts looked to grow into the game, the Sailors’ backline — marshalled by Khairunnisa Anwar and new signing Hikaru Shibusawa — stood their ground with a series of important blocks and timely interventions.

Ho Chi Minh City’s first real sight of goal came in the 32nd minute, when skipper Huynh Nhu’s dangerous cross flashed across the face of goal and just evaded an onrushing Aubrey Goodwill. The hosts threatened again moments later, as Phan Thi Trang headed a free kick over from close range.

Spurred on by nearly 1,000 home supporters, Ho Chi Minh City almost broke the deadlock in first-half stoppage time through Huynh Nhu’s curling free kick, but Sailors goalkeeper Izairida Shakira reacted brilliantly to palm it onto the post.

The Vietnamese side continued to apply pressure after the break, with substitute Thi Huynh Nhu striking the post in the 58th minute. She nearly turned provider nine minutes later, as she whipped in a cross that found Phan Thi Trang, whose header once again came back off the woodwork.

From the resulting corner, Huynh Nhu met the delivery with a powerful header, but Shakira stood tall to block it at point-blank range.

However, the match’s key turning point came in the 75th minute when Ain went down off the ball, with the severity of the situation underscored by an ambulance being called onto the pitch.

With play halted for eight minutes and the team understandably shaken, the Sailors gathered together in a tight huddle before the restart to muster up their spirit for the remainder of the game.

But with emotions still raw, their resistance was finally breached in the 83rd minute, when Tran Bao Chau’s mishit pass took an unfortunate bounce over Shakira and into the net.

“The girls have an amazing bond between them, so it’s only natural that the incident affected all of them,” Coach Daniel explained. “It’s not easy to stay focused against a quality opposition after such an incident, and it was an experience that the girls had never faced before.”

In the fourth minute of added time, substitute K’Thua broke into the box and calmly slotted home to put the result beyond reach.

“We came prepared for a very tough opponent, and the girls did well to keep the scoreline goalless for the majority of the game,” said Assistant Coach Yeong Sheau Shyan, who also shared that Ain was thankfully awake in hospital thereafter. 

“The players were understandably shaken after the incident and lost a bit of focus. The goal came soon after the restart, and it was difficult to claw our way back from there.” 

Despite the disappointing result, Sailors captain Umairah Hamdan praised the team’s resilience in the face of adversity.

“Today’s performance showed the amount of grit and fight in the team. We used the incident as fuel to keep going on the pitch,” she said.

“We’ll bring that same hunger and spirit into the next game. All of us are motivated to give everything we have to push for a place in the knockout stages.”

Despite back-to-back defeats, the Sailors remain in contention for a place in the knockout stage as one of the two best third-placed teams. They will next face the Philippines’ Stallion Laguna on Wednesday (19 November), with a draw enough to secure third place in the group on goal difference.

Their progression will then depend on whether their final points tally surpasses that of the eventual third-placed side in Group B, whose matches begin on Monday (17 November).

Regardless of what unfolds, Coach Daniel hopes this campaign will lay a foundation for aspiring female footballers in Singapore.

“The girls have given their all, both physically and mentally, across this tournament, and featuring at this stage is a huge milestone for all of them,” he said.

“We hope this campaign inspires the next generation of female footballers to work harder and develop the attributes needed to compete at this level.”