Category: News
The Lion City Sailors’ hopes of defending their 2021 Singapore Premier League (SPL) title went up in smoke on Friday (7 October) night with a 4-2 loss to Albirex Niigata (S) – a result that has instead sealed the White Swans’ fifth league triumph in seven years.
In front of a sold-out crowd of 3,500 fans at the Jalan Besar Stadium, the Sailors managed to cancel out Albirex’s early opener and gave themselves a fighting chance while trailing 3-2, but ultimately fell to a fourth straight defeat.
The loss meant the White Swans have secured an unassailable seven-point lead at the top of the table and are the 2022 SPL champions, although there is a thin silver lining for the Sailors who have a potential route back into the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League group stages in 2023 by virtue of finishing as the SPL’s top local team.
Sailors interim Head Coach Luka Lalić lamented the fact that a much-improved performance from the previous three matches failed to yield a positive result.
“We didn’t lose the title in this game; we lost it in the previous three. There was a positive feeling before the game and everyone had the belief that we could win. You can see how much the boys went out there to fight for every ball and be aggressive in their challenges.
“But we lacked that final touch and composure to convert the various chances we had, while Albirex took almost every chance they created – that’s the main difference. Congratulations to Albirex and we’ll try to bounce back in the Singapore Cup,” said the 35-year-old.
Albirex drew first blood on five minutes through Singapore international Ilhan Fandi, who capitalised on a botched clearance to fire home a sweet volley from the edge of the box.
The Sailors swiftly responded to make it 1-1 through South Korean front man Kim Shin-wook, who calmly finished beyond Takahiro Koga for his 21st goal of the season after being picked out by a gorgeous Adam Swandi ball over the top.
The visitors went back ahead in the 37th minute with Ilhan teeing up Tanaka for a close-range header, before Luka’s men spurned a series of excellent chances to restore parity on either side of the break.
Tanaka then grabbed a second to make it 3-1 in the 78th minute after doing just enough in a one-on-one with Hassan Sunny to get the ball over the line, but the Sailors found a lifeline six minutes later.
Substitute Gabriel Quak coolly converted from the spot after Maxime Lestienne was felled in the box by Masaya Idetsu to halve the deficit and the Sailors went agonisingly close to finding an equaliser shortly after – with Maxime firing just over after skipping past a number of challenges.
The Sailors piled the pressure late on and were made to pay the price for pushing numbers forward, with Tanaka taking full advantage by latching onto a long ball and lashing beyond Hassan to complete his hat-trick and seal the crown for the Japanese satellite side.
While there is the obvious disappointment of failing to retain the league title, Luka called for the Sailors to quickly shift their focus to winning the last piece of silverware on offer this season.
“The feeling’s obviously not great, but our season is far from over – we still have the Singapore Cup,” stressed Luka.
“It was nice to see the stadium being so packed – we have all our Sailors Academy’s players and their families here tonight – and the support was fantastic.
“I would like to send big apologies to all our supporters; we know they’ll continue to be behind us for the Cup and we’re going to make sure we put up a strong performance in the tournament for them.”
The Lion City Sailors gear up for Friday (7 October) night’s big Singapore Premier League (SPL) clash against league leaders Albirex Niigata (S) at the Jalan Besar Stadium, fully aware of what needs to be done.
Trailing the White Swans by four points with three games to go, the Sailors need nothing less than a win to keep their title hopes alive and haul themselves back into the race.
On the other hand, a victory will see the Japanese satellite side open an unassailable seven-point lead and seal their fifth league triumph – a scenario that the Sailors are determined to avoid.
Coming into the game on the back of an error-laden 5-3 loss to Balestier Khalsa that stretched a losing run to three games, Luka Lalić’s men acknowledged their recent performances have been below-par and were hard at training this week to work out the kinks.
Calling it a “cup final”, experienced campaigner Hassan Sunny has called for his side to put up a back-to-the-wall performance against Albirex and show that they are ready to battle.
“Obviously it’s not been the best of periods for us, but we retain a strong belief and mentality internally within our squad. This is the time where we ought to show up and prove ourselves.
“Everyone of us has to leave it all out there on the pitch and give our 100 percent commitment to get these important three points,” said the 38-year-old, who won the title in 2014 with the now-defunct Warriors FC and in 2021 with the Sailors.
