ACL Two: A foot in the final as Sailors secures crucial semi-final first-leg win over Sydney

SINGAPORE: The Lion City Sailors are on the verge of a historic Asian Football Confederation Champions League Two final after a convincing 2-0 win against Australia’s Sydney Football Club in the first leg of the semi-final tie on Wednesday, April 9, at the Jalan Besar Stadium.

A goal each from Bart Ramselaar in the 18th minute and Lennart Thy in the 53rd minute sealed the win for head coach Aleksandar Rankovic’s charges, who praised the team’s “collective spirit” in the post-match press conference.

“Every game we’ve played this season has been a team effort,” said head coach Rankovic.

“Tonight was an amazing performance – every player, whether starting or coming off the bench, understood the assignment and executed our plan perfectly. That makes my job much easier, and I couldn’t be prouder of the boys.”

The Sailors encountered a nervy moment in the previous round as their fate in the second-tier club competition hung in the balance after they suffered a crushing 6-1 loss to Japan’s Sanfrecce Hiroshima in the first leg of the quarter-final match. 

However, they were given a lifeline as they were handed a default 3-0 win as their opponents had fielded an ineligible player for that match on March 5. The Singapore Premier League club did not waste the opportunity and held Hiroshima to a 1-1 draw in the return leg seven days later to book a post in the quarter-final.

Determined not to disappoint their loyal and boisterous fans during the semi-final first-leg match, the Sailors delivered a spirited performance on the pitch. Goalscorer Lennart was also pleased with the effort and performance of the team.

“We stayed compact and played to our strengths on the counter-attack, but there are still 90 minutes to go in Sydney. None of us are thinking about easing off – it’s important that we stick to our game plan like we did today and keep doing what’s been working for us,” mentioned man-of-the-match Lennart.

While Sailors’ fans are no doubt still basking on their hard-fought win against the Australian club, Portuguese left-back Diogo Costa urges his teammates to remain focused and be ready for the crucial return leg on April 16 at the Sydney Football Stadium.

“It’s a very special moment for the team, for the country. We are really proud but it’s only the first half. We need to do even better in the second game. We just need to keep going, we work hard every day. We need to keep our feet on the ground and just continue the work,” said Diogo Costa, who is currently on loan from Primeira Liga side FC Famalicao, in an interview with football journalist Futbolita.

The ACL Two knock-out rounds are divided into West and East regions. Sailors are grouped in the East region and, should they qualify for the final, will play a club from the West region which is primarily made up of teams from the Middle East.

 The West region semi-final saw Al Taawoun (Saudi Arabia) holding on to a slender 1-0 lead over Sharjah Football Club (UAE) going into the second leg.

Sailors have also posted information for their fans who are interested in purchasing tickets to the second leg semi-finals match in Sydney. Tickets can be purchased online from Ticketek, and the Sailors fans’ contingent will be seated at Bay 4 in the Away Active Zone.