It was a dream start for us in our first ever home game in the AFC Champions League. Last season’s “home” games don’t count because they were all played in Buriram in a centralised tournament due to Covid-19.
As is so often the case, whenever Chris van Huizen gets a cross into the box, things happen. Last night was no different. As the left-footed cross was whipped into the box, it was half-cleared to our Brazilian magnifico, Diego Lopes. He had sent a shot high and wide just 5 minutes ago, but this time, he hit it sweetly on the volley, and it nestled in the bottom corner of the net. Jalan Besar erupted.
After a long period where we sat deep and frustrated our Thai guests, this was a much-needed boost of energy.
We all know how this one ends, so there’s no need for a spoiler alert, but at the time, it was a sweet moment for the fans. It’s now a day later, so there’s been some time to process my thoughts about the game. Tactical stuff I will touch on, but not in detail – I will leave that to Zach as usual in our upcoming Tactical Analysis article. Let’s go.
Angst about the Angst
Post-match, after I went about doing all the interviews (both player and fans), I went online to look at the reactions to the Sailors’ defeat. While there were some comments commending the atmosphere, and others acknowledging the effort put in by the players, there were also annoyingly, rather many comments having a go at our players, saying that they lacked effort, were very poor, or were not well-prepared – often a combination of all the above. I felt that based on the eye-test and what I observed during the game, these comments were unfair and were perhaps borne out of angst at the final result.
Not analysis, not rational thought, just angst.
And then I ended up getting angsty too. I think for me what really swung it was that it was not only the faceless Internet trolls having a go – it was our fans in the SailorFanTalk Telegram chat. Comments such as “they aren’t well-prepared for the tournament during training“, “it feels like we suddenly cannot play football and play like YL“, “players have no desire “, “when we have the ball, how do we keep [the ball]? It’s got nothing to do with opponent“.
Where was all this negativity coming from? And in the case of the last comment, how can someone be so angsty that logic flies out of the window? How can your success in keeping the ball not be at least in part affected by the quality of your opponents? These are unfair comments that unnecessarily shit on our own players, players we should be supporting.
It was as if people had forgotten that the Sailors were the underdogs coming into this game. Maybe they should read this blog a bit more! Haha. [This way if you wanna re-read the preview.]
Then there were people who asked a fair question – could we really count ourselves as underdogs? We were after all, a little lucky in the draw and had escaped drawing the likes of Urawa Red Diamonds and Kawasaki Frontale. Some people felt quite rightly, that we were in the “easiest” group. I think however, the reality is that in the ACL, almost any group we get drawn into, we are gonna be underdogs. Here was my response in full –
And that brings me to my next point – in the cold light of day, having rewatched the game, and also with the benefit of statistical reports, can we say that Bangkok Utd didn’t really create any good chances?
Our Sailors Did Well Defensively
Against a team top of the Thai League, a team that finished 2nd in the league last year, and that had also beaten the reigning champions 2-0 this season, we did well. Really well.
Considering the quality of our opponents, I think to limit them to under 1 xG, is very impressive. This was also borne out by the eye-test, where they hardly created any good opportunities. The best chance for our opponents I think was the second half opportunity for Mahmoud Eid which shaved the post on its way out – he was kept quiet all night by the impressive Mamat.
As mentioned in my Telegram message earlier, the goals came from slightly bad marking at one set-piece (disappointing of course), and a piledriver right into the top corner. While the players are not blameless in this, I am not sure we should be faulting their effort. Here’s another interesting stat to show you which I think speaks to the effort the players put in – duels won.
In terms of duels, we pretty much outperformed them in almost every category, which suggests desire was not the problem. In fact, one of the enduring memories for me from this game was the sight of Richairo Zivkovic running back on more than one occasion all the way to the line of our penalty area to help out in defence. Desire was definitely not the issue and defensively our Sailors frustrated our opponents.
In the post-match press conference, Bangkok United manager Totchtawan Sripan said that in their pre-match analysis, they had prepared for the Sailors lining up with 5 at the back despite not doing so in the domestic league. It is to our Sailors’ credit that even though our opponents knew what was coming, they still struggled to create chances.
But could we have been slightly more attacking? Let’s discuss that.
Should Sailors Have Opened Up More?
I can’t lie – this was a thought that kept nagging away at me after the game (and maybe even at times in the first half). While we limited our more illustrious opponents to nothing more than half-chances and long shots, we ourselves did not pose a consistent threat. Often, our whole team was behind the ball, meaning that even when we won the ball back, it was harder to make progressive passes and put our opponents on the backfoot.
Another thought was this – given that our most expensive and quality players are further forward, should we not have perhaps used them to try to pin our opponents back? But of course, I also knew from watching tons of Bangkok United highlights that they were fearsome on the counter-attack, so was there a risk that if we opened up too much, we would have been sliced right open on the counter? To be honest, I don’t have the answers – what I will say is this. Had we ended up with a draw or a win, this question would not be asked. So sometimes I think we need to be wary of outcome bias – i.e. letting the result dictate what we feel or think about the way the team performed.
But to help me out – I refer you to comments made by respected pundit, and of course former ACL participant himself with SAFFC, Rhysh Roshan Rai.
I left in the last bit where he praised me cos I am shameless like that hahaha. Sorry! He’s one of the best pundits imo so to receive such kind words from him makes me happy 🙂
Uphill Battle
Now that I am less angsty about the angst shown by my fellow fans, perhaps I can begin to understand why they felt so strongly about last night’s game, despite the credible performanc put up by our Sailors. As stated in the preview, and also when I was invited to the Yahoo Football Weekly show, it is an uphill battle now to qualify out of the group. Not quite Mount Everest yet, but not Bukit Timah either.
So perhaps they felt overwhelmed emotionally, because they knew deep down that we really needed at least a point from this game.
Jeonbuk is a team that we are not predicted to take anything from, so at the very least, we will now have to beat Kitchee twice, and then beat Bangkok United in their homeground.
Not easy, but our Sailors have surprised us before so let’s not lose the faith.
Beauty of Football
While the teams fight hard on the pitch, football is beautiful because at the end of the day, we must remember that it is ultimately a sport and it should bring joy to us. While the team lost, we can still have a good time connecting with opposition fans. Huge shout-out to Matt Jenkins (2nd pic) for his contribution to the preview articles, and to all Bangkok United fans. They were loud and enthusiastic throughout the game, and gracious winners after the final whistle.
I managed to speak to 2 Bangkok United fans after the game and I hope to be able to upload the interviews soon!
Conclusion
There’s something different about continental football.
The chance to see foreign teams instead of the usual 8-9 teams in the SPL, the chance to speak with opposition fans, the electric atmosphere in the stands that can only come about because even neutral Singaporeans want to see the Sailors succeed – these are positives that we shouldn’t forget, even as we lick our wounds following the defeat.
Let’s enjoy this adventure that the Sailors are taking us on.
Win lose or draw, you’ll always hear us roar, Lion City Sailors all the way.
Written by Eddy Hirono
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