“In the past three games, I can say that the first half against Balestier was our best performance, but the levels dipped in the second half. For this game against Albirex, we know we have to turn up for the full 90 minutes and perform till the final whistle.
“We’ll still need other teams to do us a favour against Albirex (in the final two matches), but let’s just do our job first to give ourselves a chance of retaining the title.”
Saifullah Akbar sang from the same hymn book as he looks to take on a White Swans outfit that have been unbeaten in their last 11 outings.
“We’re going into this with the mentality of nothing to lose. The pressure is now on Albirex as they are the league leaders. For us, we aren’t going to worry that much about what they’re going to do but instead we’re going to focus on what we can control – which is to deliver the coaches’ game plan and play to our strengths,” said the 23-year-old.
“We’re going in with all guns blazing, we’re going to take risks and play our football. I’ve absolute confidence in this team that we can put up a result when it matters the most.”
With tickets selling out fast for this blockbuster clash, Saifullah is excited by the prospect of playing in front of a packed Jalan Besar and believes that will give them an edge.
“This is the kind of game that every Singapore football fan should be looking forward to. Credit to Albirex – they’ve made the league very interesting. With the crowd we’re expecting, the game should be one that will be played at a high intensity.
“We have that little advantage of playing in front of our fans on a flat surface, so we’re certainly out to deliver a good show for them – we do not want to let them down as they’ve been coming down to support us in every game, rain or shine,” he said.
All set for an exciting Friday night clash that will define the season, Hassan is rallying his teammates to play with hearts on sleeves to get an overdue first league win against Albirex.
“We have to treat this as if it’s the last game of the season, just like against Balestier last season (a 4-1 win that sealed the 2021 title on the final day) – I’ve never seen so much fire, desire and hunger from the players before that night.
“We’ve to do the same in this match and I know we can do this as a team,” said a defiant Hassan.
Fresh off a memorable title-winning Deloitte Women’s Premier League campaign, nine players from the Lion City Sailors Women’s Team will help fly the Singapore flag as the Lionesses host Indonesia in an international ‘A’ friendly at the Jalan Besar Stadium next Monday (10 October).
National captain Ernie Sulastri, along with eight others – goalkeeper Noor Kusumawati, defenders Khairunnisa Khairol Anwar, Fatin Aqillah, Syazwani Ruzi, Umairah Hamdan, midfielder Venetia Lim and forwards Nur Izzati Rosni and Lila Tan – have gotten the nod from Singapore Women’s National Team Head Coach Stephen Ng.
Khairunnisa, better known as Nisa, is handed a recall after missing July’s ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Women’s Championship campaign due to school internship commitments.
The 19-year-old full-back will be looking to add to her three international caps as 133rd-ranked Singapore takes Indonesia – 32 places above them in the FIFA rankings – in a rematch of their recent fixture in the AFF Women’s Championship.
The Lionesses won 2-0 on that occasion courtesy of an Izzati strike and an own goal for their first win in the regional competition in 18 years.
Sailors’ Lionesses: Noor Kusumawati, Ernie Sulastri, Khairunnisa Khairol Anwar, Fatin Aqillah, Syazwani Ruzi, Umairah Hamdan, Venetia Lim, Nur Izzati Rosni, Lila Tan
The Lion City Sailors slumped to a third straight Singapore Premier League (SPL) defeat after going down 5-3 to Balestier Khalsa at Toa Payoh Stadium on Sunday night (2 October).
With three games remaining, the reigning SPL champions find themselves four points behind league leaders Albirex Niigata (S), whom they face in a blockbuster at the Jalan Besar Stadium on Friday (7 October).
After a shaky start, Song Ui-young fired the Sailors ahead against the run of play with two goals in as many minutes on the half-hour mark.
But the game soon swung in favour of the Tigers. A brace from Ryoya Taniguchi pulled the Tigers level before Daniel Goh made it 3-2 with a close-range finish in the 50th minute.
The match was temporarily halted soon after due to a heavy downpour which affected visibility on the pitch, with the lightning warning coming on at Toa Payoh Stadium, extending the delay.
It resumed an hour and a half later, and so did Balestier’s scoring, with captain Shuhei Hoshino extending their advantage on 58 minutes on a rain-soaked pitch.
