The Lion City Sailors Women marked their return to Women’s Premier League (WPL) action in confident fashion, picking up a neat 2-0 victory over Hougang United at the Choa Chu Kang Stadium on Sunday (7 September) night.

The victory will be one to remember for Farah Nurzahirah, whose brace not only propelled the Sailors forward in their WPL title challenge, but also marked a heartfelt milestone — her first goals for the club since joining in August.

“I’m so excited to have been able to score these two goals today. They were my first for the club, and it was a really proud moment for me,” smiled the 21-year-old forward, who arrived as part of a trio of signings from Geylang International.

The Sailors’ victory over Hougang kept their hopes of a fourth consecutive WPL crown alive. They now trail frontrunners Albirex Niigata (S) and Still Aerion by eight and six points respectively, but crucially have two games in hand.

Fresh off a history-making AFC Women’s Champions League (AWCL) Preliminary Stage campaign, they wasted no time and hit the ground running in what was a dominant display of attacking football.

It took only 11 minutes for the Sailors to draw first blood. A ball over the top from Khairunnisa Anwar released Farah, who displayed brilliant pace and control to leave a trail of Hougang shirts behind before slotting home comfortably for her first-ever Sailors strike.

What ensued was a relentless onslaught of attacks launched by Daniel Ong’s charges, leaving Hougang little choice but to lock themselves in their half. Farah then had the opportunity to double the lead four minutes after, but her shot sailed high above the bar.

The Sailors’ improved chemistry was evident, as they often carved out good openings with strings of quick and intricate passes.

“Having more bodies upfront is important since Hougang played quite defensively. We had to play closer to each other so that’s where the one-twos came in,” explained right-back Nisa, who played a significant role in the team’s attack.

“We focused a lot on our attacking movements in the lead-up to returning to the WPL. Our full-backs were inverted today, so we played on the inside more and ran more overlaps. From training to game day, we manage to execute our gameplan.”

Following a string of chances on goal from the likes of Syazwani Ruzi, Sarah Zu’risqha and Putri Alyiah Seow, their closest opportunity came in the 51st minute when Farah’s driven cross into the box skimmed inches past Alyiah’s boot.

Ten minutes later, Farah nearly found the net herself in a tense goalmouth scramble, only to be denied by Hougang custodian Intan Afiqah, who managed to tip the ball away at the last moment.

Farah’s persistence, however, was finally rewarded in the 71st minute. Latching onto fellow new signing Wan Nashirah’s precise delivery, Farah made no mistake as she powered the ball home from close range to double the Sailors’ lead – sealing victory in the process.

Be it a winger’s cross or a teammate threading a pass through the middle, the forward credited her teammates for helping her secure her brace.

“They are really so hardworking and worked for 90 minutes to create chances for me. We instinctively knew where we each were on the pitch, so that showed our chemistry,” shared Farah.

“We kept possession and I think we played well today. It’s important for us to catch up with the top teams so we can’t just win, but also score more goals to give us a better goal difference.”

But even as the Sailors celebrated a victorious WPL restart, Nisa highlighted the importance of seizing every opportunity to rack up the goals in their coming games, especially in light of this season’s fiercely-contested title race.

“Compared to our previous encounter against Hougang (earlier this season), we were better in our attack but in certain areas, there’s still room for improvement. We need to be braver and take more shots from outside the box if the opportunity arises,” shared Nisa.

“We have to constantly think of what comes next and keep trudging forward.”

The Sailors will next take on BG Tampines Rovers this Saturday (13 September) at the Choa Chu Kang Stadium.