Fresh off a resounding 6-0 victory over the Young Lions on Monday (22 July) night at Jalan Besar Stadium, the Lion City Sailors will aim to maintain their winning momentum when they face Hougang United on Sunday (28 July) evening at Bishan Stadium.
The Sailors are currently second in the nine-team Singapore Premier League (SPL) table on 22 points – just one behind current leaders BG Tampines Rovers – while their opponents on Sunday are sixth, having accumulated just seven points from nine matches.
Despite the disparity in form between the two teams this season, Sailors defender Lionel Tan insists they cannot afford to take Hougang lightly.
“It’s evident in the past few matchweeks that all the teams in this league, including Hougang, are capable of causing problems,” said the 27-year-old. “So, they are definitely not going to be easy opponents, and we have to treat this as yet another very important match for us.”
The point Lionel made was underscored earlier this week on Tuesday (23 July), when Hougang claimed a gritty 1-0 victory over defending SPL champions Albirex Niigata (S) – a result that saw the Cheetahs achieve their first win and clean sheet of the season.
Bouncing back in style
While Hougang will enter this weekend’s fixture with renewed confidence, the Sailors will be equally buoyed by their emphatic victory over the Young Lions, which saw them keep their third clean sheet of the year.
It was a much-needed confidence boost for the Sailors, who were determined to get back to winning ways following their first defeat of the season to BG Tampines Rovers the week before.
Lionel, who was an integral part of the defence that kept the Young Lions at bay, believes the Sailors’ performance this past Monday perfectly encapsulated the team’s mentality and hunger to succeed.
“It’s important that we bounced back in the right manner, especially after losing to Tampines,” the Singapore international reflected. We all felt really bad in the changing room afterwards, so we knew we had to come back with a solution for the Young Lions game and most importantly repay the fans for their unwavering support for us.”
A total of five different Sailors — Lennart Thy, Song Uiyoung, Shawal Anuar, Maxime Lestienne, and Haiqal Pashia — netted in a sparkling performance against the Young Lions.
Lionel highlighted the variety of goalscorers for the Sailors as evidence that they were not overly reliant on any one player, but rather played as a cohesive team.
He said, “Of course, I’m elated for the boys who scored, Lenny, Song, and the others, but it was a great team effort from everyone. Each of us executed our individual responsibilities well and we want to improve even further as a team.”
Embracing change
At the other end of the pitch, Lionel appears to be thriving in his new position as a right-back.
Standing at 1.84m tall, Lionel, who has spent most of his career as a centre-back, has been deployed on the right side of defence more frequently this season.
It is a positional change that Lionel has embraced. He shared, “As a player, it’s beneficial for me to be versatile. I enjoy this new position and the different demands it brings. I’m happy with how I’m performing right now, but I want to continue learning and improving.”
For now, though, Lionel is focused on helping the Sailors get the win over Hougang, as they look to continue their push for the SPL title this season.
“This league is like a marathon, and losing a sprint doesn’t necessarily reduce the lead. At the end of the day, we have to approach every game with a winning mindset, regardless of the opponent,” said Lionel.
“We need to maintain this winning momentum, take it one game at a time, and hopefully come away with the three points again this weekend. Barring the Tampines defeat, we’ve been strong at home over the last two years and I’m sure our fans will be pushing us to put up a strong performance.”
