Category: News
Maxime double sends Sailors to the summit
The Lion City Sailors will head into the upcoming international break in good cheer, following a 3-0 win over Balestier Khalsa at the Bishan Stadium on Saturday (18 March) evening.
The three points earned – their fourth victory in five games – means that the Sailors have now made their best-ever start to a Singapore Premier League (SPL) season. Their previous best points tally after five games was 10, with three wins, a draw and a loss in the 2022 season.
More importantly, however, the result propelled Risto Vidaković’s side to the top of the nine-team SPL standings. They could remain league leaders heading into the international break should Albirex Niigata (S) and Tampines Rovers play out a draw in their game on Sunday (19 March), although a victory for either team would see the Sailors bumped down to second.
Nonetheless, the ruthless manner in which the Sailors dispatched the Tigers was a reminder to the rest of the league of not only the quality they have in their ranks, but of the team’s determination to regain the SPL title.
“The players gave everything today, their 100%, and I think that’s the most important aspect of the match. I can’t fault them for their effort,” said Risto. “ We suffered a bit in the first half, but in the second half we controlled the game a bit more and got the win. The players who were not called up for international duty can now take the time during the upcoming break to rest and recover, and get themselves ready for our next game.”
While the Sailors put in an accomplished performance against Peter de Roo’s men, their opening goal in the 19th minute perhaps owed more to luck than it did to skill, as Maxime Lestienne’s scuffed shot off Christopher van Huizen’s cross bounced off the turf and looped over a wrongfooted Hairul Syirhan in the Balestier goal.
There was, however, nothing fortuitous about the Sailors’ second goal in the 48th minute. Maxime played a beautiful one-two with Diego Lopes down the left, before sending an inch-perfect low cross for Abdul Rasaq – making his first start of the season – to tap home into an unguarded net.
Maxime put the icing on the cake for the home side in stoppage time, confidently dispatching a penalty which substitute Shawal Anuar had earned after being fouled by Balestier’s Emmeric Ong in the box – capping off a virtuoso performance with two goals and an assist.
With the Sailors scoring three goals and keeping a clean sheet in back-to-back games – they had beaten Geylang International by the same scoreline in their previous game – goalkeeper Zharfan Rohaizad believes momentum is on their side.
Man-of-the-Match Zharfan, who played a crucial role in the win over Balestier with a number of key saves, said: “I’m happy with my performance, but more importantly, I’m happy with the team’s performance.
“From the start, we tried to play out from the back and it worked out for us. Winning was the only thing that was on our minds ahead of the international break.
“We are going to face Tampines next, so having these three points gives us momentum, and we’re all looking forward to that big game.”
The Sailors’ highly-anticipated clash with fellow title challengers Tampines will take place on Friday, 31 March at Our Tampines Hub.
The Lion City Sailors Women’s Team will kick-start their Deloitte Women’s Premier League (WPL) title defence against Police SA at Choa Chu Kang Stadium on Sunday (19 March) night, in a match that could prove a tricky assignment even for a team that was unbeaten in all of 2022.
More than half of the Police SA squad comprises former national footballers, and the team that won the second-tier Women’s National League (WNL) last year will certainly be no pushovers.
The likes of Joey Cheng, Lee Lai Kuan, Cheryl Chan and Sitianiwati Rosielin have represented the Lionesses on the international stage numerous times in the past and could well pose a few problems for the Sailors.
The fact was not lost on Sailors Women captain Ernie Sulastri Sontaril who called for her women to rise to the challenge.
“It’s interesting that there are three new teams this season – in Police SA, Tampines (Rovers) and Geylang (International). These teams will provide the league with some unpredictability and excitement.
“We see this as a healthy challenge and we’re fully embracing it. It won’t be so easy to stay unbeaten this season so we have to fight hard as a unit on the field. We cannot underestimate anyone because that’s when we will drop points – and we can’t have that,” warned the 34-year-old.
The team has put much effort into preventing that, and instead have charged ahead with an increased training load and higher-intensity workouts since winning the WPL as Invincibles last October.
Later that month, they competed in the SingaCup’s Women Football Championship testing their abilities against regional outfits like Philippines’s Kaya FC and Thailand’s Phranakorn FC. And following a short break, the Sailors Women reassembled as early as in December 2022 to gear up for the new season and played a few warm-up games against local sides.
