SINGAPORE: Singapore Premier League clubs, Lion City Sailors and Hougang United failed to maintain their winning momentum in their respective regional Asian competition matches on Oct 25. The Sailors were handed a 3-0 defeat to South Korean club Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors in the AFC Champions League Group F match, while Hougang went down 3-1 to Indonesia club PSM Makassar in their AFC Cup Group H match.
Both clubs registered their first tournament win in their second match earlier in the month. The Sailors triumphed 2-1 against Kitchee at the Hong Kong Stadium, while the Cheetahs (Hougang’s nickname) sealed a 2-1 win at the Jalan Besar Stadium.
But both clubs faced stiffer opponents on match day three as the Sailors went up against two-time AFC Champions League winners (2006, 2016) Jeonbuk at the Jeonju World Cup Stadium. The South Korean club have won their domestic league title nine times, including for five consecutive years from 2017 to 2021.
Jeonbuk led by head coach Dan Petrescu, a former Romania international footballer, took the lead as early as the fifth minute of the game through their Japanese attacking midfielder Jun Amano. The hosts doubled their lead in the 33rd minute as Sailors defender Lionel Tan uncharacteristically poked the ball into his own net while attempting to clear the ball.
The Sailors had an opportunity to reduce the deficit before half-time, but Maxime Lestienne’s effort was palmed away by Jeonbuk’s goalkeeper Kim Jeong-Hoon. The hosts added their third and final game goal after the restart in the 57th minute. Sailors goalkeeper Zharfan Rohaizad fumbled a cross from the right, and Jeonbuk’s Moon Seon-min took advantage of it and tapped the ball into the back of the net.
Although Sailors head coach Aleksandar Rankovic would have preferred a win and the three points, he acknowledged that it was not an easy game as they faced a team of a higher calibre.
“Congratulations to Jeonbuk, they deserved this victory tonight. The result was a tough pill to swallow, even though we knew even before the game they had quality in their ranks. It was a difficult game and we were struggling especially in the first half. When you concede two very easy goals early on, you know it’s going to be a long evening ahead,” said the Sailors head coach after their match against Jeonbuk.
With the defeat, Sailors are now in third place on three points in Group F. Bangkok United are top of the group on nine points, while Jeonbuk are in second place on six points. Kitchee are at the bottom of the group, with three defeats after three matches. Sailors will host Jeonbuk at the Jalan Besar Stadium on Nov 8. In their final two matches, Sailors will take on Bangkok at the Thammasat Stadium on Nov 29 and face Kitchee at home on Dec 13.
Meanwhile, Hougang faced a resurgent Makassar side at the Kapten I Wayan Dipta Stadium. The Indonesian club suffered defeats to Vietnam’s Hai Phong (3-0) and Malaysia’s Sabah (5-0) in their first two matches of the competition but finally struck form.
The hosts started strong and went on the offensive early in the game. They were relentless in their attack and were rewarded with two goals in the first half, courtesy of Safrudin Tahar and Cape Verdean player Yuran Fernandes Lopes, in the 22nd and 29th minutes of the games. Portuguese striker Adilson Silva added the third goal in the 55th minute. The Cheetahs managed to pull a goal back in the 78th minute from the penalty spot. But Dorde Maksimovic’s goal was not enough as the hosts sealed a 3-1 win to register their first three points in the AFC Cup Group H campaign.
Hougang are now tied on three points with Makassar, but the Singapore Premier League outfit are at the bottom of the group. Hai Phong and Sabah are both on six points, but the Vietnamese club are at the top of the table. Hougang will next host Makassar at the Jalan Besar Stadium on Nov 9. Their final two group matches will be against Sabah on Nov 30 and Hai Phong on Dec 14.