Hariss Harun then glanced home a Faris Ramli corner to reduce the deficit, with the Sailors needing Hassan Sunny to save a Hoshino penalty in the 68th minute to stay in the tie.
On the same evening Albirex were held 1-1 by Hougang United, the Sailors just could not produce the elusive equaliser with the sucker punch eventually coming 15 minutes from time.
Taniguchi earned his match ball after his effort deflected off a Sailors defender and past the wrongfooted Hassan in goal.
Things got from bad to worse for the visitors who were reduced to ten men late on. Hariss received his marching orders for tugging back Goh, but it mattered little as seventh-placed Balestier hung on for a memorable victory.
Interim Head Coach Luka Lalić did not mince his words after the match.
“It was an absolute nightmare and Balestier fully deserved their win tonight,” he said.
“This is a result of the combined mistakes we made throughout. Despite having worked on our defensive issues all week long, the same old mistakes repeated themselves and it is something we need to discuss when we get back to training.”
Despite seeing their title hopes hang by a thread, Luka is refusing to throw in the towel just yet.
“Our immediate focus is definitely to bring the team back up as the mood in the camp is not fantastic,” said the 35-year-old.
“Nothing is over yet until it’s mathematically confirmed. We will keep pushing as much as we can and hopefully get a result against Albirex.”
Hard work, determination and tenacity – the Lion City Sailors Women displayed all these qualities as they came from behind to defeat a stubborn Tanjong Pagar United 2-1 at Yishun Stadium on Saturday (1 October) night.
The result capped off a memorable debut Deloitte Women’s Premier League (WPL) season, in which they sealed the title with two games to go and finished unbeaten with 10 wins and two draws.
Describing this as “one of the best matches that we’ve played this season”, Head Coach Yeong Sheau Shyan expressed her delight at witnessing how her side battled through adversity to end the campaign on a high.
“We didn’t just want to end off with that unbeaten streak, we really wanted to win this match and that was what we were gunning for from the start,” she emphasised. “We played really well initially but didn’t score, then the wave turned and we conceded the opening goal.
“It was important that at half time we managed to get everyone to cool down. There were some emotions because tackles were hard and there was a lot of sliding around and pushing. The girls just needed a bit of a reminder that they can’t play the style we wanted to when everyone is hot-headed and rushing.
“We needed to play at our own timing, speed and rhythm – and the girls really did that in the second half. We’ve never done well at corners especially, but the deliveries today were superb.”
Up against a Tanjong Pagar side well drilled by former Singapore international Samawira Basri and gunning for a win to seal second spot, the Sailors dominated early proceedings but found themselves trailing after 34 minutes with Japanese striker Yuki Monden firing in off the post to put the Jaguars ahead.
This was the first time the Sailors conceded the first goal and trailed in a game this season – just the third goal that the women conceded in all 12 WPL matches.
The champions rallied after the break but found Tanjong Pagar goalkeeper Nurul Haziqah in fine form, until they finally found a way through in the 65th minute. Lila Tan bundled home the equaliser amidst a melee following Paula Druschke’s teasing inswinging corner.
The Sailors Women kept plugging away towards the end and got their just rewards six minutes into injury time, as centre-back Fatin Aqillah swept a clean shot into the bottom left corner after another Paula corner had caused chaos in the Tanjong Pagar box.
The goal sparked an outpouring of emotion with goalkeeper Noor Kusumawati racing the length of the pitch to join in the team’s celebrations. The final whistle soon sounded, marking the Sailors Women’s crowning as Invincibles.
Fatin revealed her mixed emotions on scoring the match-winning goal, having moved to the Sailors this season after six years with Tanjong Pagar.
“I felt bad for my ex-teammates, but I knew we needed to end the season with a bang,” reflected the 28-year-old. “Throughout the entire season, I was trying to score at least once, especially with Coach Sheau Shyan usually putting me up on set pieces.
“I guess I was at the right place at the right time on this occasion. Paula gave a really good ball and it somehow went to me. I chested the ball and it landed just in front of me, so I just took a shot and I’m so glad that it went in. It’s just amazing to end the season in this way.”
Confetti rained down on the Yishun Stadium as captain Ernie Sulastri lifted the WPL trophy in front of the adoring Sailors fans in a moment that would be remembered in years to come.
