The Lion City Sailors made history by becoming the first Singaporean team to qualify for the last 16 of the AFC Champions League (ACL) Two, following a thrilling and hardfought 5-2 victory over Thailand’s Port FC on Thursday (5 December) night at Jalan Besar Stadium.

Song Uiyoung stole the show with a spectacular hat-trick, while attackers Shawal Anuar and Lennart Thy also found the net as the Sailors topped ACL Two Group F with 10 points, leapfrogging Port in the process based on a superior head-to-head record.

This also marks the first time in over six years that a Singaporean club has reached the knockout stage of an AFC club competition, with the last being Home United — the previous iteration of the Sailors — when they emerged ASEAN Zonal champions in 2018.

“I’m incredibly proud of this group of players for making history — and not just that, but also for finishing top of the table with the most goals (15) scored. I think Singaporean football fans should recognise this achievement and give these guys the respect they deserve,” remarked a beaming Sailors head coach Aleksandar Ranković after the game.

Knowing that a victory would secure their spot in the knockout rounds, the Sailors — who made one change to the starting lineup with Bart Ramselaar replacing Lennart Thy — flew out of the blocks and made a dream start by opening the scoring after just 42 seconds.

Lionel Tan’s long throw-in caused chaos in the Port penalty box, allowing Song to pounce and stab the ball home to give his side a 1-0 lead.

The Thai side had a good opportunity to equalise in the 17th minute, when Felipe Amorim played in Bordin Phala, but his shot failed to hit the target.

That was as good as it got for the visitors in the first half, as the Sailors dictated the tempo of the game and confidently controlled possession.

Their dominance eventually paid off in the 36th minute when Maxime Lestienne delivered a perfectly floated ball from the left, finding Song’s late run into the box. The Incheon native made no mistake, calmly slotting the ball into the net with the instep of his foot.

Port Head Coach Rangsan Viwachatchok brought on young Thai forward Teerasak Poeiphimai at half-time in a bid to change his side’s fortunes, and it paid dividends almost immediately.

In just three minutes, Teerasak turned the game around with two crucial assists, setting up Felipe Amorim in the 50th minute and Iraqi international Frans Putros in the 52nd to level the score for Port.

Ranko admitted it was difficult to believe that his side had let a two-goal advantage slip for the third consecutive game. In their previous two matches, the Sailors had also held two-goal leads but went on to lose 3-2 to Persib Bandung and 4-2 to Zhejiang Professional.

“When Port scored their second goal, I thought to myself, I’m not really a religious person, but I was looking up and wondering, did we do something to deserve this?” Ranko revealed.

“We played a perfect match until then. They had two shots on goal and scored both times. We played very offensively, created a lot of chances, and scored two amazing goals.

“So when Port scored, I couldn’t help but think about the last match we lost (against Zhejiang). But this time, finally, karma seemed to be a little bit on our side.”

Putros’ equalising goal also brought an unsettling sense of déjà vu around the stadium, as the 2,357-strong partisan crowd wondered — could this really become the Sailors’ third consecutive defeat after squandering a two-goal lead?

That question was answered emphatically 15 minutes later by none other than Song, who executed a stunning bicycle kick from Maxime’s cross, sending the ball into the top corner to give his team the lead again.

It was not only a goal of the highest quality but also a symbolic moment, signalling that the Sailors had learned from their past two games how to respond to setbacks.

Instead of panicking or letting their heads drop, Ranko’s charges pressed on relentlessly and were duly rewarded for their bravery and determination.

Reflecting on his wonder goal — his 23rd in AFC club competitions in just 34 appearances — Song said, “Maxime gave me the perfect invitation to score that hat-trick goal, and it felt like a miracle. I’ve never scored a goal like that before. I didn’t want to miss this big opportunity to make history for the club and the country.”

Four minutes later, in the 71st minute, full-back Sergio Carmona Pérez won the ball in midfield and delivered a pinpoint through pass to Shawal, who calmly rounded Chanin Sae-Ear in the Port goal and slotted the ball into an empty net to restore the Sailors’ two-goal advantage.

From there, it was a matter of the Sailors seeing out the game professionally — a task they managed with relative ease, as Port failed to seriously test Izwan Mahbud.

There was even time for substitute Lennart to add the icing on the cake in the ninth minute of added time with a clinical finish from a tight angle to seal the Sailors’ fifth goal of the night.

While Song deservedly received the plaudits for his match-winning performance, Ranko credited the substitutes for their equally crucial contributions to the victory.

“We made excellent changes tonight,” Ranko said. “We brought on Carmona, who set up the goal for Shawal. We were also debating whether to keep Shawal on the pitch, and then he scored. Later, we introduced Lennart at just the right moment, and he went on to score as well.

“When you win, every decision looks good; when you lose, every decision looks bad. But tonight, everyone who participated gave their best. Considering the calibre of the teams we’ve played against, we should be very happy with what we’ve achieved.”

The result means that Port, who had already secured their place in the last 16, will finish as group runners-up, while Zhejiang narrowly missed out despite their thrilling 4-3 victory over Persib in the other Group F match of the night.

The Round-of-16 is set to take place in February 2025, and will be played over two legs on a home-and-away basis.

The Sailors could face one of three potential opponents: Australia’s Sydney FC, Vietnam’s Nam Định FC, or Thailand’s Muangthong United. The knockout stage draw will be conducted on Thursday, 12 December.

Until then, however, Ranko shared that he plans to take some time to savour the Sailors’ historic achievement.

“I need a few days to really process an accomplishment of this magnitude. First, we’ll see who we’re going to draw, and when the time comes to play these matches, we’ll obviously give it our all,” remarked Ranko.

“Right now, it’s time for everyone to celebrate. After that, we have the (ASEAN Club Championship) Shopee Cup and league matches to focus on. So, there are many exciting games ahead.”