Two well-taken goals, by Hariss Harun and Maxime Lestienne, helped the Lion City Sailors secure a well-deserved 2-0 victory over China’s Zhejiang Professional in their 2024/25 AFC Champions League (ACL) Two Group F opener on Thursday (19 September) night at the Jalan Besar Stadium in front of 2,468 fans.

With this victory, the Sailors added to their list of memorable wins in Asian football, having previously defeated notable teams such as South Korea’s Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, Daegu FC, and Hong Kong’s Kitchee SC.

Ranko was delighted with his team after securing a vital win which puts them top of Group F after Matchday One, which also saw Thailand’s Port FC claim a late away victory over Indonesia’s Persib Bandung in the other group game.

“It’s a great feeling, especially playing at home in front of our fans,” he said. “We deserved this win and were solid throughout. Considering the chances we had, I think we outperformed our opponents. I’m very proud of the boys for digging deep to earn these three points. It’s just the start.”

Both teams came into this with contrasting fortunes – the Sailors are top of the Singapore Premier League (SPL) following their 6-0 win over Tanjong Pagar United last weekend, while Zhejiang are seventh in the Chinese Super League (CSL), having won just one of their last seven domestic matches.

The Sailors made several changes to the starting line-up as Maxime, Toni Datković and Hami Syahin were named in the first eleven, while Zhejiang also had to rejig their team due to the suspension of several key players.

Nonetheless, it was the visitors who had the first notable chance of the game in the fourth minute, when full-back Liu Haofan’s attempt was deflected away by Christopher van Huizen.

A minute later, the Sailors offered a glimpse of what they were capable of when Lennart Thy, Maxime, and Bart Ramselaar played a triangle of passes between them, before the latter eventually shot over the bar after drifting into an offside position.

Both teams continued to feel each other out in what proved to be a cagey opening, before another beautiful passage of play in the 28th minute saw Lennart’s backheel find Bart, who shot straight into the hands of Zhejiang custodian Dong Chunyu.

Just past the half hour mark, Aleksandar Ranković’s side thought they had the lead after Lennart put the ball into the back of the net from a well-executed corner routine, but the linesman on the far side raised his flag for offside.

The breakthrough finally arrived in the 44th minute. As the ball rolled along the edge of the Zhejiang box, Hariss pounced and fired a low shot into the bottom corner to give the Sailors the lead going into the break.

This was the Sailors captain’s first continental goal since 2017, when he scored for Home United against Ceres-Negros in the AFC Cup.

While Hariss was happy with his goal, he was quick to credit the entire team for contributing to the win.

“We’re used to the AFC Champions League, especially at home. It’s good to be able to play in this competition. I think it was pretty tight and everyone did their part,” he said.

Zhejiang started the second half on the front foot, but the Sailors – cheered on by the vocal home support – were able to withstand the pressure.

At the other end of the pitch, Chris was proving to be a threat in the final third – he first delivered a low cross into the box towards Bart, whose shot was blocked by Zhejiang centre-back Lucas Possignolo, before he had an attempt of his own in the 67th minute that had Dong worried, but ultimately came to nothing.

What was clear was that the Sailors had come into this match with a clear game plan – to hit Zhejiang on the break.

“We did a lot of work on counter attacks because we knew how they (Zhejiang) play,” Ranko admitted. “We also knew that in their competition (CSL) they conceded most goals out of transition. When you play in the ACL, you have to be really compact and wait for your chances. I think we executed the game plan very well.”

And the Sailors got their rewards for executing their game plan to perfection in the 79th minute.

Bart laid the ball out to the right for Maxime, who unleashed a peach of a strike that curled away from the Zhejiang goalkeeper and into the net for one of the Sailors’ best goals of the season so far.

Maxime, who has also scored in the UEFA Champions League for PSV Eindhoven against CSKA Moscow back in October 2015, revealed he was initially due to be subbed off, but he convinced Ranko to allow him to continue on for a few more minutes.

He said, “Five minutes before I scored, the coach wanted me to be substituted, but I asked him to wait a little bit. Thankfully, I scored! I’m happy with the goal, but also with the way we played. We played aggressively and we deserved to win.”

Skipper Hariss also acknowledged the importance of the Belgian attacker, as he said, “Maxime was the best player (on the night). It was a match where he gave us a bit of breathing space, and I think he was very consistent. We are really lucky and happy to have him in the team.”

Zhejiang kept pushing in search of a goal, and in the 88th minute, a long ball over the top found substitute Wang Yudong, but Izwan Mahbud made a smart save to keep his clean sheet intact.

With games coming thick and fast, the Sailors must swiftly shift their focus back to the SPL as they face fourth-placed Balestier Khalsa on Sunday (September 22).

As they continue their charge at the top of the table, Ranko has emphasised the importance of player recovery.

“We need to focus on Sunday’s league game. I must get my players ready to perform. We want to be champions of Singapore very badly this season, and my players love these kinds of challenges,” said Ranko.