The Sailors skipper is well aware of high expectations on the team after what was an outstanding 2022, but has backed her teammates to rise to the challenge.
“We want to win the league again and we must win – there are no two ways about it. While success is important, the team’s target is also to continue to develop our playing style – to build up from the back, keep possession and break through defensive lines with progressive passes,” she said.
“Also, we have many young players this year and we need to help them grow because they’re the future of Singapore women’s football. It’s clear that we have many things we want to achieve as a team and seeing all the motivated faces in training, I am confident we can do great things again this year.”
Five of the six Sailors’ Under-16 players who were promoted to the 2023 WPL roster will not be available as they are away on international duty with the national U16 team in Japan, but there will still be a sprinkling of youth talent out on the Choa Chu Kang pitch on Sunday.
Canadian midfielder Madison Telmer is raring to go after an impressive debut season with the Sailors. The 18-year-old was the team’s third highest-scorer with six goals and is already a leader on the pitch with her forceful displays despite her youth.
“It was an incredible year with the club. I like the fact that we have a good range of ages and experiences amongst us, which makes the team chemistry a great one. There are new challenges this season and the added pressure of being defending champions, but that’s something we’re really looking forward to.
“Hopefully I can play as well as I did last season, if not better,” said Madison, who will feature in a maximum of seven WPL games this season before leaving for Canada to further her studies in July.
Having witnessed awesome support from the Sailors fans at the Yishun Stadium last season, Madison is hoping to see more of the same at Choa Chu Kang this time.
“It was so great to see our fans coming out in full force to support us. They’re always in good voice, win, lose or draw. They give us this energy from the stands and give us the motivation to push harder in the game when we’re not doing so well.
“I really hope The Crew continue to come down, and we vow to give our best displays on the pitch to reward them,” she said.
Three goals and a clean sheet in a 3-0 win over Geylang International two days ago (on 15 March) put the Lion City Sailors back on the right track for their assault on the 2023 Singapore Premier League (SPL) title, and they will look to continue in the same vein when they host Balestier Khalsa at Bishan Stadium on Saturday (18 March) evening.
With SPL frontrunners Tampines Rovers and Albirex Niigata (S) playing each other this matchweek, the Sailors have a chance to push themselves to the top of the nine-team SPL standings going into the two-week international break with a win in this one.
Fellow Bishan Stadium resident Balestier will be no pushovers under Dutch coach Peter de Roo, but creative midfielder Hami Syahin is confident that the Sailors can sail to their fourth win in 2023.
Confidence in the Sailors dressing room is quietly growing, especially with players returning from injury. Against Geylang, Adam Swandi put in a slick performance on his first start of the year, while Zulqarnaen Suzliman and Haiqal Pashia also made their first appearances of the season.
“It’s great to see these players coming back and we’ll certainly need all of them, given that it’s a long season ahead. There are positive signs and progress in what Coach Risto (Vidaković) wants us to display on the pitch,” said Hami.
“Of course we need to improve more aspects of our all-round game, but everyone’s feeling positive and we’re out to beat Balestier to go into the international break on a high,” he added.
A week ago, the 24-year-old Hami suffered disappointment, being subbed off just 17 minutes into the game for Arshad Shamim. This came following a tactical reshuffle after M Anumanthan was shown a straight red card.
That is perhaps the only blip for Hami who has emerged from a forgettable 2022 to become a fulcrum of the new-look Sailors Class of 2023.
Having started all four matches in the Sailors engine room alongside captain Hariss Harun, the Singapore international has already played more minutes than the whole of last season that saw him start in only two league games.
Hami’s assured displays and command of the ball in midfield have already caught the eye of fans and opposition players alike, and he is determined to build on his good start.
“It’s never a good feeling to be subbed off early of course, but someone has to sacrifice for the team. In the match against Albirex, it was me, and I fully understood our coach’s decision,” he recalled.
“I’m just very happy and blessed that I’m able to play regularly and perform well this year. It’s tough trying to bounce back after a bad year, but I just focused on playing to my strengths and trying to adapt to the team’s playing style – and fortunately that has worked out for me so far.
“It also helps to be playing alongside Hariss – he’s always there guiding us and I take every opportunity to play with him as a lesson to improve myself,” added Hami, who also drew confidence from new signing Manuel Herrera López.
