Category: News
The Lion City Sailors got back to winning ways last night (3 August) as they secured a 4-0 win over Balestier Khalsa in the Deloitte Women’s Premier League (WPL).
A four-goal blitz in the last 30 minutes of the second half – courtesy of Danelle Tan, Nur Syazwani Ruzi, Dorcas Chu and Nur Izzati Rosni – ensured the Sailors picked up all three points against the Tigers.
However, the match was once again marked by the Sailors needing to overcome a deep, defensive line that Balestier used to great effect to keep their goal from being breached in the first half.
It did not help that the match – which was previously postponed due to cases of Covid-19 in the Balestier squad – was re-arranged to be held on a weekday, which meant that many of the players went to the match directly after work or school.
“A few players looked tired and sluggish even during the warmup as they were rushing in from a day of school and work,” explained coach Yeong Sheau Shyan. “So there was definitely some uncertainty as to whether we could put in the type of performance that was needed to get the three points.
“The girls knew what we needed to do better following our last match (a goalless draw with Tanjong Pagar United), but it wasn’t well executed in the first half. I was pleased to see the change in approach by the players after the break, so overall, I’m very happy with the win.”
The result means that the Sailors now have a three-point buffer at the top of the seven-team WPL standings, between themselves and second-placed Tanjong Pagar.
With half the season played, the Sailors women remain the only team in the league yet to taste defeat. While this augurs well for the Sailors’ title ambitions, Sheau Shyan was quick to emphasise the need for her players to remain firmly on top of their game.
“The three-point lead that we currently have doesn’t mean much, as I expect the second half of the season to be much tougher,” Sheau Shyan mused. “Our biggest challenge is still to find a way to overcome the compact block, without compromising our own defence.”
While the Sailors have a bye in this weekend’s round of WPL fixtures, they will not be sitting idly by. Instead, the team will travel to Malaysia for a practice match and sharing session with their counterparts from Selangor FC.
And Sheau Shyan is excited for what her team will be able to glean from this trip.
“This trip is going to be very interesting. We are pitting ourselves against a top team in the Malaysian women’s league, and it will give us an idea of how our playing style works when the opponent comes out and attacks us,” she said.
“We aren’t looking for results. We just want to gauge what our starting point is, as well as learn and improve from the experience.”
A need for speed
It has been a common sight in the Deloitte Women’s Premier League (WPL) this season to see teams sit back and defend deep in a compact block when playing the Lion City Sailors.
Despite the fact that the Sailors are currently the top scorers in the WPL with 16 goals in five games, playing against such ultra-defensive sides has been a constant source of frustration for the team.
Indeed, Sailors head coach Yeong Sheau Shyan had remarked in the aftermath of their goalless draw with Tanjong Pagar on Sunday (July 31) that it was “tough” to play against teams that only looked to defend against them, and expressed her disappointment at the seeming lack of attacking intent shown by the opposition.
As one of the forwards in this Sailors squad, Dorcas Chu knows first-hand just how difficult and vexing it can be.
The 20-year-old, however, insists the onus is on the Sailors to find a way to overcome these teams. And she believes the best way to do so is to move the ball quicker in the final third of the pitch.
“We need to play faster football with one or two touches. It’s hard to play fast when you take unnecessary touches,” said Dorcas. “The aim is to draw the defenders out of their position. This will leave gaps in their backline, which we, as attackers, must then be able to exploit with our vision and creativity.
“But the space will only be left open for a few seconds, depending on how quickly the defenders recover. That’s why it is so important for us to react and play faster. So we need to be wise with the passes we make, and the touches we take. This is crucial if we want to overcome a low defensive block.
“We need to work on this as a team – how to quickly attack the gaps that are open, be more creative with our passes and touches, and make dangerous runs into the box.”
With three goals and one assist so far this season, Dorcas has been one of the standout players in the team. It is no surprise that she is often one of the first names on Sheau Shyan’s team sheet, and has started four of the Sailors’ five games this season.
Reflecting on her performances so far this season, Dorcas said: “I think so far, it’s been pretty good. I’ve tried my best to follow my coach’s tactics and plans for each game.
“There were some moments where I could’ve done better, but ultimately I gave my best for every game, so I’m pretty happy and satisfied because that’s all one can really do.