The team was also presented with a S$25,000 cheque for their efforts.
Even as the Sailors Women donned specially-made “Champions” T-shirts, they made sure to remember the efforts of their entire contingent, lifting up the no. 20 jersey in honour of forward Dorcas Chu who suffered an unfortunate anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in training two days prior.
Up-and-comer Nur Syafina Putri – who missed the entire season due to an ACL tear just before the campaign began – also joined the celebrations.
With the 2022 WPL season now wrapped up, Sheau Shyan is already looking to the next and beyond.
“We’ve already put our plans in place for next year,” she teased. “There’ll definitely be some ins and outs as our players are not contracted or full-time players.
“It’s important that the players continue to improve and strive to play at an even higher level. The challenge for them now is to go up one or two notches by playing against international teams and display the progressive football we desire to play.”
The title race is not over: Hafiz
The Lion City Sailors will be looking to bounce back from consecutive defeats when they go on the road to face second-from-bottom Balestier Khalsa at Toa Payoh Stadium on Sunday (2 October) evening.
It will be the Sailors’ first Singapore Premier League (SPL) outing since their 10 September 2-1 loss to Tampines Rovers, a result which came after a 3-1 reverse by Geylang International a week prior.
The defending champions might have slipped to second behind Albirex Niigata in the eight-team SPL, three points adrift with four matches left to play, but Hafiz Nor remains unfazed.
“We acknowledge that we haven’t been at our best in the last two games, but all of us are determined to put an end to this streak,” said the 34-year-old, who will return to the side after serving a one-match suspension.
“We have been working hard in training and everyone is in good spirits. As long as we bring our A-game, I’m confident we can get the three points to keep our title hopes alive.”
Interim Head Coach Luka Lalić echoed Hafiz’s sentiments.
“The short break was useful for us to have some time off to recharge and regroup after two straight losses,” he said.
“We have had the chance to look back at the Tampines game – a unique situation with the injuries and suspensions that we had to contend with. At the end of the day, we failed to make our chances count and were made to pay for mistakes at the back.
“It is however something we are working on at the moment and we hope to fix it in time.”
The return of Hafiz and club captain Hariss Harun is a welcome boost for Luka, who is treating each of their remaining SPL matches like a final.
“It’s a different team when you have your captain as well as someone with Hafiz’s experience back,” Luka added.
“We are thinking positively and our focus now is to win every game from now in order to stand a chance to retain our title.”
With fellow title challengers Albirex in action against Hougang United on the same day, Hafiz hopes the Cheetahs can do the Sailors a favour by getting a result.
“Hougang are a team gunning for a spot in the AFC Cup next season and they have nothing to lose,” he quipped.
“Hopefully they can conjure something and make the title race more exciting. At the same time, we cannot underestimate Balestier who have home advantage and we have to do our part as well.”
Eight-time German champions Borussia Dortmund (BVB) will play a friendly match against defending Singapore Premier League (SPL) champions, Lion City Sailors, at Singapore’s Jalan Besar Stadium on Thursday, 24 November.
The match is the crown jewel of the first leg of BVB’s Southeast Asia Tour that kicks off in Singapore (22-26 Nov) before seeing the 1997 UEFA Champions League winners travel to Vietnam and Indonesia. The Singapore leg of the tour comes in the wake of several joint initiatives since the Sailors and BVB penned a two and a half-year partnership in July 2021.
Tickets for the match go on sale today on SISTIC, and will cost between S$25 (Adult, Gallery) and $35 (Adult, Grandstand). Early bird discounts are available from 30 September to 24 October, with Lion City Sailors members able to purchase tickets at preferential rates.
The clubs have lined up a series of off-the-field professional activities over the five days of the tour that will further underscore their deep partnership. Staff of BVB and their Sailors counterparts will engage in knowledge sharing sessions, with fan activations and even community activities in the pipeline.
“It has been a fantastic year or so working with the Sailors who have helped us get closer to Singapore’s football fraternity and its communities. And while the match will be the main highlight, we’re looking forward to working together on even more initiatives on this tour,” said BVB Managing Director, Carsten Cramer.
“I’m personally delighted to be able to bring our first team to play in Singapore, and I’m confident that football fans will be treated to attractive football and meaningful initiatives as we solidify our partnership with the Sailors.”
