The Lion City Sailors will have less than 72 hours to brush themselves off from their bruising 5-0 defeat to Vietnam’s Công An Hà Nội (CAHN) FC in the ASEAN Club Championship (ACC) Shopee Cup before returning to action on Sunday (29 September) evening, this time in the Singapore Premier League (SPL).
And the challenge awaiting them this weekend? None other than a high-stakes clash against title rivals BG Tampines Rovers at the Jalan Besar Stadium.
The Sailors currently sit at the top of the SPL with 35 points, while the Stags trail just three points behind in second place.
While acknowledging that the short preparation time for a game of this magnitude is far from ideal, Sailors centre-back Toni Datković is still confident that his side can rise to the challenge.
“Yes, we don’t have much time to prepare, but we knew from the start of the season that we’d be competing in two regional competitions. We wouldn’t want it any other way — we want to be out there, competing at this higher level,” said the 30-year-old.
“So, we can’t use travel or fatigue as excuses. It’s all in the mind; we’ve physically prepared for this period, and we’re really looking forward to this game.”
The last time both sides met in mid-July, BG Tampines claimed a 5-0 victory, marking one of the Sailors’ lowest points of the season.
However, Toni insists the scoreline didn’t reflect the Sailors’ true quality, and he is eager to set things right in the return fixture.
The former LaLiga 2 man said, “Everything just went wrong for us in that match, and it was a painful result to take for sure. But I believe it was just a bad day in the office for us. We want to prove on Sunday that it was a one-off.”
Toni, however, acknowledged that they will need to focus on eliminating the errors that contributed to their heavy defeat against CAHN.
“The Shopee Cup is an international competition, so every mistake you make, opponents like CAHN will punish you,” Toni mused. “We made a lot of mistakes that night, and it shouldn’t happen. We have to learn and improve for our upcoming matches.”
Toni is expected to play an integral role in the heart of the Sailors’ defence against BG Tampines – a prospect that seemed highly unlikely just a month ago, following a rib injury he sustained in their match against Albirex Niigata (S).
Initially, it was feared that the injury would keep Toni out for a significant number of games. However, the man affectionately known as El Sicario returned after just a two-match absence, and has since completed the full 90 minutes in the Sailors’ last three games.
“They say Balkan guys are made different!” Toni quipped. “Yes, my recovery was faster than expected, but I feel really fit now. As I said, there’s no room for excuses.
“Every game means a lot to us… We want to beat Tampines because we know how much it means to our supporters.”