“It is important that I don’t allow the mistakes I’ve made to define how good or bad I am. Instead, I make sure to learn from them, and not allow it to happen again. Overall, though, I really enjoy playing for the Sailors because I believe that Sheau Shyan is an amazing coach, and I’m so glad to be playing under her because I’m learning a lot.”
Indeed, Dorcas is determined to make full use of her experiences with the Sailors this season to improve as a player.
“Growth can’t happen when you’re still in your comfort zone. I’d like to step out of my comfort zone through the way I play, so that I can ultimately improve as a player,” Dorcas mused. “Personally, as a forward, I want to learn how to take more risks when I attack. For example, this might mean attempting a more ambitious pass to try and break the opposition defence, rather than playing the safer option. I believe that this skill is essential if you want to create more scoring opportunities for your team.
“Playing for the Sailors, however, we can sometimes be so caught up in achieving our goals that we forget the reason why we are doing what we are doing in the first place – playing football. So, I hope that even though there might be pressure and some weight on our shoulders (to deliver the WPL trophy), we can all still enjoy playing football together as a team.”
For now, Dorcas will turn her attention to helping the Sailors overcome Balestier Khalsa on this (3 Aug) evening.
The match – which was previously postponed due to a few of Balestier’s players coming down with Covid-19 – will afford the Sailors a chance to go three points clear at the top of the WPL table.
And Dorcas knows this is an opportunity that they will have to grab with both hands.
She said: “It is incredibly important that we get all three points against Balestier, as it means we stay top of the table.
“We were all very frustrated from the draw with Tanjong Pagar as it was the first time we failed to score. That has fired us up, because we don’t want it to happen again, so we’re working even harder to get the goals this time around.”
In all five of their Deloitte Women’s Premier League (WPL) games this season, the Lion City Sailors have found themselves going up against compact, defensive blocks designed to nullify their attacking threat.
While the Sailors were able to breach the defences of the first four teams they faced, they were finally stymied at the fifth time of asking, drawing a blank in a 0-0 draw with Tanjong Pagar United on Sunday (31 July) evening.
Up against a Tanjong Pagar side that for large periods of the game showed little to no intention of attacking, the Sailors simply could not find a way past a resolute Jaguars defence that played out of their skins to keep a clean sheet.
It was, in all, a frustrating night for the Sailors, who dropped points for the first time this season.
Reflecting on the result, Sailors head coach Yeong Sheau Shyan said: “We expect most of our opponents to combat us with compact blocks, but to be honest, we didn’t quite expect Tanjong Pagar to play so negatively today.
“When they set up in an ultra-low block with the intent to just boot up long balls to counter-attack, I knew it was going to be a tough game.
“We had possession for long periods in the match and the girls did their best to create width and get forward in numbers. But it just wasn’t our night, as many of our attempts were wide of the target or saved by their goalkeeper, who had a very good game.”
Nonetheless, Sheau Shyan refused to make any excuses for her side’s failure to break down the Tanjong Pagar defence.
“Breaking a compact, low block is something even top teams in the world have problems with,” Sheau Shyan mused. “That’s why it’s such a popular tactic with many of the bottom teams in most leagues.
“And for the past two years, our girls (in the Singapore National Team) have been the ones implementing that defensive block whenever they go up against international opponents. They were never trained to be proactive in attack, and to take the game to the opponent. This is an obstacle we must overcome, but there are no excuses from us – we will not stop working hard and improving on the attacking aspect of our game until we break through this barrier.”
Sheau Shyan, however, admitted that she had hoped for Tanjong Pagar to deploy a more expansive, attacking style of play, so as to make it more of an exciting game for all.
“When you have the top three opponents in the league parking the bus against you, it can be very frustrating. After all, we want to play good football, and we want to help progress women’s football in Singapore,” Sheau Shyan said.
“There are very good players in Tanjong Pagar. I was really hoping we’d have a good match like how they played against Tiong Bahru. But I guess all they wanted was to get a point off us.
“Anyway, this game is over. We will now turn our attention to the game against Balestier Khalsa on Wednesday night, where we know we must pick up all three points.”
The Sailors will take on Balestier at the Yishun Stadium at 7.45pm this Wednesday (3 August) – in a match rescheduled from June – before travelling to Malaysia to play Selangor FC women’s team in a friendly match over the weekend.