The experienced Spanish defender made an instant impact and was colossal at the heart of defence alongside Lionel Tan, with the duo looking like they could strike up a sturdy partnership that is in for the long-term.
The man nicknamed Súper is keen to play down the plaudits and believes the best is yet to come from him.
“I don’t think I did so well, I’ll probably only give myself a 5 or 6 out of 10. It’s my first game in a long time, I need to find the rhythm and more endurance to play more games. But first game, first clean sheet – I couldn’t ask for more,” he said.
“I’m feeling a good connection between me and Lionel and I think he’s going to be a very good partner for me. I’ve followed this league for a long time – there’re scores like 4-3 or 5-2, too many goals conceded,” said the former Real Betis B player.
“My target here is to get as many clean sheets for the team, simple as that. Hopefully the next one comes against Balestier.”
Lion City Sailors defender Lionel Tan has been rewarded for a series of fine performances for the club as he is one of four Sailors to be named in Takayuki Nishigaya’s 22-strong Singapore National Team’s squad for their upcoming international ‘A’ friendly matches away against Hong Kong and Macau later this month.
The other three Sailors in the squad are Hafiz Nor, M Anumanthan and Hami Syahin.
Sailors and Singapore captain Hariss Harun sits out after being granted permission to miss the call-up to prepare for an examination.
The 25-year-old uncapped Lionel has played every minute of the Sailors’ 2023 Singapore Premier League (SPL) campaign so far, helping the team to win three out of their opening four matches.
This is Lionel’s first-ever Lions call-up, although he initially came into the national fold in March 2021 when he was part of a squad that was assembled for a series of training sessions under ex-National Team Head Coach, Tatsuma Yoshida.
Lionel will jostle for a spot in the Lions defence alongside the likes of Irfan Fandi and Amirul Adli as Nishigaya’s men face Hong Kong on 23 March, before facing Macau three days later.
In line to make a much-awaited debut for the Singapore national team – and fulfilling his childhood dream of pulling on the Lions’ shirt – Lionel is champing at the bit to impress and grow into a stalwart for the country in the near future.
“I’m glad to be given this opportunity and I guess most people know I’ve been waiting for this for a very long time. I’m just thankful that Coach Nishigaya has faith in me and it’s up to me to justify my worth to the setup,” said the 1.84m tall Lionel, who previously represented the national team at various age-group levels.
“I’ll be a very new player there, so my job is to learn as much as possible from the seniors and make sure I’m up to the level to play international matches.”
Lionel’s key focus remains helping the Sailors launch an assault for the 2023 SPL title and he acknowledged that the club has given him an ideal platform to grow.
“I knew by coming here, my performances will be scrutinised so I have to be on top of my game all the time – and that’s a challenge I chose to accept. I’ve been enjoying these few months here, working in a very professional setup and improving my overall game.
“Making it to the national team doesn’t mean I’ve made it. I just want to keep my feet on the ground and push harder to help the club achieve success this season,” he said.
Meanwhile a separate trio of Sailors have also got to represent the country – this as part of the 28-strong Singapore Under-22 squad for the upcoming Merlion Cup campaign.
Bill Mamadou, Danish Qayyum and Abdul Rasaq Akeem will lace up for Philippe Aw’s developmental side, who will open their campaign against Hong Kong on 24 March before playing either Cambodia or Malaysia two days later.
Nur Adam Abdullah misses out as he is recuperating from a shoulder injury sustained in the 3-1 win against Brunei DPMM earlier this month.
Rasaq, who started the season in fine form with two goals, is raring to go and hoping to boost his chances of being selected to represent the nation at the Southeast Asian and Asian Games later this year.
“Even though I’ve not gotten a lot of minutes, I’m been trying my best to show my abilities and I’m happy to get into a bit of a scoring groove so far,” said the 21-year-old.
“It has helped by being at the Sailors, where the intensity of training and matches are higher. I’m certainly feeling sharper and I feel I can bring that to the Singapore U22s. Hopefully I can score some goals and help win the Cup in front of our home fans.”
There is an adage in football that goes: It is hard to win a title, but even harder to retain it.
It is arguably even tougher to win back-to-back league titles after finishing the previous season as Invincibles, given that every other team in the league will undoubtedly be hoping to be the one to end the unbeaten run.
That, however, is the exact scenario facing the Lion City Sailors Women’s team this year, as they gear up for the defence of their Deloitte Women’s Premier League (WPL) title.
