Lion City Sailors show clinical efficiency in 2-0 SPL win over FC Jurong

SINGAPORE – After a spluttering start to the season in which they were winless in three games, the Lion City Sailors have showed signs of steadying the ship, as they bagged their third win on the trot with clinical efficiency on Oct 18.

With a 2-0 victory over fellow Singapore Premier League (SPL) title aspirants FC Jurong, the defending champions have climbed to third in the table, three points behind leaders Geylang International, who have played a game more.

The Sailors’ latest win came after a 1-0 away victory over Hong Kong’s Tai Po in an AFC Champions League Two group match on Oct 15, which was preceded by a 6-1 thrashing of the Young Lions in an SPL outing on Oct 11.

Entering this weekend’s SPL matches, there was a shroud of uncertainty with haze levels entering the “very unhealthy” range. On Oct 17, the hourly PM2.5 reading had reached 202 in the west.

A Football Association of Singapore (FAS) advisory on Oct 16 had said matches would be suspended or postponed if the PM2.5 reading exceeds 200.

But conditions improved on Oct 18, with the PM2.5 reading in the west at 68 – within the elevated range – half an hour before the 7.30pm kick-off.

In front of over 1,700 spectators at the Jurong East Stadium, the Sailors had to overcome a sluggish start in which they were unconvincing and were lucky to go unpunished despite several unforced errors.

Jurong striker Toa Suenaga nearly capitalised in the third minute after goalkeeper Victor Aznar spent too much time on the ball, but the Brazilian managed to clear his lines at the last second.

Slowly, the Sailors eased into the game and winger Matthias Phaeton had the ball in the net in the 27th minute, but a goal was not awarded as Ryhan Stewart was ruled offside in the build-up.

Giovanni Haag thought he had broken the deadlock for the Sailors four minutes later, but his effort was similarly chalked off. Bart Ramselaar, who was deemed to be obstructing White Swans goalkeeper Hassan Sunny, was also adjudged to be offside.

The Sailors were then handed a penalty in the 41st minute when Diogo Costa was chopped down by Kim Yoon-sik.

Referee Ahmad A’Qashah had initially given a free-kick outside the box, but changed his decision after the video assistant referee confirmed that the contact was made in the box.

Up stepped Haag who sent Hassan the wrong way, sending the penalty into the bottom corner.

Costa then set up the Sailors’ second in the 77th minute when his low cross found substitute Shawal Anuar who slotted past Hassan with ease.

Despite the shaky start, Sailors coach Mark Jackson believes his charges were in “full control” of the game.

The Englishman said: “I thought we were in full control in the first half... What we didn’t connect was our quality in the final third.

“At times we had good runs into the box without the end product with the cross and other times we had a good cross without the end product with the run and I thought the first half was probably the most dominant part of our game.”

Costa, who was the Man of the Match with two assists, agreed with his coach’s assessment.

The 23-year-old Portuguese added: “I think we dominated the whole game, first and second half and it’s good to have the two assists.

“But the most important thing is the three points for the team, to feel that the team is playing better and better every game is good.”

The White Swans brought on star man Keisuke Honda in the 79th minute in a bid to bolster their attack. The former Japan international, 40, came on to loud cheers, but could do little during his late cameo.

Jurong coach Jaswinder Singh said: “It was a tough game, definitely. We tried to take the game to them, had a game plan and tried to stick to it.

“We made some changes at half-time, but at the end of the day, they’re champions for a reason.

“We had our chances, but we just need to get into the habit of taking them. The penalty changed the game for me, but we have to be more clinical so that we can avoid errors like this.”

In the evening’s other match at Our Tampines Hub, Tampines Rovers rose to second in the eight-team table after coming from behind to beat the Young Lions 4-1.

Daisuke Sakai opened the scoring for Young Lions with a penalty in the 44th minute, before goals from Faris Ramli (61st minute), Kenshin Yamazaki (82nd) and a brace by Hide Higashikawa (77th, stoppage time) sealed the Stags’ comeback.

Analysis

After a shaky start in which they were fortunate not to concede, the Sailors grew into the game and shut out Jurong.

The White Swans posed a threat on the flanks, but need a focal point in attack to make their chances count.