Sailors go down in six-goal thriller
Despite controlling early proceedings and taking the lead, the Lion City Sailors fell to a 4-2 defeat to title rivals Albirex Niigata (S) in a thrilling top-of-the-table Singapore Premier League (SPL) clash at Jurong East Stadium on Friday night.
M Anumanathan drew first blood for the champions, but Albirex came back and led at half-time through a lethal brace by Kodai Tanaka.
The White Swans extended their lead through Kan Kobayashi before Kim Shin-wook came off the bench to pull one back for the Sailors, but the night belonged to the home side – who added a fourth through Tadanari Lee to seal the three points in front of a sell-out crowd.
The result meant Albirex closed the gap on the table-topping Sailors to two points with a game in hand, with Sailors Head Coach Kim Do-hoon left lamenting the critical mistakes that led to the loss.
“One of the disappointments tonight was not being clinical and precise enough to finish the chances we had. Another one was conceding too early after scoring the first goal. If we had been able to keep the lead longer, it could have been a different game.
“This was a game that we really wanted to win, but the result turned out otherwise – so huge apologies to the fans who were giving us awesome support till the final whistle,” said the 52-year-old.
In a game played under rainy conditions, the Sailors looked sharp in the opening exchanges as Diego Lopes and Hafiz Nor drew excellent stops from Albirex goalkeeper Takahiro Koga within the first 20 minutes.
Kim’s men duly took a deserved lead in the 21st minute, with Anumanthan benefitting from Diego Lopes’ cut-back to fire home albeit via a deflection for his first goal for the Sailors.
However, the joy proved to be short-lived as Albirex equalised just two minutes later – with Tanaka popping up at the back post to nod home Masaya Idetsu’s deep cross from the right.
The 22-year-old – who scored the match-winner the last time both sides met in June – proved to be the standout performer once again. In the 38th minute, he cut inside Amirul Adli before unleashing a curling shot from the edge of the box for his second goal of the night.
Tanaka then turned provider to tee up Kobayashi to lash low past Hassan Sunny in the 56th minute to make it 3-1 for the hosts. But the Sailors rallied and reduced the deficit in the 74th minute, courtesy of substitute Shin-wook who came on 11 minutes earlier.
After intercepting a loose ball, captain Hariss Harun drove forward to release Song, who in turn laid it off for Shin-wook to thump an emphatic finish past Koga and spark hopes of a Sailors comeback.
Hassan then produced a stunning save to deny Kobayashi from point-blank range in the 79th minute, but the 38-year-old was left helpless for Albirex’s fourth goal five minutes later. Idetsu floated an excellent cross into the area for former Southampton man Tadanari Lee to head home.
The Sailors battled to the finish, but eventually went down to their third defeat of the season in what is turning out to be an enthralling SPL title race.
But a bullish Coach Kim refused to look too much into the current title equation and preferred to focus on the 10 remaining games left in the season.
“Obviously it’s a huge disappointment tonight, but it’s too early to make any judgement (on the title race). We just have to shake this result off, keep our heads up and get ready for the next match.
“We’ll evaluate and go through the match videos to see where we didn’t do well and try not to repeat the same mistakes again. What I want to tell our fans is that we’re going to fight and give everything to become champions again,” said the former Ulsan Hyundai man.
The Sailors will host Balestier Khalsa in their next SPL match next Saturday (6 August).
She spent seven fulfilling years playing for Tanjong Pagar United’s Women team, before finally deciding to take the leap of faith to join the Lion City Sailors in November 2020.
And this Sunday evening (31 July), for the first time since moving to the Sailors, goalkeeper Beatrice Tan will finally face her former club in competitive action, with the two teams set to duke it out in the Deloitte Women’s Premier League (WPL).
Unsurprisingly, given her lengthy affiliation with Tanjong Pagar, Beatrice admits that she will head into this top-of-the-table clash with “mixed feelings”.
“I’m feeling excited, but also a little nervous to be playing my former club,” said Beatrice. “After all, I was with the team since 2013, back when it was still known as the H2O/ITE Dream Team.
“But I made the difficult decision to leave them and join the Sailors because I felt that moving to another club would help me to continue to grow as a player by playing with different teammates, and under a different coaching style.”
