The Lion City Sailors moved back to the top of the Singapore Premier League (SPL) table after beating Brunei DPMM 4-2 in a topsy-turvy encounter at the Hassanal Bolkiah Stadium on Monday (13 January) night.

While not quite at their free-flowing best, the Sailors secured all three points with a classic centre-forward performance from Lennart Thy, who notched two goals and an assist. Shawal Anuar also played a pivotal role, netting a brace to help his side overcome a resilient DPMM side.

With the win, the Sailors moved ahead of BG Tampines Rovers at the top of the SPL table on goal difference, despite having played two fewer games than their title rivals.

“DPMM aren’t an easy team to play against, so I’m happy with the win — that was our main objective,” said Sailors head coach Aleksandar Ranković, who was without suspended duo Song Uiyoung and Lionel Tan, as well as star player Maxime Lestienne, who was rested.

“We were missing some key players, but the others stepped up and showed character tonight. I’m proud of how they came back from a goal down and demonstrated their commitment to fight.”

Since the appointment of head coach Jamie McAllister in July, DPMM have proven to be a tough nut to crack in the league, suffering just one defeat in their last eight games. They have also been bolstered by key mid-season signings, including Icelandic international Damir Muminović and Latvian international Davis Ikaunieks.

And the home side made life difficult for the Sailors early on, with captain Azwan Ali Rahman unleashing a stunning left-footed strike into Izwan Mahbud’s bottom corner in the fourth minute to give DPMM an early lead.

Despite struggling to break down a resolute DPMM defence early on, the Sailors sprang to life in the 17th minute. Lennart’s pinpoint clipped ball found Shawal, who ghosted into the box unmarked to direct a brilliant header beyond Kristijan Naumovski to level the score.

Shawal then turned provider in the 30th minute, slipping a neat ball across the box for Lennart, who coolly slotted it through Naumovski’s legs for his 12th goal of the season to put the Sailors 2-1 up.

But DPMM emerged from the break rejuvenated, and they pulled level in the 55th minute when a shot from top scorer Miguel Oliveira fortuitously deflected off Bailey Wright before evading Izwan in the Sailors goal.

The Sailors thought they had a chance to restore their lead two minutes later when Shawal was seemingly shoved by debutant Muminović in the box. However, after a review by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR), the challenge was deemed to be fair.

Undeterred, the Sailors continued to press forward in attack and were duly rewarded in the 64th minute, when Lennart produced a brilliant swivel and shot inside the DPMM box to restore the Sailors’ lead.

“We were up against a different opponent on a different pitch, so we knew it would be a tough game,” said Lennart. “We didn’t start the first and second halves well, but we took control as the game progressed and finished strongly with a well-deserved win.”

With the wind in their sails, full-back Christopher van Huizen, one of three changes made by Ranko for the night, would go on a marauding run into the DPMM box in the 69th minute.

His cross-shot took a wicked deflection off the Macedonian keeper that kindly landed at the feet of Shawal, who tapped home to give the Sailors a two-goal cushion.

With victory in their sights, the Sailors managed the closing stages professionally and nearly added a fifth goal in stoppage time, but Lennart was denied his hat-trick by a smart save from Naumovski.

With games coming thick and fast — the Sailors are set to face defending champions Albirex Niigata (S) in the SPL on Friday (17 January) — Ranko emphasised that proper recovery is crucial to navigating their busy schedule.

He elaborated, “We have a game in four days, so the most important thing is to rest and recover. It’s good that we’ll have some players back for Friday, and we need to keep this momentum going.”