The Lion City Sailors appear to be well and truly over their recent minor dip in form, as they delivered a performance of the highest quality to beat Hougang United 7-1 in the Singapore Premier League (SPL) at the Bishan Stadium on Sunday (28 July) evening.

Aleksandar Ranković’s charges dominated the match from start to finish, barely giving their opponents a sniff, with six different players – Bailey Wright, Song Uiyoung, Shawal Anuar, Toni Datković, Maxime Lestienne, and Lennart Thy – finding the back of the net for the Sailors.

Indeed, the statistics at the end of the game starkly highlighted the Sailors’ superiority – they enjoyed 52% possession, outshot Hougang 21 to eight (with 15 on target compared to the Cheetahs’ four), and earned 13 corners to their opponents’ single corner.

Reflecting on his team’s performance, Ranko said, “I think we played a very good match from beginning to end and deserved the win. We had a lot of chances and could have scored even more goals, while the one goal we conceded was very unlucky.”

Fresh from their 6-0 thrashing of the Young Lions on Monday (22 July), an unchanged Sailors outfit flew out of the blocks and put the Cheetahs under heavy pressure right from the get-go.

It took only six minutes for the hosts to carve out the first opportunity of the game, with Maxime chipping a delightful through ball to Lennart, whose attempt at goal was well saved by the legs of Hougang goalkeeper Zaiful Nizam.

That miss proved costly as Hougang took the lead against the run of play in the 11th minute. 

A lethal counter-attacking move saw Cheetahs striker Stjepan Plazonja exchanging passes with Nazrul Nazari, before calmly finishing past Izwan Mahbud in the Sailors’ goal.

Hougang’s lead, however, lasted all of two minutes, as the Sailors equalised through birthday boy Bailey, who leapt highest to head home Maxime’s corner for his third goal of the season.

Hougang barely had time to settle down before the Sailors came close to taking the lead through Song, who rushed into the box to meet Maxime’s cross. The Incheon native’s half-volley, however, crashed off the Hougang crossbar, with Zaiful well beaten.

But Song did not have to wait long for his goal. In the 25th minute, Hami Syahin chipped the ball into the box for Shawal, who unselfishly laid it off for Song to sidefoot into the bottom corner to give the Sailors a 2-1 lead. 

With the wind firmly in their sails, Ranko’s men continued to press Hougang aggressively, with Shawal, Maxime, and Lennart all coming close to extending the Sailors’ lead.

The Sailors’ relentless pressure eventually paid off just before half time, as Shawal ghosted into the box to head home Christopher van Huizen’s pinpoint cross to give his side a two-goal advantage heading into the break.

The Sailors started the second half just as they ended the first — on the front foot — and it took only seven minutes for them to score their fourth through centre-back Toni, who beat his marker to head Maxime’s corner past Zaiful to make it 4-1.

Maxime got on the scoresheet himself four minutes later, confidently dispatching a penalty he earned after being tripped in the box by Hougang defender Faris Hasić. 

Song came close to doubling his tally in the 61st minute, but his shot from close range was well saved by Zaiful. The rebound, however, fell to Lennart, who calmly placed the ball into the bottom corner to give the Sailors a 6-1 lead.

The German got his second of the night in the 79th minute, as he capped off a devastating counter-attack with a smart finish after being teed up by substitute Haiqal Pashia.

Now with four goals to his name this season, Lennart – who only signed for the Sailors at the end of May – is confident that he will soon find his best form, even as he continues to adapt to his new club.

He explained, “I think I needed some time to get used to everything, having moved to a new country with new surroundings. But I’ve been improving. I can still do better – I should have scored four or five today – but it’s still early in a long season. What’s important for me is to make progress every week.

“From a team perspective, it was a very mature performance from us today. Despite the early setback, we came back strong and finished well.”

Ranko also backed the striker to improve over the course of the season, saying, “For us, we know he’s definitely a quality player. I think he had a lot of unlucky moments from the beginning and missed some chances that he should have scored. So, we are very pleased that he scored, and I think if you ask him, it’s a weight off his shoulders as well.”

With the win, the Sailors have moved to within one point of current SPL leaders BG Tampines Rovers. They will next take on sixth-place Brunei DPMM at Bishan Stadium on Saturday (3 August).