Putting sentiments aside, Beatrice insists she is fully focused on ensuring that the Sailors come out on top against their WPL title rivals at the Yishun Stadium this weekend.
The Sailors are currently top of the WPL and level on 12 points with Tanjong Pagar, who have played a game more.
“All of us are definitely ready for the challenge (of Tanjong Pagar),” Beatrice declared. “We know how important getting the three points will be, and there will be pressure on us, of course.
“But we’re all just focusing on what we can control, which is to play the game we want to, with quick combination plays. I think that will be key in breaking down the Tanjong Pagar defence and scoring the goals that will win us the game.”
While the Sailors are better known for their sleek attacking prowess, their recent run of good form – they remain the only team with a perfect record in the league – also owes a lot to their sturdy defensive unit that Beatrice is a key part of.
Indeed, with just two goals conceded so far this season, the Sailors currently boast the best defensive record in the league.
But Beatrice knows that their defence will be pushed to the limit against Tanjong Pagar, who are the league’s second-highest scorers with 14 goals – two fewer than the top-scoring Sailors women.
Nonetheless, Beatrice believes the collective manner with which the entire team defends will be key in shutting the Jaguars out.
“Tanjong Pagar are a good team with talented players like Manami (Fukuzawa) and Captain Nuriah (Mohd Noor), who are very comfortable with holding the ball, have the vision to distribute it effectively, and are good with their finishing.
“But our solidity in defence so far has been built upon teamwork, where everyone, including the attackers, work hard to win the ball back. That has to continue against Tanjong Pagar, while our backline has to be switched on at all times and not get complacent, or we can get punished,” said Beatrice.
“It won’t be easy, but if we all play our part and do our best, I’m confident we can get the win.”
Home of the Sailors officially opens
The Lion City Sailors Training Centre was officially opened yesterday (28 July), with club Chairman Mr Forrest Li joined by Guest of Honour, Mr Edwin Tong, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth and Second Minister for Law at the opening ceremony at 8 Mattar Road.
This is the first-of-its-kind integrated football training facility in Singapore. The Training Centre that features physiotherapy rooms, a gym, an analysis room as well as study facilities for academy trainees alongside five top-of-the-line football fields, is the new home of the Sailors first team, Under-21 side, academy trainees as well as its women’s team.
A tangible manifestation of the Sailors vision
The training centre is the most tangible manifestation of the Sailors’ commitment to excellence as the club drives towards its vision of reinvigorating Singapore football.
In addition to providing the club with a sturdy platform to launch the next phase of its growth, the Training Centre will facilitate the establishment of a pipeline of footballers as it aims to boost youth development as part of the national project: “Unleash the Roar!” (UTR!).
“This training centre is a symbol of our commitment to revitalising local football, and to pursuing excellence for the Lion City Sailors, now and in the future. We built this centre because infrastructure is the basis of any good ecosystem,” said club Chairman Mr Forrest Li.
“Singapore’s urban planning shows how excellent infrastructure can lay the foundation of a thriving society and economy – and it is the same with football. We are excited to be a part of the UTR! initiative announced by SportSG and the FAS, which has infrastructure and youth development as two of its key pillars,” he added.
“We hope this training centre pushes the football scene a bit further along that journey.”
A vehicle for the larger sporting fraternity
In line with the objectives of UTR! there is a clear national drive to create opportunities for more young Singaporean boys and girls to undergo structured high-quality football training, with talent pathways for those who aspire to play professionally. This perfectly aligns with the vision of the Sailors, with the Training Centre poised to act as an effective development platform.
The Sailors are hosting sessions for the Sailors Development Centre that is a part of the ActiveSG Football Academy, while also providing an avenue for the development of talent in auxiliary sporting industries like sports medicine, physiotherapy, and strength and conditioning.
A beacon of community cohesion in MacPherson
The Lion City Sailors Training Centre is designed to support more than just elite sports.
The facility includes a viewing area for the public, a café, as well as community-friendly spaces where grassroots activities for residents of MacPherson can be hosted. These features come as part of the facility’s secondary goal to serve and support the residents in the community, with the aim of bringing greater vibrancy and cohesion to the MacPherson community as an inclusive sports hub in the neighbourhood.