Not only will the Sailors have a huge target on their backs this campaign, but they will also have to contend with three new teams in the league in Police SA, Tampines Rovers, and Geylang International.
It is why Sailors Women head coach Yeong Sheau Shyan does not expect her charges to cruise to another WPL title.
“Retaining the title is way harder than winning it, so this year there is more pressure on us to do well,” admitted the 45-year-old. “Also, there are three new teams this season, and a lot of the players who may have stopped playing due to the COVID-19 pandemic are back.
“There are several good players in the WPL again, and they are all spread out among the clubs. Every team is now more balanced, so I expect this year’s competition to be way more challenging.”
Nonetheless, while another old cliché in football suggests that defence, rather than attack, wins you titles, Sheau Shyan insists that the Sailors remain committed to playing on the front foot this season.
“We want to play a very attacking style, which means we need to be organised against counter-attacks,” Sheau Shyan said. “But we want to build up nicely, keep possession, and be effective getting up the pitch.
“We’re still looking at improving in the attacking third, and we’ve been working a lot on improving our finishing, which wasn’t one of our strong points last year.”
More importantly, however, Sheau Shyan is determined to establish a playing identity at the club that will transcend any personnel changes during the season.
“What we really want is to build a team that can perform consistently in the long run,” she elaborated. “We haven’t had a very big change in playing roster just yet, but because we’re preparing for some players to leave mid-season for overseas studies, we’re already preparing for the next batch of players to transition smoothly.”
Moves towards long-term continuity have already started, with six Under-16 players promoted into the Sailors Women’s 2023 roster, a move that also comes with the exciting element of adding the fearlessness of youthful element to a title-winning side.
The trio of Madelin Sophie Lock, Seri Ayu Natasha and Ardhra Arul Ganeswaran impressed for the Sailors at last year’s SingaCup’s Women Football Championship against regional opponents the likes of Indonesia’s Persib Bandung and Philippines side Kaya FC, while Josephine Ang, Chloe Koh and Tia Foong are budding attackers who are also part of the National Under-16s girls’ squad.
“We’re looking at young players coming up, and establishing a playing style that can carry through the different generations of players from the academy all the way through to the WPL team.”
The Sailors barely had two months of rest at the end of last season before going back to the grind in December to prepare for the coming campaign.
It is a far cry from the truncated pre-season that the Sailors had last year, and Sheau Shyan believes the additional time spent on the training ground has since borne fruit.
“Last year, we didn’t really have any physical preparation before the season because we were just coming in from the COVID-19 period. Before that, the players were training with the National Team, so we only began our pre-season training two weeks before the league started,” the 2022 WPL Coach of the Year recounted.
“But this season, we got the girls started with their physical preparation very early. So, I feel like we’re better prepared for the demands of the league.
“We don’t know what to expect from the other teams, but I feel our fitness levels are good, and we’ve made progress on many fronts. I believe we can match any team we face.”
The Sailors will kick-off their WPL title defence against Police SA this Sunday (19 March) night at the Choa Chu Kang Stadium.
The Lion City Sailors found the perfect balm to soothe the wounds of last week’s painful defeat to Albirex Niigata (S), securing a 3-0 win over Geylang International at Bishan Stadium on Wednesday (15 March) night.
With several key players, including Kodai Tanaka, and Nur Adam Abdullah and M Anumanthan, out of action due to injuries and suspension, the Sailors had to field a line-up that looked markedly different from the one that first walked out onto the pitch in their opening game of the Singapore Premier League (SPL) season last month.
New signing Manuel Herrera López – nicknamed Súper – was handed his club debut at the heart of defence barely a day after his transfer to the Sailors was confirmed. Adam Swandi was also handed his first start of the season, while Diego Lopes was deployed in the relatively unfamiliar role of a False 9 up top.
With three goals scored, three points in the bag, and a first clean sheet of the season – and this with a much-changed first XI – one would have expected Sailors head coach Risto Vidaković to be purring after the game.
Instead, the Serbian emphasised that there were still several aspects of the Sailors’ game that needed to be worked on.
“It was obviously a very important win for us, but we played a little nervous at times today,” Risto said. ”There were too many ups and downs, we did not have enough control of the game, and I think we need to improve a lot for sure.”