The partnership has already witnessed Sailors Academy teams compete against their BVB counterparts as part of a six-week Europe training tour in December 2021. The club’s technical and corporate office staff concurrently visited Dortmund for a study trip which included attending the famed Der Klassiker – the highly-anticipated clash between Dortmund and Bayern Munich.
“Visiting Dortmund last year was an eye-opening experience for both our Academy players and staff. The entire club is already abuzz, looking forward to a BVB tour that will exclude the usual bells and whistles associated with such visits, but instead be fully focused on football activities,” said Sailors Chief Executive Chew Chun-Liang.
“Our players will get first-hand experience playing against a big European club, our staff will have the opportunity for deeper engagement with their counterparts to learn and grow, and we’re hoping to involve fans – both Sailors’ and BVB’s – and our community partners in this tour as well.
“We’ve ensured that ticket prices are kept affordable for our fans so they can grab the opportunity of watching our very own Sailors go up against some of the best in Europe in what will be a milestone for the club,” he added.
The friendly match will take place three days after the FIFA World Cup kicks off in Qatar on 21 November, and will not feature some of Dortmund’s stars who will be on international duty with their national teams.
But that has not dampened the enthusiasm of Sailors’ skipper Hariss Harun who revealed that there is electricity in the Sailors’ dressing room.
“We’ve played against some of Asia’s best at the AFC Champions League earlier this year, and this match will be a bit of a step up – against one of the best teams in Europe with some of the best young players too,” said Hariss, who is also the captain of the Singapore national team.
“It’s going to be a fantastic test for us, and the younger boys in the team are especially geared up for the match, and we’re all looking to put on a good show for our fans.”
Suresh Letchmanan, Managing Director of BVB Asia Pacific looked back on a fruitful year in partnership with the Sailors, and is confident that Singapore will see more during the tour and in the year ahead.
“Both clubs are dynamic and progressive brands with a commitment to developing talented young players, and we have leveraged these common values to great effect this past year,” said Suresh.
“We’ll put together some creative and innovative football-focused initiatives for Singapore fans this November, and build on that momentum for 2023.”
Tickets can be purchased from SISTIC here.
The Lion City Sailors Women will be gunning to finish their Deloitte Women’s Premier League (WPL) campaign unbeaten when they face Tanjong Pagar United on Saturday (1 October) night.
With nine wins and two draws so far, Yeong Sheau Shyan’s charges are eager to bounce back from a goalless stalemate against Tiong Bahru last time out.
Defender Khairunnisa Khairol Anwar believes that result has only served as motivation for them to do better against a well-drilled Tanjong Pagar led by former Singapore international Samawira Basri.
The Jaguars are just one point ahead of Albirex in second and will look for a result to cement their runners-up spot whilst spoiling the party for the Sailors, who will finally lift the WPL trophy at Yishun Stadium.
“All of us were disappointed we failed to beat Tiong Bahru. We want to approach the last game strongly and hopefully finish the season with a win,” said the soft-spoken 19-year-old.
“Tanjong Pagar are a strong team and we know the threat that they can pose. We will look to fix our errors from our last game and hope this translates into an improved performance.
“More importantly, we want to go into this with the right mentality and enjoy ourselves since it’s our last league game together.”
One who does not shirk from challenges despite her relatively small frame, Khairunnisa has surprised many with her aggression and confidence in the tackle.
She also hits the gym regularly to build on her strength so as to be able to compete with stronger opponents.
“I’m aware that I’m probably one of the smaller players in the team and I will likely lose out physically,” she mused.
“That’s why I feel that it’s important to put in the extra effort to go to the gym as much as possible, working on things that cannot be done in our usual trainings as a team.
“On the pitch, it’s also about being tactically smart by being patient and waiting for the right time to go for the tackle instead of just going for every challenge.”
Reflecting on the Sailors Women’s WPL season, Nisa is simply thankful for every opportunity that she gets, even as she has had to play as a right winger against Tiong Bahru.
“Actually I’m not really one of the core members of the team, but I try to play and do my best no matter which position I’m being put in,” said Nisa, whose first brush with domestic league football came with Women’s National League side Tampines Changkat in 2019.
“I feel that my performances this season has been decent, but there is always room for improvement. I always tell myself to go in every game with an open mind and just go for it.