“Our thanks go to MacPherson, Ms Tin Pei Ling, and the community as a whole for welcoming us so warmly into Mattar. At the end of the day, anything we do on the field means little without the passion of our fans and support from our community,” said Mr Li, pointing to the Sailors’ efforts in MacPherson that have already kicked off even before the official opening of the Training Centre.
The Sailors collaborated with grassroots organisations in MacPherson for its Grant-a-wish initiative in November 2021, further solidifying the partnership by collaborating for the MacPherson Cares Carnival last weekend, on 24 July.
“Our hope is to bring people together through football, giving people of all ages and backgrounds something to unite around. We will continue to work closely with our community partners on fun and exciting initiatives for residents,” added Mr Li.
“These are still the early days, but we are in this for the long haul. I have been happy to see the Sailors take steady steps in our first two years, and look to the future with great optimism.”
Key facilities at the Lion City Sailors Training Centre:
- 5 football pitches
- 1 hybrid 11-a-side pitch
- 1 artificial turf 11-a-side
- 3 7-a-side pitches
- 5 Academy changing rooms, including one for female trainees
- 3 Study rooms
- 3 Meeting rooms
- Fully equipped gym
- 2 Physiotherapy rooms
- 2 Briefing rooms
- Office space for up to 48 staff
- Café – Sailors’ Galley
- Rooftop public access and event spaces
They have returned to winning ways with a dramatic last-gasp 2-1 win over Tampines Rovers, but the Lion City Sailors must now turn their attentions to yet another game of huge significance – an away clash against Singapore Premier League (SPL) title rivals Albirex Niigata (S) at the Jurong East Stadium on Friday (29 July) night.
While Kim Do-hoon’s men hold a five-point lead atop the SPL standings, second-placed White Swans have a game in hand and will look to turn the tables with a win against the champions. And the records suggest the Japanese side hold a bit of an advantage – the Sailors have yet to defeat Albirex in the league in seven meetings since their 2020 inception.
But attacker Song Ui-young believes things will be different this time out.
The Sailors have been buoyed by their win over the Stags and are in prime position to get one over the satellite Japanese side this time round.
“Albirex is a well-organised and compact team. They have many quality players, but we can beat them. Traditionally it has always been close affairs between us and we were unlucky on a few occasions, so we need to get the little details right to get a win against them.
“Everyone’s well motivated after winning on Sunday and the atmosphere within the team is superb. We have had five days to recover and that’s enough – we’re going all out for the victory on Friday,” said the 28-year-old.
A huge takeaway from the Tampines victory was the team’s belief, desire and unwavering commitment to go for the win in the dying moments of a game in which a third straight draw was imminent.
Song believes that bodes well as the league edges towards the business end of the season.
“We left it quite late to score the winner, but at no time did we panic or fear or have any negative emotions within the team. We were just focused on getting the three points and we believed that we’d always have a chance to score if we kept pushing ourselves.
“What happened in that game showed the spirit we have and it’s clear to me: we’re ready to give everything to win the SPL title again,” declared the South Korean-born Singaporean.
The Sailors may be facing disciplinary action for the unpleasant scenes in the last game against Tampines, but Song asserts that his team is fully focused on the task ahead.
“These things have already happened and if I’m honest, we’re no longer thinking about them. For us players, the focus is on our football and what we need to do. We are professional football players and we’re not going to allow things outside the pitch to affect our focus,” he said.
On the personal front, Song is looking to continue in the same vein and recent good form that saw him net three goals in his last five outings.
“I’m happy that I’ve been performing well. The understanding between Maxime (Lestienne), Diego (Lopes) and me is getting better with each game. It’s so enjoyable to combine with them on the pitch,” said Song.
“For me, there are no big or small games, every single game is important. We are motivated to go out there and do the job for the club – and that is exactly what our fans will see on Friday.”
Desire, commitment and grit – the Lion City Sailors displayed all these qualities as they dug deep into their reserves to claim a much-needed 2-1 win over Tampines Rovers at Jalan Besar Stadium on Sunday (24 July) evening to return to winning ways in the Singapore Premier League (SPL).
After two consecutive 1-1 draws and seeing their lead atop the SPL standings whittled down to two points after Albirex Niigata’s 5-0 win over Young Lions the day earlier, the Sailors needed to win.