Making his first start of 2023, it was Adam who made the first real impact of the game, as he earned the Sailors a penalty in the 17th minute after being tripped in the box by Geylang goalkeeper Ridhwan Fikri.
Diego, however, failed to convert the resulting penalty, with Ridhwan redeeming himself by saving the spot-kick.
But it did not take long for Diego to make amends – just five minutes later, the Brazilian charged forward from midfield before laying the ball off for Hafiz Nor to side-foot it past Ridhwan and into the back of the net.
Diego then turned from provider to goalscorer on the stroke of half-time, as he calmly tapped home Christopher van Huizen’s cross from close range for his first goal of the season.
The Sailors made certain of the three points in the 70th minute, when substitute Abdul Rasaq Akeem benefited from Maxime Lestienne’s pass to fire a fierce shot into the bottom left corner just two minutes after coming on to replace Adam.
Risto’s calls for improvement were echoed by Man-of-the-Match Diego, who said: “We are happy with the win, but maybe not happy with the performance.
“We are disappointed with some things because we know we could have done better. We could have kept possession better, we could have made better passes, and we could have created more chances. But overall, I’m just happy that we got the three points.”
The Sailors were further boosted by the return of Zulqarnaen Suzliman and Haiqal Pashia – both of whom made their first appearances for the Sailors this season, albeit from the bench – but it was the performance of Súper that caught Risto’s eye.
“It is Súper’s first game, and he played the whole 90 minutes only because we don’t have a replacement for central defenders,” said Risto. “Anu is suspended, and so Súper came at the right moment.
“He had a very good game, even though he’s not at his best level yet because he didn’t have a pre-season, and he’s just started training with us. I expected less from him, but he played really well.”
With the win, the Sailors moved up to third in the table, just one point behind current league leaders Tampines Rovers. They will next take on Balestier Khalsa at the Bishan Stadium this Saturday (18 March) evening.
The Lion City Sailors have signed experienced Spanish centre-back Manuel Herrera López for the 2023 season.
Nicknamed Súper, the 31-year-old adds depth and stability to the Sailors backline alongside the likes of Lionel Tan and Hariss Harun.
Having worked under Risto Vidaković twice before, Súper had no qualms in joining the wily Serbian a third time. It was in 2011 when the duo first worked together, at Spain’s Real Betis B, before reuniting in the Philippines at Ceres-Negros six years later.
“Of course Coach Risto is a big factor why I decided to come here – we know each other well and I know exactly what he demands from players. He’s an astute coach who can bring the best out of any team,” said the 1.82m defender, who played for various clubs in Spain’s lower-tiers and also scored against Home United – the previous iteration of the Sailors – in a 1-1 draw in the 2018 AFC Cup group stages.
“When I heard of the chance to come here, I was so excited and it wasn’t hard for me to make my decision. The Sailors is a very professionally-run club and have ambitions to become one of the top clubs in Asia, so it’s a challenge that I very much want to be part of.”
Risto and Súper were part of a competitive Ceres outfit that won three straight Philippines Football League (PFL) titles between 2017 to 2019 as well as becoming ASEAN zone champions in the 2017 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup.
Súper is now champing at the bit to kickstart another memorable adventure in Southeast Asia after spending the last couple of years in Cambodia with Nagaworld FC.
“I’m a player who is very competitive on the pitch and plays with a lot of passion. I can only promise Sailors fans I’m going to give more than 100 percent in every game and help the team to get as many clean sheets as we can,” he said of his personal targets for the season ahead.
“My job here is to help my teammates and communicate with them well so that we are defensively very organised. I know in this club, we have to dream big – I’m looking forward to not just helping the team win the league, but also try to get as far as we can in the AFC Champions League (ACL). We still have to grow as a club, but we have what it takes here to reach the very top.”
Súper is poised to take the place of Pedro Henrique in the Sailors’ first-team squad as the team launches an assault for the 2023 league title, with the towering 30-year-old Brazilian still in recovery following a season-ending injury in a 3-1 defeat to Geylang International last September.
“Súper brings to the team a wealth of experience – he is exactly who we need in a rather young squad and he’ll be that calm presence in the defence who can organise the team. Furthermore, he understands Southeast Asia football well and will be able to guide the younger players here,” said Risto, who is delighted to be reunited with his former protege.
