Category: News
Sailors held by resolute Hougang
The Lion City Sailors were held to a 1-1 draw by a resolute Hougang United in an enthralling Singapore Premier League (SPL) clash at the Jalan Besar Stadium on Saturday evening (9 July).
The draw sees the Sailors extend their lead at the top of the SPL standings to seven points, but it could have been nine points instead.
The Cheetahs did an excellent job of nullifying the Sailors’ threats – taking the lead through Kristijan Krajček before Song Ui-young came off the bench to net an equaliser – and claimed a well-deserved point off the defending champions.
While visibly disappointed at not being able to capitalise on nearest challengers Albirex Niigata (S)’s slip-up – a 2-1 loss to Tanjong Pagar United the previous night – Sailors Head Coach Kim Do-hoon gave credit to the way his charges kept plugging away until the final whistle.
“We’re a team that should never be happy if it’s less than three points. From that perspective, the feeling is disappointment. But the boys ran and never stopped trying until the game finished, so I’m happy with the commitment I saw tonight,” said the 51-year-old.
The Sailors started off well and could have taken the lead on 13 minutes, but Kim Shin-wook’s header off Maxime Lestienne’s left-wing cross crashed off the Hougang crossbar.
Resolute in defence, the Cheetahs made it difficult for the Sailors to break through. The home side’s next clear opportunity came just before half-time, with Shin-wook nodding another Maxime cross straight at Hougang custodian, Mukundan Maran.
The Cheetahs came out for the second half with much more attacking vigour and went close to opening the scoring on 52 minutes, but Hassan Sunny excellently thwarted Shawal Anuar in a one-on-one situation.
Zulqarnaen Suzliman was brought on in the 55th minute for his first Sailors appearance since returning to the club during the mid-season transfer window, slotting in at right-back to good effect. But Hougang managed to break the deadlock in the 66th minute, with Krajček slotting a Shawal right-wing cross in off the post.
Haiqal Pashia and Song were then introduced from the bench, with the substitutes combining to devastating effect. Song produced a velvet touch off Pashia’s low cross in the 71st minute to restore parity for the Sailors.
Coach Kim was delighted that his coaching team’s substitutions worked out well.
“Those were changes which our coaching team pondered over during the game, and we’re happy that our decisions turned out to be good.
“Even Mamat (Zulqarnaen) played phenomenally well and played exactly how we wanted him to play. He hasn’t had much training with the team, but the way he played seemed like he had been with us for the whole year. We’re excited about what more he can bring to us.
“We’re happy that every one of the boys have shown that they are ready and on their feet to help the team whenever they are called upon,” said Kim.
Song’s goal set up a grandstand finish to the match, with both teams going out in search of the winner.
The Sailors went agonisingly close on a couple of occasions, but had Hassan to thank for keeping them in the game. The 38-year-old pulled off two excellent stops to deny Krajček and Pedro Bortoluzo in injury time to preserve the point for the leaders.
The draw was not an ideal result for the Sailors.
Coach Kim pointed to ‘game management’ as a key area to work on before his team’s next outing – an away game against an in-form Geylang International next Saturday (16 July).
“Football’s not just a high-tempo game – it’s about knowing how to slow down, how to control the tempo and how to breathe with the ball.
“We will analyse this game and see how we can do better for the next one.”
Gabriel back on song and eyeing even more
The Lion City Sailors thumped Tanjong Pagar 6-0 last Sunday (3 July) and remained six points clear at the top of the Singapore Premier League (SPL) standings, but with Albirex Niigata (S) hot on their heels and having a game in hand, the defending champions can ill-afford to rest on their laurels in their pursuit of a second straight SPL title.
Next up for Kim Do-hoon’s men is a home clash against Hougang United at Jalan Besar Stadium on Saturday evening (9 July).
Sailors attacker Gabriel Quak stressed the importance of putting in another solid team display to overpower the Cheetahs.
Hougang are a side that acquitted themselves well in the recent Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup with two wins in three matches, and won handsomely in a 4-0 trouncing of Young Lions on their return to domestic football on Tuesday (5 July).
“Hougang did well in the AFC Cup – they’re scoring plenty of goals at the moment and have some fine passing movements in their play. So, we’ll need to settle down really quickly and play to our strengths against them,” said Gabriel.
