July 18, 2023

I should have seen it coming, I should have read the signs. Anyway (anywaaaay), I guess it’s over. The last time we played Albirex, we used a Westlife song in our reel to accompany footage of Hafiz Nor flying through the air to execute a brilliant off-the-line clearance, so I thought it was perhaps fitting that this time around, Westlife gets a mention again. If you didn’t spot the Westlife reference, it’s probably cos you’re too young. No matter. Head on down to Youtube and watch tons of Westlife music videos and thank me later. When we scored in the 73rd minute, I genuinely thought we had done it and secured a much-needed win to really open up the title race. But what was I thinking? I have been brought up in the Arsenal school of raised expectations and I really should have guarded myself against having hope. It was a game where I thought we did pretty well in the first half, lost abit of control in the second half before we scored, and then we saw an amazing fightback from Albirex. Heartbreaking – I thought we might be able to cling on for a slightly unlikely victory. Before I share some thoughts with you, can I just say what a delight it was to witness a sold-out crowd in Jurong East Stadium? Fans from both sides were absolutely brilliant in creating a great atmosphere. What an advert for the league. Ok, on to my thoughts. Hassan Sunny First things first, the injury looked very bad and we hope he’s fine. For those not present at the game, you will be relieved to know that the crowd gave Hassan a very warm reception, and when he was injured, there was no booing or unpleasant remarks except for perhaps 1 or 2 unidentified black sheep in the crowd. Upon hearing these remarks, the Crew decided to respond in the best way possible, encouraging each other to chant louder so that we could drown out the noises of a negative few. I think most football fans know that there is a line that should not be crossed. They sometimes shout “Diver!” at players who take a tumble, and boo as the player stays on the ground. However, in a matter of seconds, once it becomes clear that it is a real injury, and the player is receiving treatment, even the most hard-hearted opposition supporter will keep quiet and allow the treatment to proceed. I am pleased and relieved that Hassan could receive his treatment in peace. We are pleased to update that when we spoke to Swan Army (Albirex fan club) members, they informed us that Hassan should be fine as he was discharged on the day itself. The Blame Game In the aftermath of the game, Lionel and Anu copped most of the flak for the late defeat. Fingers were pointed at them for the first two goals conceded, and I think it’s a little harsh. Could they have done better? Yes. But could Hariss have perhaps done better to shuffle over to make a tackle / block instead of holding off to prevent a cutback across goal since Mamat was already covering that option? Perhaps. Could Zharfan have come out of goal faster and just dived at Yokoyama’s feet, or closed the angle better? Yes, perhaps. Could Coach Ranko also be at fault for switching to 5 at the back after we took the lead? This meant that Diego and Hami were tasked to protect the space in front of the 3 centre-backs, not a task they are particularly suited for. Yes, perhaps Coach Ranko was at fault too. If you’re wondering what the point I am making is, the point is that hindsight is 20/20. When Lionel stepped out to make the challenge, more often than not he will win the ball or give away a foul given his physical defending style. This time Kunori did well (with a bit of luck) to hold on to the ball and divert it into the path of Yokoyama. If you ask Kunori himself whether he thought his little flick of the boot would work so well, he’ll probably chuckle and tell you “No”. It worked because Anu moved across just a little bit for the ball to squirt through to him. For a goal to happen, lots of little things have to go right for the scoring team, and the team that conceded can always find something that can be done better. And with the benefit of hindsight, some of these little decisions always look worse than they do in real time. I think instead of blaming individuals, we should instead give credit to Albirex for what they did. If you look at how they played in the entirety of the second half, and how they responded after going behind, I think immense credit should be given to them. Let’s put it this way – when the Sailors overcame a 2-0 deficit at Bishan Stadium earlier this season against Albirex, did we credit it more to our own efforts, or did we pick out Albirex’s mistakes leading up to those goals? Yup. Exactly. Look at the above screencap. It’s the 79th minute, and yet they have so much confidence to take the game to us. I have highlighted in pink five Albirex players, while there is another one to the right that is not captured, hence I used a pink arrow to indicate where he is. Lesser teams might think – what if we lose the ball here? We would have committed 6 people into the penalty area or around it, and there are only 3 outfielders left to defend it. But not Albirex. They pushed up, knowing that it was essential that their right-back stays all the way wide, so as to force LCS to spread out their defenders. If the right-back didn’t make such a deep run, then Nur Adam would be able to tuck in, and