“I saw his transformation from someone with promise at Betis to now being an experienced player. The most important thing is he’s very happy to be here and is fully in sync with the direction of the club.”
It was a night to forget for the Lion City Sailors the last time out in the Singapore Premier League (SPL), but Risto Vidaković’s charges have no time to dwell on the defeat to Albirex Niigata (S), as they return to the Bishan Stadium to host Geylang International on Wednesday (15 March) night.
Geylang and the Sailors both suffered their first defeats of the campaign in Matchweek 3 of the SPL and will be hoping to bounce back as they return to action this week.
And Sailors defender Lionel Tan is backing his side to show the mental resilience and belief to immediately recover from the setback against Albirex.
“It was a tough defeat to swallow and things just went wrong that night, but one defeat certainly doesn’t define us. The league season is long – it’s like a marathon – and losing one game doesn’t mean it’s fatal for us,” said the 25-year-old, who has played every minute of the Sailors’ three league games so far.
“Day in and day out, we’re still progressing well as a team in the game model that Coach Risto has laid down for us so we won’t be too disheartened. There are strong characters in this team and we’ve also identified where we can do better, so I’m confident we’ll be able to show what we’re made of against Geylang.”
Lionel acknowledged it is a huge blow to have leading striker Kodai Tanaka ruled out for the foreseeable future after sustaining a serious knee injury, but he has backed his teammates to step up.
“Firstly, we’re all so sad for Kodai because he has been such a great presence in and around the dressing room – we hope he recovers well and, fingers crossed, we can see him playing in the Sailors’ jersey again soon.
“But I’m not too worried because we have excellent players in the attacking third like Maxime (Lestienne) and Diego (Lopes). Shawal (Anuar) and Rasaq (Abdul Rasaq Akeem) are also great options upfront so we definitely still have goals in the team.”
Midfielder Rusyaidi Salime is also champing at the bit to impress and deliver for the Sailors’ cause after making his debut when he came on as 73rd-minute substitute against the White Swans.
“It was a bittersweet moment for me – it was my first time wearing the Sailors jersey in an official game and I was so excited to get stuck in for the team, but at the same time it was sad that we didn’t get the result that we wanted.
“I just can’t wait to get out there and do more for the team. I’ve been working very hard to show my worth during training and hopefully that translates to more minutes on the pitch,” said the 24-year-old.
Rusyaidi firmly believes that when the Sailors next step out onto the Bishan Stadium pitch, it will be with a strength and resolve deserving of the Sailors’ white and blue.
“It was simply awesome to look up and see the away stands being so packed at Jurong East last week. We would like to say sorry to our fans that we lost by a big margin in that game and we will like to ensure that this is not the way Lion City Sailors are,” he said.
“We’ll get back to playing the football that you fans want to see from us and that starts against Geylang.”
It was a case of what might have been for Risto Vidaković and his Lion City Sailors at the Jurong East Stadium on Thursday night (9 March), as a contentious 15th-minute red card for M Anumanthan turned the Singapore Premier League (SPL) fixture against Albirex Niigata (S) on its head.
Despite battling manfully for the remaining 75 minutes, the numbers game caught up with the Sailors, with Albirex emerging as 4-0 victors on the night.
“The team was doing well in the first 15 minutes of the game, and there was not much more I could ask from them,” said a stoic Risto after the match.
“It’s already very tough to play against the strongest team in the league, but with one player down, it becomes even more difficult, and we had to struggle for 75 minutes,” he reflected.
“But I’m happy with how the team fought to the end, as it’s not easy to maintain the same intensity when you have 10 men. It’s hard to analyse the game well as when you play with one man down, the game is completely different.”
The Sailors enjoyed a bright start to the game which saw them relentlessly close down the reigning league champions, denying them the time and space to play out from the back on their own turf.
The turning point, however, came in the 12th minute when Anu pulled Albirex’s Tadanari Lee near the halfway line to prevent the Japanese forward from having a free run to Zharfan Rohaizad’s goal.
While referee Syarqawi Buhari initially showed Anumanthan a yellow card for the offence, he was recommended by Video Assistant Referee (VAR) Jansen Foo to head to the pitchside monitor to take a second look at the incident, due to the possibility of it being a denial of an obvious goalscoring opportunity.
After reviewing the footage again, the referee deemed so and showed the Sailors defender a straight red card instead.
When asked about the sending off, Risto reserved judgement, asserting simply that it completely changed the complexion of the contest.