“I’ve some really good friends there like Zul (Zulfahmi Arifin), Shahfiq (Ghani) and Sahil (Suhaimi) – there are many familiar faces. They’ll surely be going for the win, and likewise for us – so it should be a really good and open game for the fans.”
Gabriel and his Sailors are looking to continue in the same relentless vein that brought the resounding victory over Tanjong Pagar.
“What’s pleasing was not just witnessing how we executed everything that we practised on the training ground, but also our approach and the desire to go for more goals even after being a few goals up.
“It could have been easy to rest on our laurels after going 3-0 up, but it’s important that we respect the game, the opponents and our fans. They paid to come and watch us, and football is all about scoring goals and providing entertainment, so we knew we needed to play and give everything until the final whistle,” said the 31-year-old.
The win at Jurong East also gave Gabriel joy on a personal level. He scored his first brace of the season and is now the joint-top local scorer with Albirex’s Ilhan Fandi on five goals.
It has been a challenging 2022 for the effervescent attacker, who missed the start of the season due to a shoulder operation and had to be patient for regular playing time in a squad that oozes quality in attacking areas.
“It’s always tough to come back from a long injury, but I knew what I wanted – to come back quickly and contribute to the team. It’s not easy for sure, there are so many options in our team and I’m sure Coach Kim has a selection headache,” said Gabriel.
“For me, I always believe in focusing on what is within my control. Whether I play or not is not in my hands, but when given the opportunity to play, be it five or 10 or 90 minutes, I go all out and give 100 percent to the cause. I’m happy with Sunday’s showing, but now I’m definitely looking to do more.”
It looked like a tricky test on paper, but a furious start to each half of football saw the Lion City Sailors make light work of Tanjong Pagar United in a resounding 6-0 victory at the Jurong East Stadium on Sunday evening (3 July). This was the second win on the trot as the Sailors put the 2-1 defeat to Albirex Niigata (S) on 24 June firmly behind them.
An electric start to the game made all the difference as the Sailors opened up a three-goal lead within the first 18 minutes, before scoring another three goals within 10 frenetic minutes of the restart to tear apart a Jaguars side that had won their previous three home games.
Gabriel Quak and Diego Lopes netted clinical braces, while Maxime Lestienne starred with a goal and three assists. Captain Hariss Harun netted another in what was an all-round team display that drew praise from Head Coach Kim Do-hoon.
The victory meant the defending champions extended their lead at the top of the Singapore Premier League (SPL) table to nine points, although closest challengers Albirex have two games in hand and have a chance to close the gap against Tampines Rovers on Monday (4 July).
“I can talk all night about individuals, but this was a team effort. The boys gave everything, kept their organisation, their level of focus was top-notch and they didn’t let up until the final whistle.
“What really pleased me is that the boys delivered exactly what we prepared on the training pitch, so credit goes to every one of them,” said the 51-year-old.
Man-of-the-Match Diego sang from the same hymn book after another game that put on display the blossoming inter-continental chemistry between the Brazilian and his Belgian teammate, Maxime.
“Sometimes we players can over-complicate by dribbling too much or taking an extra touch, but actually football can be simple. Maxime and I play simple – one-two and move forward. We practise this a lot in training so it becomes easier when we play the game,” said the former Rio Ave man.
“It’s an important victory to show the strength of our group – not just those who started, but also those on the bench. I received a lot of balls from my teammates which made it easier for me and also helped us to play good team football.”
With Tanjong Pagar making the decision to bench three of their four foreigners and seemingly going for a soak-and-strike approach, the pre-match chatter was that the Sailors will likely have to be patient to wear down the Jaguars.
But the Sailors broke through with just two minutes on the clock.
Maxime was alive and alert in the area to tap home after everyone else had failed to make contact with Hafiz Nor’s deep cross from the right.
The goalscorer then turned provider in the 15th minute with a searing through pass that cut right through the entire Tanjong Pagar defence for Gabriel to slot past Zharfan Rohaizad in the Tanjong Pagar goal.
The Sailors continued in the same relentless attacking vein and duly made it 3-0 three minutes later, with Song Ui-young holding up play to tee up Hariss, whose speculative shot from outside the area bounced home after taking a deflection.
Hassan Sunny had to be alert at the other end to pull off a stunning point-blank save from Shodai Nishikawa just before half time to keep the three-goal lead intact at the break.