And Kim Do-hoon’s men seized the initiative to lead at the break, courtesy of Song Ui-young’s header.
But Taufik Suparno’s late equaliser for Tampines thereafter looked set to condemn the champions to a third straight draw, until Pedro Henrique popped up in the box in the fourth minute of injury time to slam home a dramatic last-gasp winner.
After making a crucial intervention to stop a Tampines through ball, the Brazilian centre-back burst forward to support the attack.
As substitute Maxime Lestienne combined expertly with Diego Lopes down the left to work the way into the danger area, Pedro found himself at the right place at the right time to slam home – and in the process, restored the Sailors’ five-point lead at the SPL summit.
Sailors head coach Kim Do-hoon was proud of his side’s resilience and the unwavering fan support that brought forth a massive three points ahead of a crucial away game against title rivals Albirex this Friday (29 July).
“After two draws, we needed to come back stronger – and we did. The players ran and fought till the last minute – we owe it to them and the fans who were cheering all the way.
“These three points are very important for us and give us a huge boost for the upcoming games, but we’re also aware we need to train harder to refine our touches and finishing,” said the 52-year-old.
This game also marked the Sailors’ partnership with Dyslexia Association of Singapore (DAS) to promote awareness of the cause. A total of $25,500 was raised for DAS through tickets issued ahead of kickoff, with Tampines getting on board the worthy cause as club Chairman Desmond Ong presented a cheque of $5,000 to DAS.
The Sailors have never gone three games without a win since their 2020 inception and the players on the field dug deep to prevent that scenario.
Pedro and captain Hariss partnered well at the back to shut out the threat brought by Tampines’ league-leading goal scorer Boris Kopitović in the first half as the Sailors gradually took command of proceedings.
After Diego produced a silky pirouette turn to earn a foul off Firdaus Kasman on the edge of the box, Shahdan Sulaiman played in the perfect free-kick for Song to nod past a stranded Syazwan in the Tampines goal in the 30th minute.
The Sailors went close on another two occasions before half-time and had a couple of half-chances after the break, but Tampines came back strongly in the latter stages of the game as Taufik slotted the ball past Hassan Sunny after being put through on goal by fellow substitute Irwan Shah to equalise on 77 minutes.
Hassan later stood firm to deny Kopitović from point-blank range six minutes later, and that brilliant save paved the way for a stunning late show by the Sailors.
With the clock ticking down, the Sailors surged forward and found a stoppage-time winner through Pedro – who altered the complexion of the SPL title race with one clean swing of his left boot.
Emotions ran high in a game of huge significance with both sets of players involved in some unsavoury scenes after the final whistle, as Coach Kim apologised for what transpired.
“Results aside, we would like to apologise to the fans for showing such emotions,” he said.
“Emotions can get rough during a game and it’s up to us to control it. It got a bit heated, but we’ll make sure this won’t happen again.”
She had vowed to do all she can to help the Lion City Sailors Women’s team in their quest for the Deloitte Women’s Premier League (WPL) title this season, despite only being able to feature in a handful of games this season.
And last evening at the Yishun Stadium, Danelle Tan made good on that promise, scoring twice to lead the Sailors to a 2-1 victory over Tiong Bahru FC.
It was the second game in a row that Danelle had netted a brace, with the 17-year-old repeating her two-goal heroics from the previous week in the 4-0 win over Still Aerion FC.
This time, however, the sprightly forward’s goals proved to be even more important. They ended up being the difference in what was a tightly-contested encounter.
Reflecting on her match-winning display, Danelle said: “I’m obviously very happy to be able to score and help the team to a win! Tiong Bahru proved a strong side, and kept a very low and tight block in the first half, so we found it really hard to break through.
“In the second half, I dropped into a deeper role. This gave me more space to create chances for my teammates and myself. It was a tough three points earned today, but it’s nice that we’re back at the top of the table.”
The win ensured that the Sailors’ perfect record this season was kept intact. Crucially, it also propelled them to the top of the WPL – level on 12 points with Tanjong Pagar United, but with a superior goal difference, and game in hand.
That it was Danelle who scored the goals to secure the victory and came as no surprise to head coach Yeong Sheau Shyan, who remains confident that Danelle has what it takes to become one of the best players that Singapore has ever produced.
