Shawal to the Sailors – Lessons from Hougang’s semi-final win over Albirex

The following tactical analysis is from Zach Wu, who’s not a Sailors fan, but we just thought it would be good for someone without rose-tinted glasses to write about Sailors sometimes! Zach wrote this with a focus on how Shawal played against Albirex, our perennial rivals.

Shawal Anuar is the highest-profile Singaporean that the Sailors snapped up in the off-season. His rise has been meteoric, from playing for Keppel Monaco with his $50 match allowance to earning a 5-figure salary playing for the Sailors. Arguably, he was one of the shining lights in a dire AFF Cup campaign for the national team, stepping up in the absence of the two Fandi attackers.

Here, we shall focus on how Hougang played to his strengths last season and what he brings to the Lion City Sailors. We also take an in-depth look at how Hougang used Shawal to beat Albirex.

Goal output (Appearance/Goals/Assists Table)

Obviously, as an attacker, Shawal would be judged on this output, his goals and assists. Shawal really stepped up his output last season, locking down the right wing slot for Hougang.

He was also second in the goalscoring charts of Hougang United, just behind Pedro Bortoluzo who took penalties for the team. His underlying xG (expected goals) was good too, with a slight overperformance of 11 goals vs 8.94 xG which shows that this is a somewhat sustainable return. He has created 24 big chances across the league season for his teammates, which shows he is very much a creative playmaker from the wing too. Shawal really made a significant step up for a Hougang team that had an inconsistent season, leading to lots of suitors home and abroad.

Shawal’s first touch

It is one thing to pluck the ball out of the air and to control it, it is another to make a meaningful first touch to advance play. What Shawal is so good at is his ability to evaluate the situation and make a good touch into space. He probably picked this up when largely playing on natural grass pitches, from his time with Geylang International at Bedok Stadium and then with Hougang United at Hougang stadium. With natural grass pitches, the uneven surface makes stopping the ball dead difficult or tricky and hence it might be more beneficial if one takes a good first touch into space instead.

Shawal put it to good use here. For the opening goal at Hougang Stadium, Amy plays a brilliant ball behind Omori.  However, the ball takes an awkward bounce off the uneven turf just before it reaches Shawal. With Koga rushing out, a lesser attacker might take it first time, or a poor touch that loses control of the ball. Shawal intelligently flicks the ball up slightly with his first touch that flummoxes Koga, before placing the ball beyond Koga with his second touch.

Shawal makes it look easy but it is no mean feat, given the uneven turf, the pressure of the occasion and running full pelt to connect with the through ball.

Shawal’s threat in behind

In the Singapore Cup semis, Hougang delivered a masterclass in how to beat Albirex, and they finally delivered a win for the ages, in one of the most crucial games of the season. The gameplan was simple. Hougang were never going to beat Albirex by hoarding possession of the ball, especially given the condition of Hougang’s home turf. Hougang understood that and decided to play on the transitions, hitting Albirex on the counter.

A big reason that made this approach a success was Shawal Anuar, whose running in behind created the equalizer at Jurong East (top) and the opener at Hougang (bottom). In both goals, the Albirex defence was caught out by a simple direct ball behind which created both goals.

Shawal defensively aware

One of Shawal’s underrated qualities is his willingness to defend and his ability to read the game. Here, for Hougang’s first equalizer, an under-hit pass is played. Shawal without hesitation runs onto it and Sahil subsequently scores from it.

In the league, Shawal has made 89 defensive challenges with 76 interceptions  which shows that he is willing to help out the team and is not a lazy attacker. This is pretty incredible considering he was out with injury for about a quarter of the season and only played 1872 minutes, just under 21 full 90 mins games.

This is in contrast to Gabriel Quak (pink) in the Sailors’ opening ACL game, who was trotting back to cover his fullback Tajeli Salamat, allowing Urawa to send in an easy cross which led to the opening goal of the game. If you remember, this was so bad that he got hooked off by Kim Do-Hoon not long after. Given that the Sailors might not have so much midfield control this season with the departure of Shahdan Sulaiman, defensive cover may be crucial if the game is much more balanced – this may be where Shawal can make the difference to.

Conclusion

With bags of pace, a good touch allowing him to play on the turn while being defensively aware, he is the complete package needed to fit as the 4^th attacker supplementing Tanaka, Lestienne and Diego Lopes. Sailors have a gem of an attacker on their hands, and it is up to the gaffer Vidaković to give him the right system to shine.

Written by Zach Wu (Guest Writer)