Tanjong Pagar brought on their big guns in Reo Nishiguchi and Blake Ricciuto in the second half, but it was the Sailors who emerged from the dressing room with more vigour and extended their lead on 52 minutes, with Diego nodding in Maxime’s inswinging cross from the right to cap off a great team move.
The game was sewn up before the hour mark, with Gabriel finding space in the area in the 54th minute, and and thrashed home his second in emphatic fashion, before Maxime chalked up his third assist of the night, teeing up Diego for the Brazilian’s second goal of the night just two minutes later.
The Sailors kept it tight at the back for the remainder of the match at Jurong East, with Hassan keeping his sixth league clean sheet of the season to round off a good evening’s work for the Sailors.
“We only knew Tanjong Pagar’s starting lineup just before the match, but like I’ve said before, we’re always focused on our own football,” said Kim.
“I told the boys that we just have to stay focused, stick to the plan we’ve prepared, and play the football we want to play. And I’m happy they did exactly that to get the win.”
We must stay focused and committed: Hassan
An emphatic midweek 5-1 win over Young Lions marked a return to winning ways, but a tougher test awaits the Lion City Sailors on Sunday evening (3 July) as they make the trip to the west to take on high-flying Tanjong Pagar United at the Jurong East Stadium.
Lying third in the eight-team Singapore Premier League (SPL) standings with six wins and four draws from 13 matches, the Jaguars have enjoyed a fine season and could prove to be a tough nut to crack. Hasrin Jailani’s side won their last three home matches, although they did suffer defeat on the road in a 1-0 reverse to Geylang International last Sunday (26 June).
While the Sailors triumphed 6-1 at Jalan Besar the last time both sides met in April, Hassan Sunny does not believe in reading too much into that result, preferring instead to focus on the Sailors’ desire to evolve into an even better football team with each passing game.
“Every opponent we play now is out there to beat us – there’s no doubt about that. When Coach Kim (Do-hoon) asked Mamat (Zulqarnaean Suzliman) how his former teammates at Young Lions are going to approach the game against us, he said they want to win,” said the 38-year-old, who was particularly heartened by the good shift that Saifullah Akbar put in against the Young Lions.
The midfielder made his first start for the Sailors since March and has not had the best of times this season, but Saifullah’s commitment to improvement is exactly the approach to training that Hassan believes will help the team take things to the next level.
“The amount of hard work you put in for the team overshadows whatever quality you have, in my opinion. Saifullah has not been playing that regularly this year, but given the chance, he gave everything and put in a lot of effort for the team. That’s what we want from each and every player, including myself,” stressed the Singapore national team custodian.
“I’m sure Tanjong Pagar are going to make things difficult for us, but no disrespect to them – it’s our duty to focus on ourselves and how we’re going to play. If we go out there and make sure we play with the right mentality and attitude, I’m confident we’ll get the job done – especially if we take this approach in attack.”
The Sailors’ firepower is not in question. They are the SPL’s joint-top scoring team – alongside Albirex Niigata (S) – with 37 goals from 13 outings. What is perhaps more pertinent is the fact that the goals are spread across the team, with 11 different scorers so far this season.
Shahdan Sulaiman is starting to make a habit of finding the target in recent matches, Maxime Lestienne has contributed good numbers from the wide areas and even Hafiz Nor has chipped in with the odd goal from his full-back position.
“That shows the quality of the team – we don’t only depend on our no. 9 or no. 10. Even our defenders are scoring goals so that’s a good sign for us. But as I’ve said, we cannot be happy with what we have. There is still room for the team to improve even further,” said Hassan.
And he has already spotted various areas with tremendous potential – in particular, the blossoming partnership between Maxime and Diego Lopes in the attacking third.
“It’s so enjoyable to see two players of different qualities and backgrounds come together to play the way they did in such a short span of time. Their understanding on the pitch makes it look like they’ve grown up together and played for more than 10 years together,” said the veteran.
“They fight every day, not in the bad way but more teasing each other about their respective weaknesses and making jokes. That’s actually very important in terms of their bonding and friendship. In this way, they’re pushing each other to become better players on the pitch.
“And I’m confident if both of them – and the rest of us – bring their best, we can get a result against Tanjong Pagar.”
The Lion City Sailors put last week’s 2-1 defeat to Albirex Niigata (S) behind them in emphatic style as they eased past Young Lions 5-1 at the Jalan Besar Stadium on Wednesday night (29 June) to return to winning ways in the Singapore Premier League (SPL).
