This season, SailorFanTalk endeavours to do a Post-Match Thoughts article after every game, followed by a Tactical Analysis column (usually written by Zach Wu). The former focuses more on thoughts and opinions from our perspective as fans watching the game, while the latter is more technical and seeks to be more neutral in its analysis of gameplay – after all, it is written by a Hougang United fan!
It has been an exhausting week content-wise for us at SailorFanTalk. Monday saw Joseph and myself head down to Mattar Road (where the LCS Training Centre is located) for Media Open Day. Tuesday saw me heading to Yahoo SEA HQ to record a podcast with the affable pair of Han Keong and Neil Humphreys. Wednesday was spent trying to collate all the material gathered from Monday’s Media Open Day and publish it before the season opener. Thursday saw the first-ever SailorFanTalk and The Goal Difference collab, and then of course, the most important of all, Friday was matchday.
Perhaps it’s just my conditioning as an Arsenal fan, maybe it was due to the Sailors’ implosion last year, or maybe it was just the fatigue built up over the week trying to juggle SailorFanTalk with a demanding full-time job – for some reason, I walked into Bishan Stadium today predicting a 2-1 win, but deep inside expecting a Tanjong Pagar upset. I know it’s strange given the Sailors are way stronger on paper, but when I saw the lineup had no Shawal, no Anu, had a half-fit Kodai leading the line, and a new-look backline of Bill and Lionel, I felt a little apprehensive. Add to that the number of former Protectors/Sailors in the opposing lineup, including Naqi, Faizal, Tajeli, Kenji, Shahrin and of course Shakir, and that apprehension turned into a real palpable sense of unease.
And so when Mirko Sugic stepped up to take the penalty, the Arsenal fan in me went “Ah, here we go again, same old shit again“. The penalty came after a spell of pressure that Tanjong Pagar had put us under, pressure that was non-existent in the first half. Luckily for us, he missed, and we went on to win pretty comfortably – we were never troubled that much after the penalty miss. A few thoughts post-game –
The Hami-Jonan Show
I’ve said it before all the way back from Home United days – Hami Syahin is an absolute gem in midfield. He is the Singaporean Thiago. Always getting on the ball, always using deft little touches to maneouvre the ball away from his opponents, and then using a combination of short and long passes to keep the play moving. However, with Shahdan in the club, Hami never really got his chance to play much for the Sailors (7 appearances only last season). Shahdan is an absolute maestro, and almost anything Hami can do, Shahdan can do better, except maybe dribbling at speed with the ball. Even so, I did question last season whether players like Hami could have been relied more upon nearing the tail-end of the season
Hami finally got a chance to start tonight and he was magnificent. I would love to see the stats when they come out to confirm that whatever the fans observed is true. He must have played many progressive passes, and maintained a high passing percentage. Despite his small frame, he also put himself about and bravely entered into duels with intensity. It was overall, a very impressive performance.
Hami then came off injured in the 81st minute – hopefully it’s just cramps. He was replaced by Jonan Tan, and the young lad who turns 17 in June came on to rapturous applause from the Crew. I think the fans were very excited to see the debut of someone so young, partly because it fills us Sailors fans with hope that despite all the high-profile departures, the club still has a solid youth pipeline to supplement the first team with. And so it proved.
Jonan was certainly not lacking in confidence. It started even before he came on. With the crowd cheering his name while he waited for the substitution to be called, he looked at the supporters half in amusement and half in appreciation. Where other young players making their debut might be experiencing all sorts of butterflies in their stomach, Jonan did not look unnerved at all. He was tidy with his passing, and even drove through midfield with the ball on occasion. He started the move for the crucial second goal, riding a half-challenge, and playing a pass into Lestienne on the left wing for him to set up Kodai’s goal (more on this later).
It must have been a pretty sweet moment for Jonan, and we are certainly hoping for more to come from him. We leave you with an amazing little fact. Our current Academy General Manager, Tan Li Yu, was Jonan’s first coach when he was just 5 years old. We can confirm that we have seen a super-cute picture from Li Yu on this, and we are unfortunately unable to share this with you! Just have to take our word for it that it’s super cute. More to come from Jonan I am sure!
Kodai is only Half-Fit
Let that sink in.
Kodai was injured in the back-end of the Singapore Cup last season. Funnily enough, his injury (fractured toe) was apparently caused by Lionel Tan – and they are teammates now. Not just teammates, but when asked by Grandstand, Kodai said Lionel’s his best friend in the club. He has not played football for 3 mths, and only resumed light training with the team 2 weeks ago.
In fact, in the post-match conference, Kodai said that he ran to hug Coach Risto after his goal because he was so grateful that Coach Risto showed faith in him to start him despite him not being in peak physical condition. Coach Risto himself described Kodai as only 50% fit.
And yet, despite all that, he finished his debut with 2 goals. Not a bad return for someone who has set himself a target of 40 goals in the league! On Media Open Day on Monday, I reminded him in a mixture of broken Japanese and broken English that this season has fewer games than last season when he set the target of 40 goals. However, that did not change his answer, and he still stuck to his guns. On tonight’s evidence, we can perhaps see why he is backing himself. We cannot wait to see what he can accomplish when he is fully fit!
Same Old Brand New Lestienne
New season, but last season’s top assists-maker in the League is at it again, with 3 assists in the opening game.
I don’t think there’s much else to add here. Just sublime.
VAR
And one final thing to add. I know it is new, and I know that it is important for the VAR to get things right. However, it still took way too long for decisions to be made by the VAR, which resulted in a whopping 10min of added time being added on.
The fact that the big screen only shows “VAR CHECK IN PROGRESS” without actually saying what the VAR is checking for only adds to the frustration for fans. Both Coach Risto and Hariss Harun also lamented the long waiting time for the VAR decision to be made, saying that it had an impact on the intensity of the game.
That being said, VAR is new to the league and perhaps we should expect some teething issues and give officials the time to build up some competency.
Look out for Zach’s Tactical Analysis coming up in a day or two!
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