“Overall, the team had a good run and it wasn’t an easy journey due to various commitments but we made the best out of it. We carried out Coach’s plans and while we could have done better in certain aspects, I still had fun and I’m happy we won the title this season,” she added.
“The job isn’t done yet, we are out to do well in this last game to reward the fans who have been coming down regularly to support us.”
The Lion City Sailors will make their Singapore Cup debut in late October as their group opponents were revealed in a virtual draw ceremony held at Jalan Besar Stadium earlier this afternoon (27 September).
The 2021 Singapore Premier League (SPL) champions were drawn in Group A alongside four-time champions Albirex Niigata (S), 2014 winners Balestier Khalsa and the Young Lions.
Group B will see Tampines Rovers, Tanjong Pagar United, Hougang United and Geylang International battle for the other semi-final spots.
Group stage matches will be played from 27 October to 6 November, with fixtures being announced at a later date.
The top two sides of each group will progress into the semi-finals, played over two legs on 11 and 15 November. The grand final is scheduled for 19 November at the Jalan Besar Stadium.
This will be the Sailors’ maiden voyage in the Singapore Cup with the domestic cup competition marking its return after a two-year absence due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Tampines won the last edition played in 2019, emerging 4-3 winners over Warriors FC to win the competition for a fourth time.
Reflecting on the draw, Sailors interim head coach Luka Lalić is relishing the challenge to lead the club into unchartered waters but insists that the Singapore Cup campaign will be a task that will only come into focus later, at the end of October.
“We’re all excited as a club to be playing in our first Singapore Cup campaign. The format of the competition means it’ll be an exciting one for the local football fans.
“It won’t be easy for us as everyone knows Albirex have won four out of the last five editions and Balestier always enjoy a good cup run, so we have to take each game seriously to qualify for the semis and the ultimate aim is always to win the competition,” said the 35-year-old.
“But our focus now remains on our league campaign – we have to win our remaining four games and hopefully do enough to retain the SPL title. Once we’ve achieved that objective, then we’ll turn our focus to the Singapore Cup.”
They huffed and puffed, but just could not blow the house down.
In their penultimate match of the Deloitte Women’s Premier League (WPL) season, the Lion City Sailors Women could only muster a goalless draw with a plucky Tiong Bahru United at Yishun Stadium on Saturday (24 September) evening.
It was only the second time the Sailors have failed to win this season, with the result putting them six points clear of second-placed Tanjong Pagar United, the team they face in their final WPL fixture next Saturday (1 October).
The Sailors women dominated proceedings and could have gotten off to a flying start after just eight minutes.
Slaloming past a number of Tiong Bahru challenges, Canadian teenager Madison Telmer saw her powerful shot beat the goalkeeper but not the crossbar.
The Sailors continued in the same vein for the rest of the half and came close to breaking the deadlock, but efforts from Nur Izzati Rosni and Dorcas Chu came to nought.
At the other end, skipper Ernie Sulastri had to intervene when a defensive lapse presented Tiong Bahru with a goalscoring opportunity inside the penalty area.
Chances were however, at a premium after the break as the Sailors were frustrated by resolute defending.
Izzati blazed over from close range with nine minutes left, before Dorcas failed to get a decisive touch on substitute Miray Altun’s deflected shot as the Sailors had to contend with a point.
Head coach Yeong Sheau Shyan was pleased with what she saw despite the result and gave credit to their opponents on the night.
“They made things difficult for us by pressing very aggressively. All of us were equally frustrated, including those on the bench who were even making jokes to try to calm ourselves down,” said the 44-year-old.
“But we still kept to what we wanted to do, which was good to see. We really tried to keep everything on the ground and play those passes today, compared to our last match where we played several long balls.
“The players now realise that it doesn’t help if we rush and play in a way that we didn’t train for. At the end of the day, the ball is round and we unfortunately failed to get the goal we needed.”
Looking ahead, Sheau Shyan has called for calm as they look to end their season unbeaten.
“This is the kind of frustration that we will face when we come up against sides like Tiong Bahru,” she admitted.
“We are expecting the same for the next game against Tanjong Pagar but the girls just have to be cool-headed. We will try to overcome the challenge of breaking the low block set up by some teams and find that finishing touch.”