Goals from Song Ui-young, Shahdan Sulaiman and Hafiz Nor put the defending champions 3-0 up at the break, before Kim Shin-wook and Maxime Lestienne joined in the act in the second half.
Although the Young Lions did pull one back through Glenn Kweh late on, there was no stopping the Sailors from extending their lead at the top of the eight-team SPL standings. The win restored the Sailors’ six-point lead over second-placed Albirex – although the White Swans have a game in hand.
The assured display was one that pleased Head Coach Kim Do-hoon.
“I told the boys before we came out (onto the pitch) that the only way we can shake the last result off – a painful defeat – is to turn it around by winning this match. And that’s exactly what we did tonight.
“I’m happy that we got several goals, but what’s more important was that we brought everything we wanted to – we were in control and playing the football that we want to play.
“I also want to thank the fans who were behind us and out here till even after the final whistle when they could have easily stayed home after the last defeat,” said the 51-year-old.
While Young Lions started off in enterprising fashion, it was the Sailors who settled in well and scored the opening goal after just 11 minutes. Shin-wook’s presence in the box caused the initial chaos in the box following Maxime’s inswinging corner, before Song prodded in from unmissable range to put the defending SPL champions ahead.
Wookie continued to make an impact upfront as he was fouled by Syed Akmal just outside the Young Lions’ box in the 14th minute. Shahdan curled home the resultant free-kick with class to put the champions two goals up.
After wasting a few chances, the Sailors found a third just before half time in fortuitous circumstances. Hafiz lashed into an empty net from 25 yards out after Young Lions goalkeeper Ridhwan Fikri had stayed down after an aerial challenge against Shin-wook.
Wookie finally got the goal he craved for 11 minutes into the second half. He converted from the spot for his 11th of the season to put the Sailors 4-0 up after Saifullah Akbar was brought down by Syahrul Sazali in the area.
The Sailors’ fifth and final goal came via Maxime, whose tireless work in the attacking third paid off as he pounced on Joel Chew’s loose pass in the 66th minute, before proceeding to fire a crisp low shot in between Ridhwan’s legs.
Maxime was then brought off along with Shahdan and Diego Lopes for the final 20 minutes as coach Kim made the decision to rest tired legs. The Young Lions regained some control as the Sailors substitutes settled into the match, and they found a consolation on 78 minutes with Glenn squeezing a grounder past Hassan Sunny to deny the latter his sixth clean sheet of the season.
Letting in that goal was something that dismayed coach Kim and he has demanded improvement in both the attacking and defensive areas in the next match – a tough away clash against Tanjong Pagar United at Jurong East Stadium on Sunday evening (3 July).
“Again we conceded a goal – that’s something that we still need to work on. And while we got the goals, we still need to be more clinical in front of goal,” said the South Korean.
“We need to continuously work in training to become better. Of course we can never be perfect, but we aspire to play football that is as close to perfect as possible.”
Zulqarnaen back and ready to charge ahead
The disappointment was clear after last Friday’s (24 June) narrow 2-1 defeat to Albirex Niigata (S) ended a club-record run of seven consecutive wins and a nine-game unbeaten league streak for the Lion City Sailors.
However, Kim Do-hoon’s men returned to training this week with a stronger resolve and are determined to get back on the winning track as they host bottom side Young Lions in their next Singapore Premier League (SPL) match at the Jalan Besar Stadium on Wednesday night (29 June).
“It was a fair fight against Albirex, but they took their chances and we didn’t – that’s the difference. Of course it’s frustrating to lose, but there’s plenty of games coming up and we shouldn’t dwell on the defeat,” said defender Zulqarnaen Suzliman.
“Young Lions will provide us with a different type of test, so we have to get our heads right and focus on playing our brand of offensive football to get the three points.”
A victory will see the SPL champions restore their six-point lead at the top, before closest challengers Albirex entertain Tampines Rovers next Monday (4 July).
Returning to the club in the mid-season transfer window, Zulqarnaen is hopeful of getting the nod from Kim to feature after missing both of the club’s fixtures in June. A hamstring tear in his last SPL appearance on April 2 with Young Lions meant he sat out for almost three months, only returning to full training the day following the Albirex defeat.
