SINGAPORE: Lion City Sailors Football Club kicked off their ASEAN Club Championship Shopee Cup adventure with a 3-0 loss against Indonesia’s Borneo FC Samarinda at the Batakan Stadium on Thursday, Aug 22.
The Singapore Premier League club’s woes were compounded when midfielder Rui Peres received his marching orders in the 53rd minute for a second bookable offence, forcing the Sailors to play out the remainder of the match with a numerical disadvantage.
To add insult to injury, the team’s woes were further exacerbated by two disallowed goals, while a string of defensive blunders proved to be the team’s undoing, ultimately sealing their fate.
Sailors’ head coach Aleksandar Rankovic conceded that his team’s defensive lapses had proved costly, acknowledging the glaring errors and the ‘fine margins’ that defined the game.
“I think we played quite well in parts of the game, but we gave away two easy goals in the first half due to mistakes. We know that at this level, the game is decided by details, and every mistake is going to be punished,” as quoted by Rankovic on the Sailors’ official website.
The hosts adopted an offensive stance from the start and were duly rewarded with a goal as early as the third minute.
Brazilian striker Leo Gaucho was well-positioned in the penalty box as he clinically connected with Stephan Lilipaly’s corner kick, handing his side a dream start to the match.
The Sailors’ sluggish defending proved costly as Borneo capitalized on it to double their advantage in the 20th minute.
Peres botched his attempted clearance in the danger zone, which gave Berguinho a golden opportunity to smash the ball beyond Sailors’ goalkeeper Izwan Mahvbud for Borneo’s second goal of the match.
Although the Sailors managed to keep their opponents at bay for most of the second half, they could not prevent Borneo from adding to their goal tally towards the end of the game.
With a deft touch, Gaucho expertly dispossessed Sailors captain Bailey Wright in the visitors’ half, and the Brazilian striker cheekily lobbed the ball over the hapless Izwan to give Borneo a three-goal lead.
The Sailors and Borneo are in Group B in the Shopee Cup alongside Buriram United (Thailand), Kuala Lumpur City (Malaysia), Cong An Ha Noi FC (Vietnam), and Kaya FC from the Philippines.
Both Ha Noi and Kuala Lumpur celebrated crucial victories on the same day. Ha Noi edged out Buriram 2-1 in a nail-biting contest, while Kuala Lumpur secured a hard-fought 1-0 win over Kaya.
With the loss, Sailors remained at the bottom of Group C and will next face Ha Noi at the Hang Day Stadium on Sep 26. They will host two consecutive home matches next year, against Kuala Lumpur on Jan 9 and Buriram on Jan 23 at the Jalan Besar Stadium.
Following their Shopee Cup opener, the Sailors will swiftly shift their focus back to domestic duties for the Singapore Premier League encounter against Albirex Niigata (S) on Sunday, Aug 25.
The Sailors are currently in second place in the league on 28 points, two points adrift of leaders Tampines Rovers.
Apart from the regional Shopee Cup, Sailors will also play in the AFC Champions League 2 competition. They have been drawn in Group F with China’s Zhejiang FC, Port FC from Thailand, and Persib Bandung of Indonesia.
The Sailors will begin their AFC Champions League 2 campaign against Zhejiang on Sept 19 at the Jalan Besar Stadium. They will then travel for their next two matches, against Port on Oct 3 and Persib Bandung on Oct 24.