Faced with a must-win clash against one of Southeast Asia’s strongest teams, the Lion City Sailors displayed grit and fight, but were eventually held to a goalless draw by reigning Thai League 1 champions Buriram United in their penultimate ASEAN Club Championship (ACC) Shopee Cup Group B match at the Jalan Besar Stadium on Thursday (23 January) night.
Despite playing the majority of the game with a numerical advantage, the Sailors were unable to break down a resolute Buriram defence — one that has conceded only eight goals in 18 Thai League 1 matches this season — and the result extinguished the Sailors’ hopes of reaching the inaugural tournament’s semi-finals.
Vietnam’s Công An Hà Nội (CAHN) FC defeated Kuala Lumpur (KL) City 3-2 in the night’s other game to confirm top spot and qualification, while the latter will jostle with Buriram and Borneo FC Samarinda in the race for second on the final matchday.
“Today we played against one of the best teams in Southeast Asia, from the way they moved the ball to how they defended, but I believe that if anyone deserved to win, it was us,” reflected Sailors head coach Aleksandar Ranković during the post-match press conference.
“My team never played for a draw — they gave everything they had — but we were just really unlucky in front of goal. Even though we didn’t win, these matches help bring us closer to where we want to be. We can grow significantly, both mentally and physically, from experiences like this.”
The Sailors came out firing from the first whistle, determined to take the game to Buriram. Clear-cut chances were scarce in the opening exchanges, but Maxime Lestienne came closest to breaking the deadlock with a curling effort that rattled off the crossbar in the 15th minute.
The Belgian winger’s creativity paid dividends just before halftime. In the 43rd minute, his quick footwork drew a desperate last-man foul from former Australian international Kenny Dougall, leaving the referee with no choice but to brandish a red card and reduce Buriram to 10 men.
The Sailors nearly scored from the resulting set-piece, but Buriram goalkeeper Chatchai Budprom produced a stunning double save to deny two close-range efforts from Toni Datković, as both teams went into the break with nothing to separate them.
The second half saw the game open up, with Buriram reminding the Sailors of their counter-attacking threat. In the 56th minute, their leading goal-scorer Guilherme Bissoli unleashed a powerful angled drive, but Izwan Mahbud was alert, diving smartly to push it away.
That moment sparked the Sailors into action, as the home defence tightened up to nullify Buriram’s counter-attacks for the remainder of the match — a defensive effort that earned praise from Ranko.
“Defending against 10 men can sometimes be challenging because the opponent usually sits very deep and waits for counter-attacks,” explained Ranko. “We had to take risks and commit many players forward, but I think my team did a great job of stopping their attacks in the second half.”
Sailors midfielder Song Uiyoung had the best opportunity of the game when Chatchai parried his initial header into his path, but the 31-year-old blazed the follow-up effort over the bar from close range.
The home side continued to push for the elusive goal, and came close to a late winner in the 85th minute when substitute Shawal Anuar met Maxime’s cross with a diving header, but his effort flew agonisingly wide of the post.
“I think we deserved more today, but I also feel we can be proud of ourselves because we gave our best,” said man-of-the-match Maxime. “Although we didn’t take our chances, we defended well, and those are the positives we can take away and be happy with.”
Ranko’s charges gave it one last push deep into stoppage time, but Chatchai stood firm, denying Bailey Wright’s header before denying Lennart Thy’s rebound effort to earn his side a crucial away point.
There will be little time for Ranko to dwell on his team’s missed opportunities, however, as an in-form Geylang International awaits them in their next Singapore Premier League (SPL) assignment on Sunday (26 January). The Sailors will then travel to face bottom-placed Philippines outfit Kaya FC–Iloilo to conclude their Shopee Cup campaign on 6 February.
“I will definitely rotate the team, as some players are going to be fatigued, but we’ll have to wait and see who is available to play,” said Ranko. “We did well to win our last two league games, but Geylang is a very different kind of opponent, so we need to prepare well for the match.”