“It’s tough. I’ve been doing a lot of recovery work to get fit and I’m really eager to play again, but at the same time I’ve to take things slow and not rush as this injury might occur again. Fingers crossed I will get a chance to contribute to the team soon,” said the 24-year-old.
Having represented the Young Lions for six seasons – including 2021 and the first half of 2022 while serving National Service (NS) – Zulqarnaen has gratitude for his former employers but he will be professional once he crosses the white line.
“Young Lions gave me and several other youngsters the opportunity to play regular first-team football and helped us gain the experience that we need. I’m really thankful for all the support they’ve given me throughout my time there.
“After the game is the chance to chat and catch up with the staff and my friends there. But during the game I will give my 100 percent focus and commitment to help the Sailors get the result,” he declared.
Much has changed at the club since Zulqarnaen last pulled on a Sailors jersey – he played the first two matches of the Sailors’ inaugural season in 2020 before enlisting for NS in June of the same year.
Expectations have rocketed sky-high ever since winning the 2021 SPL title, and Zulqarnaen knows any shortfall in standards or attitude will not be accepted by the demanding Kim.
“I only trained a few weeks under him, but I already know how much he demands from the team – he’s not satisfied even after we’ve won a game. Coach Kim focuses a lot on fitness work and that’s important for us to overpower our opponents.
“The team is clearly much better than the one I played with in 2020 with players like Hariss Harun, Maxime Lestienne and Kim Shin-wook. We’re gelling well together and there’s certainly more to come from this team,” he said.
Having completed his NS obligations recently, Zulqarnaen is most looking forward to resuming football full-time and be part of a successful Sailors side, despite acknowledging that he has an uphill task battling for a spot in the starting eleven.
“I’ll usually be in camp from 8am to 5pm, then I’ll head down to training and that cycle repeats every day. It’s quite tiring, so I’m happy I can now fully focus on my football career,” he said.
“It felt great to have everyone in the team welcoming me back. (Sailors’ Head of Physiotherapy) Kak-Fizah (Nurhafizah Abu Sujad) and performance coach, Shay (Shazaly Ayob), have helped me a lot to get back fit.
“I don’t just want to play for the Sailors, I want to excel – I want to win the SPL, Singapore Cup and help the team qualify for the ACL (Asian Football Confederation Champions League) again next season.”
I take responsibility for loss: Kim Do-hoon
The Lion City Sailors’ seven-match win streak came to an end after a pulsating 94 minutes at the Jalan Besar Stadium on Friday (24 June) evening, with the defending Singapore Premier League (SPL) champions falling 2-1 to Albirex Niigata (S).
The top of the table clash drew 1,821 fans to Jalan Besar, and they were treated to quality football from both sides, with Maxime Lestienne a constant threat down the Sailors’ left flank, and the Japanese side looking equally threatening on the counter-attack.
Kim Do-hoon’s men took the lead in the 41st minute, but conceded the equaliser on the stroke of half-time, then fell behind just eight minutes after the restart. And despite throwing everything at Albirex in remaining minutes of the second half, could not drag themselves back into the game.
“It’s my fault – as a coach, I take full responsibility for tonight,” said a disappointed Kim.
“Big apologies to our fans. They were magnificent: they supported us until the final whistle, and that gave us that extra energy to push till the end, and they deserved a better performance.”
The Sailors dominated possession in the opening half, and took the lead in the 41st minute, with Kim Shin-wook heading in a Shahdan Sulaiman corner.
But it took just four minutes for Albirex to draw level. Masaya Idetsu’s swerving freekick whipped in from wide left evaded everyone in the box and bounced past Hassan Sunny and into the far corner.
The Japanese side carried that momentum into the second half and took the lead just nine minutes after the restart. A Kan Kobayashi diagonal ball caught out the Sailor’s defence, releasing Kodai Tanaka who blasted a left-foot shot past Hassan.
Sailors fashioned enough opportunities to draw level and even retake the lead. First, Maxime broke into the Albirex box after exchanging passes with Diego Lopes, but his near-post shot was turned behind by the outstretched foot of Albirex goalkeeper Takahiro Koga.
Then after a slew of corners bore no fruit, substitute Faris Ramli found himself facing Koga in a one-on-one situation, but dragged his left-foot shot agonisingly wide of the far post, in what was effectively the last kick of the game.