“She is not just talented. The amount of work she puts into improving herself is unmatched. In Singapore, very few others have the kind of support system she has, which allows her to train so wholeheartedly,” said Sheau Shyan, pointing to the phenomenal family support Danelle has to pursue her football dreams.
“We have other girls who are just as passionate and talented, but the problem is we don’t have the infrastructure and support for them to help pursue their dreams.
“Danelle definitely has a lot of potential, and I’m excited to see how far she’ll go internationally.”
While the Sailors were able to get all three points this time around, Sheau Shyan knows that her side will have to quickly find a way to overcome teams that defend in low blocks if they are to continue their winning streak.
“We’ve expected this to be the case with most of our opponents, but we haven’t had much time to work on it,” said Sheau Shyan. “There are still many areas we need to improve on. Being patient in the build up, playing quick combinations, switching play – we don’t have the tools to be efficient against compact blocks yet.”
Sheau Shyan, however, credited her players for their unwavering persistence in trying to break down the resolute Tiong Bahru defence.
“We don’t have a huge squad, but we have the quality and fitness needed to keep playing the match at a high intensity. Just as it was difficult for us to break through, it was equally hard for our opponents to maintain the block for long periods. We kept poking at them until they were worn down in the second half,” Sheau Shyan mused.
“We don’t intentionally try to leave it to the second half (to score)…that’s just how long we needed to physically break them down today.”
After dropping points for a second match in a row in a frustrating 1-1 draw against Geylang International and having their lead at the top of the Singapore Premier League (SPL) cut down to five, the Lion City Sailors are hell-bent on a return to winning ways against Tampines Rovers at the Jalan Besar Stadium on Sunday (24 July) evening.
The Sailors have triumphed in both SPL encounters this season – a 1-0 win at JBS in March and a 4-0 thumping at Our Tampines Hub in May – but captain Hariss Harun knows they will have to bring their A-game to defeat the Stags for a third time in 2022.
“Tampines have good players that can cause us trouble. In the first game they were the better team, but we got the result. In the second game, we were not that good in the first half before coming into life in the second,” recalled the 31-year-old.
“For sure, we cannot underestimate them. But at the same time, we’re focusing on what we can do better than what we managed in our last game. On the whole, we’ve done well coming into Round 3 of the SPL, but there’s still a lot of room for improvement.”
The Sailors went away from the last couple of outings – against Hougang United then Geylang – with visible disappointment as they failed to win in successive league matches for the first time since August 2021, in Kim Do-hoon’s first two games at the helm.
While admitting their recent form is “not ideal”, Hariss is firm in his belief that the defending SPL champions have what it takes to pull themselves out of this rut.
“I know people expect us to win every game because of the quality we have in our squad and the money that the club has spent, but it’s virtually impossible to have a perfect season.
“To take two points from two games is not enough for us and we accept that. But it’s normal to go through a blip, or whatever you call it, like ours. The onus is on us to stick together and come through this as a team,” he added.
“We just have to put the last two results behind us, but at the same time not to forget the experience and how we felt – because that’s how we learn. The beauty of football is that there’s usually an opportunity coming up very quickly for us to correct our mistakes and for us, that comes this Sunday.”
The key for the Sailors, according to Hariss, is to regain the attacking fluidity that the team had previously shown – which saw the Sailors score at least four goals in seven out of the 10 matches prior to this run.
“It just seemed like we were quite laboured in our play in those two draws, while in other games everything flowed very nicely. We know other teams are always going to make it hard for us, so it’s down to us to find the solutions and try to adapt to the situation of the game.
“Instead of pointing fingers at each other, we need to solve this issue collectively. Now it’s about how we stand strong and keep going as a team, instead of backing down in difficult times,” stressed the Lions captain.
This home match against Tampines also takes extra significance, with the Sailors partnering the Dyslexia Association of Singapore (DAS) to promote awareness and raise funds for the cause. All the ticket proceeds will go to DAS, in support of their efforts to empower children with dyslexia.
Hariss called for football fans to throw their weight behind this charitable initiative.
“While we’re hustling and working hard in our chosen professions, we must not forget people in the community and we must be as inclusive as possible,” said Hariss.
“Football is one great way to show how this can be done, so I urge and encourage the fans to come down to the stadium and give these kids the biggest encouragement we can.”