“It’s clear, the game was broken after the sending off,” he said with a shrug of his shoulders.
“From my place, it’s difficult to see the incident as it happened so fast. I need to see it again, as I’m not sure if our other defenders can reach the ball or not. I don’t know 100% what happened, so I need to do a deeper analysis.”
It was indeed an uphill battle for the Sailors in the remaining 75 minutes of the match.
Albirex broke the deadlock in the 30th minute through an unfortunate own goal by Sailors centre-back Lionel Tan. Seven minutes later, the White Swans doubled their lead through Ryo Takahashi.
Despite the odds being stacked against them, the Sailors came out for the second half with renewed determination that was further tested when a disappointed Kodai Tanaka limped off with what looked like a knee injury in the 50th minute.
But the Sailors continued to take the game to Albirex and could have easily pulled a goal back in the 72nd minute, but substitute Shawal Anuar headed wide from a corner.
At the other end of the pitch, a combination of heroic defending, impressive goalkeeping, and wayward finishing prevented Albirex from increasing their lead.
But the tiring Sailors’ resistance was eventually broken again in the 87th minute through a Kaisei Ogawa free-kick goal, before Seia Kunori put the icing on the cake for Albirex with an accurate finish two minutes later.
The Sailors currently find themselves fourth in the table with six points from three games, and will next take on Geylang International at the Bishan Stadium next Wednesday (15 March).
Risto was confident that despite the short four-day period before first hosting Geylang then taking on fellow Bishan Stadium-resident Balestier Khalsa on Saturday (18 March), his charges will be ready.
He said simply: “I’m confident we will bounce back and go into those games looking to win.”
It was a blazing hot Tuesday morning – two days before a crunch away clash in the Singapore Premier League (SPL) against Albirex Niigata (S) on 9 March – at the Lion City Sailors Training Centre and every other Sailor had already returned to the dressing room, bar one.
Now sporting a shock of blonde hair, the unmistakable Kodai Tanaka was striking ball after ball into an empty net before finally walking off with just a hint of smile on his face.
The Japanese hotshot has picked up where he left off last season and already has three goals in two appearances for the Sailors in 2023, but Kodai remains unsatisfied. He is gunning for more in the matches ahead – much more. The 23-year-old has set himself a 40-goal target for the year.
“I’m happy to score and help the team, but I know I can do even more for my teammates on the field. We have set big goals for the team so it’s important for me to step up in terms of my performances,” he said.
Kodai enjoyed an outstanding 2022 season with Albirex scoring 33 goals to help the White Swans win the league and topped it off by picking up the SPL Player of the Year gong, but he knows there is no room for sentiment and only has one goal on his mind: to lead the Sailors to a first-ever SPL win over his former employers.
“Honestly this is the fixture I most look forward to playing in. I’ve good memories of my time with Albirex and I’m very thankful to them for giving me my first opportunity in professional football.
“But now I’m a Sailor and I’m fully focused on helping this club win all our matches – including this one and I know our fans really want us to win against Albirex. I believe we can do it and I want to help the team by scoring,” said the Kanagawa native.
It is still early days – just two games – in his Sailors career, but there are several promising signs with Kodai striking up an uncanny understanding with the team’s other foreign attackers, Maxime Lestienne and Diego Lopes, and he is clearly enjoying the experience.
“I know we have good coaching staff and several good players at the Sailors, and that’s why I decided to come here this season – and it’s going well. Everyone’s so happy training and playing together, and that makes it easy to be happy to be part of this team,” he said.
With in-form attackers and valuable weapons off the bench, Sailors Head Coach Risto Vidaković is confident that his charges can take the fight to Albirex – who won their opening two matches of the season, including the Community Shield, by identical 3-0 scorelines.
“They’re probably still the best team in the league, they’re tactically very organised and play a good style of offensive football. We respect that they are last year’s champions and we need maximum concentration when we play against them, but we’re preparing for this game just like any other game.
“Instead of thinking about the result, we’re focusing more on what we’ve been trying to develop on and to give everything on the pitch. The players are beginning to play the style I want from them and we have capable options like Rasaq (forward Abdul Rasaq Akeem) who can come in and provide good value for the team, so we know we have the ability to beat them,” said the Serbian.
“As long as we get our processes right, the result we want will naturally come.”