“We lacked focus in front of goal tonight. We needed to be more aggressive and clinical, and that’s an area we have to work on,” said the 51-year-old. “We’ll continue to play our football, but fix things that we didn’t do well.”
Despite the loss, the Sailors remain atop the eight-team SPL standings with 28 points, just three points ahead of second-placed Albirex.
The Sailors’ Head Coach will not have much time on the training ground to fix things before the Sailors play again. They next host Young Lions at Jalan Besar on Wednesday (29 June).
“We play Young Lions on Wednesday and it’s my job now to help the team shake off this defeat, prepare better, and ensure this result doesn’t happen again,” he said.
“Now it’s my job to study the next opponent and I’m going to work hard on that, but this loss is on me, and I want to apologise to our fans again.”
They may have scored six goals in a resounding victory last Saturday (19 June) to achieve a club-record seven consecutive wins, but it is back to the usual grind at the Lion City Sailors’ training sessions.
The defending Singapore Premier League (SPL) champions will face Albirex Niigata (S), their closest challengers for the league crown at the Jalan Besar Stadium on Friday (24 June), and skipper Hariss Harun has called for his team to keep their feet firmly on the ground.
“We played really well in the last game, scored several goals too, but we must put that behind us,” he said of the Sailors’ winning return to SPL action after a month’s hiatus due to the international break.
Hariss revealed that the National Team players in the Sailors’ squad had to cope with a tiring travel schedule that took the Lions from Abu Dhabi to the Kyrgyz Republic capital of Bishkek, and while the team is managing fatigue well, he believes the mental aspect of the game will be important against their Japanese opponents.
“We can’t take anything for granted, especially against our title rivals, Albirex. This is a different game, on a different surface, and we must be on our toes if we want to get all three points,” he said.
“The mental side of the game will be very important, and we have to be absolutely focused on matchday, because we know what Albirex can do.”
Last week’s 6-1 win on the natural surface of the Toa Payoh Stadium came with some scintillating attacking play but the Sailors will have to turn their minds to a high-pressing Albirex side, and the artificial surface of Jalan Besar.
The Sailors and Albirex have played each other twice, the first clash saw the Sailors run out 2-1 winners in the season-opening AIA Community Shield, with the March SPL fixture ending in a 1-1 draw.
Albirex are second in the eight-team SPL standings on 22 points, trailing the league-leading Sailors by six.
“We’re playing at home, so we need to go out there, get the job done and take all three points like we aim to do in every game, but we know we can’t take it easy,” said the 31-year-old, who pointed to the two close encounters against the White Swans this year.
“We know they will press us with speed – something they do well – so we have to be careful. We have to be compact, score goals and be in control of the game for the entire match, because if they don’t have the ball, it’ll be difficult for them to hurt us,” said Hariss.
“Both teams have quality, so the difference will be in the mental side of the game – we must stay sharply focused if we want all three points.”
Any doubts over whether the Lion City Sailors could pick up where they left off prior to the international break were empathically dispelled on Sunday night (June 19).
On their return to AIA Singapore Premier League (SPL) action after a month’s hiatus, the leaders cruised to a club-record seventh consecutive league win by beating Balestier Khalsa 6-1 at Toa Payoh Stadium.
Kim Do-hoon had admitted before the match that some tweaks could be made for battle at a venue where two points were dropped in their last visit, and it perhaps helped that the Sailors were given an early wake-up call when Daniel Goh smashed an opportunistic 30-yard effort off the bar after just three minutes.
But the Sailors’ response was swift and glorious. As a loose, bouncing ball came his way some 35 yards out from goal, Shahdan Sulaiman stunned everyone by meeting it first-time with a half-volley that swerved into the bottom left corner.
The midfield maestro would go on to curl another unstoppable 30-yard strike into the top right corner on 41 minutes as he put on a long-range shooting masterclass, and was unfortunate not to complete a hat-trick when a 35-yard volley came off the bar in the second half. “I think it was a good performance, not only from me, but from the whole team,” the 34-year-old modestly reflected. “Coming back from the break, it is a good win to restart our systems.”
Shahdan also played a key role in the Sailors’ second goal on 19 minutes by releasing Diego Lopes with a trademark through ball, allowing the Brazilian to set up Song Uiyoung for a tap-in. Captain Hariss Harun got the third in the 26th minute, controlling Pedro Henrique’s headed flick off Maxime Lestienne’s corner with his chest before firing in from close range to open his Sailors account.
If the hosts had no answer to Shahdan, they certainly did not have a handle on Lopes. The Sailors’ number 10 was constantly picking apart the Balestier defence, and was unfortunate to see a deft lob cleared off the line in the first half. A goal would have perfectly complemented his hat-trick of assists, with the latter two coming after the half-time break.
First, a perfectly-weighted pass sent substitute Gabriel Quak racing clear into the box on 74 minutes to slot in a left-footed effort for his 40th SPL goal. Seven minutes later, Lopes played a one-two with Kim Shin-wook before crossing for Faris Ramli to head in his first of the season barely two minutes after coming on. The goal made Faris the 11th different player to score for the Sailors – a league-best tally this year.
Kim himself saw a first-half header rattle the woodwork in an encounter where the margin of victory could have been larger, with Faris also firing over from a decent position, and Balestier goalkeeper Hairul Syirhan doing well to tip over a fierce strike from Lestienne.
At the other end, Hassan Sunny was rarely troubled, but would not have been pleased with the loss of a clean sheet – he was powerless to stop Goh’s well-struck penalty in the third minute of added time.
Indeed, such are the high standards of Coach Kim that he said: “I wouldn’t call it (the win) perfect (as) we conceded a goal. But, I give full credit to my boys because they were trying to stay focused to make a perfect game until the last moment, so full credit to them and congratulations to my players tonight. We will try our best to continue with the good momentum in the next game.”
The Korean knows that the Sailors have to keep up the hard work for their next match on Friday (24 June) against Albirex Niigata (S), who remain six points behind in second after crushing Hougang United 5-0 on Sunday.
The Lion City Sailors laid down a serious marker in their quest to win the Deloitte Women’s Premier League (WPL) title this season, as they overcame Hougang United 6-0 last evening (June 18) at the Yishun Stadium.
Forwards Lila Tan and Dorcas Chu both snagged themselves a brace, while Khairunnisa Anwar and Madison Telmer also got on the scoresheet for the Sailors.
The margin of victory is the largest in the WPL so far this season, with four rounds of matches having already been played.
Sailors assistant coach Adelina Gomez – standing in for head coach Yeong Sheau Shyan, who is currently overseeing the Singapore Women’s Under-16 national side’s training camp in Thailand – hailed her charges for putting in such a dominant performance.
She said: “The game wasn’t easy considering the condition of the pitch but the girls made it look plain sailing. Our combinations and support plays were fantastic. It was a superb game, and they should be so proud of their performance.
“We met our objectives and stuck to the game plan. I think getting the three points and a clean sheet is already a display of how well they’ve performed.”
Two-goal hero Lila added: “It was a huge challenge to play on the field after it rained. At times, it felt like playing beach football, as the field was all muddy and wet. Nonetheless, I believe we tried our very best despite the slips and falls.”
Lila, who was among the 12 Sailors called up the Lionesses’ provisional 29-player squad ahead of the upcoming ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Women’s Championship, was also pleased to have got off the mark in her debut for the club.
“Its a thrilling feeling to be able to score on my debut! I am just happy I gave it my all on the field and played with no regrets,” said Lila. “It’s important to be able to consistently perform on the field and fully demonstrate your potential as an athlete, especially leading up to the upcoming AFF championship.”
Adelina was particularly pleased with her side’s movement and penetration in the final third.
“We were really comfortable in playing those crucial balls into space and it caused a lot of issues for the opponent,” Adelina elaborated. “We also worked well together in combining passes and runs for goal scoring opportunities.”
While Lila and Dorcas both garnered plaudits for their goalscoring exploits, it was the performance of midfielder Venetia Lim – making her debut for the Sailors – who caught the eye of Adelina.
“I’d say every player played their heart out last night. But Venetia was the one who stood out for me,” Adelina mused.
“Her football intelligence is phenomenal, and she read the game superbly. She was so composed and calm on the ball, her decision making was spot on, and she played brilliantly despite returning from an injury.”
With the win, the Sailors, who beat Albirex Niigata (S) 4-1 in their first match of the season two weeks ago, find themselves third in the table on six points – three points behind current league leaders Tanjong Pagar United, who have played two games more.
The Sailors will next take on Still Aerion FC at the Yishun Stadium on July 16.
