November 2024 – SailorFanTalk

[Post-Match Thoughts] Regrets Make it Hard to Look at the Big Picture (Sailors 2 Persib Bandung 3)

Leave a Comment / Uncategorized / Eddy Hirono

Fuck fuckity fuck. Fucking fucked-up fuckfest of a fucking end to a fucking football game. Fuck! You’ll hopefully forgive me for that expletive-laden start to this post. That was probably what was going through my mind on that night in Jalan Besar, which was more than a couple of nights ago now, but is still fresh in my head. And if you thought that was what was going through my mind when we conceded the third goal, you’d be wrong. That was what was going through my mind when we conceded the SECOND goal. The third goal? Well, my mind just went fucking blank. How does that happen? (If you are offended by the use of the F word, it’s your chance to close this page now, there may be more coming. Also, if this graphic triggers you, maybe don’t continue as well.) Sigh. It absolutely does not help that we looked fucking imperious in the first half. It’s like you’re eating this decadent chocolate cake oozing with goodness, and as you carry on eating, the chocolate sauce continues to ooze out from the middle of the cake. Just when you’re about to finish the cake, you realise though, that right in the middle, wasn’t actually a ball of chocolate sauce – it was a fucking alive but gangrenous rat having a fucking mad bout of fucking chocolate diarrhoea. I am sorry for that visual, but hey, I was forced to sit through some real terrible trauma last week, and I suspect if you are reading this, you were too. This is part of your therapy. Never too early to start. Before we talk about why it went down like that, let’s focus on the trauma a little first. The Trauma You’d think as an Arsenal fan I’d be used to trauma. 8-2 loss to Manchester United, 2-1 loss in the 2006 Champions League final, 6-0 loss to Chelsea in Arsene Wenger’s 1000th game, the list goes on. But a comeback like that that leaves me with flashbacks days after? I think it only really happened to me after the 2014 Suzuki Cup group stage match against Malaysia. Remember this game? To add on to Straits Times’s succinct summary, Safee Sali got Malaysia a goal and so we needed an equaliser. We got the equaliser in the 83rd minute through Khairul Amri, and it looked like we were going through to the knockout stages. But in stoppage time, the referee awarded a crazy penalty kick, and that was then followed by an empty-net goal after Hassan Sunny had joined the attack. The National Stadium was packed with 48000+ fans – imagine that. There was an explosion of emotion when we got into the equaliser. That was us going to the knockout stages! And then came the absolute sucker-punch. I can still remember Indra Putra running around the Sportshub after he made it 3-1. The Malaysian fans went mad in the stands as well. Don’t remember it? Well you can go watch it again. To be in a stadium with 48000 other Lions fans, and suffer such trauma together, I couldn’t forget that easily. I remember as well how usually well-behaved Singaporeans started throwing bottles at the referee after the final whistle – it got so bad that they transported out the tunnel and the referee had to be escorted off with the moving tunnel. I remember every minute, every image, every word uttered by those around me on that night. And I hoped never to relive that again. But such are the ups and downs of football – 10 years later, I am given the privilege of seeing Persib Bandung fans going mad in the stands, Persib’s bench players running onto the pitch before the match was over, because they knew, the match WAS over. Sheer ecstasy and disbelief, etched on each of every one of those faces. Walking out of the stadium and having to congratulate every Persib fan I see because I know if I didn’t, they would mock me. So, just congratulate them first to avoid the mocking. Still didn’t stop one fool running at me from distance shouting “WE WIN WE WIN HAHAHAHA BYE BYE SAILORS”. Fuck him. The memory as well of knowing that Port FC had scored a late winner against Zhejiang, which meant that if we could hold on to our 2-1 lead, we would have secured qualification to the next round. And then to have it all go wrong in the space of a few fucking minutes. As I type this, I know these memories will stay with me a long time. I didn’t write about the match back then though, because I didn’t have a blog or a website or anything. Maybe now that I have a website and I can share my thoughts with you guys, it will help with the recovery process. Ok so where did it all go wrong? Too Passive in Second Half? This has been mentioned many times by the fans after the game. And I think it’s quite true – but I only half-agree with it. We took off Shawal in the 65th minute. I understand that Shawal has issues with his body – Coach Ranko spoke about this at the pre-match press conference. Shawal gave us a good hour, and our opening goal of the night. What a brilliant goal it was too, but it will now join the ranks of Maxime’s brilliant curler against Tampines Rovers at OTH – goals that we cannot truly enjoy because we remember the shitty result that came with it. To be honest, at 65 minutes, with Persib barely threatening us, I genuinely thought it was an OK decision to bring in some experience. We can’t be hindsight merchants and now say that perhaps Ranko should have tried to replicate Shawal’s attacking effort upfront with someone like Abdul Rasaq or Haiqal Pashia. Hindsight is 20/20 and you don’t wanna be that fan that is always saying “I

[Post-Match Thoughts] Regrets Make it Hard to Look at the Big Picture (Sailors 2 Persib Bandung 3) Read More »

[Preview] Lion City Sailors v Persib Bandung (A Huge Chance for the Sailors in the Blue and White Derby)

Leave a Comment / Match Previews / Eddy Hirono

Why is the Bandung drink more expensive when our opponents sell it? Because they charge per-sip. Ok now that we got that horrible joke out of the way, let’s talk about some serious stuff. If we win against Persib tonight, and Port notch a win away from home in Zhejiang, we are through. That’s how crazy it is. Lose the game, and if Zhejiang get a point or a win, and the group is blown wide open. Such are the margins and possibilities in this group. Let’s take a look, and then dive right into the preview. Manage Expectations and Get Behind the Team After giving it the good ol’ buildup, that must be a very downer title to read. Potong steam, as we say. Expectations are high because we’ve beaten Zhejiang at home, and then got 2 very creditable away results. People will also remember that last year, we put in a performance for the ages, defeating Korean giants Jeonbuk on home soil. (Sidenote – can you say home soil, considering artificial turf has no soil? Something to think about) However, our Sailors also lost at home to Bangkok United, and more surprisingly, Kitchee FC last year. Also, let’s not forget that Persib is a team that is still unbeaten domestically (5 wins and 5 draws), and is only 1 point off the top of the table. Their star striker David Da Silva is also back from injury. and his record last season was stellar. 30 matches, 26 goals, 8 assists in the league – surely someone to fear. I can’t say I’ve seen much of him but I get a little scared reading the record. We don’t really know what we can expect from Persib considering that when we played them, they played almost half the game with 10 men. The fact that we couldn’t break them down after gives me a bit of cause for worry as well. Oh, and of course, it was the night where Bart Ramselaar got sent off, and is thus unavailable for us again tonight. Thus, cautious optimism is what I preach, and more importantly, get behind the team. If we concede an early goal, or two, just keep going. As fans, we can be a part of this very special night. Every footballer I speak with tells me that they get a little extra boost when they can feel the crowd behind them. They go into tackles more confident, there’s a swagger when they go on a dribble, there’s that extra bit of oomph when they head a ball away. Coach Ranko in his press conference today has called for a full stadium to roar the boys on, and I hope we will see that. Persib fans will definitely bring the noise, so let’s be on our best form too in the stands. Bart’s Suspension – Lack of Creativity? I am a little worried about our creativity against Persib. Reason? I suspect they will sit back and try to hit us on the counter with their pacy players. The second-half performance in the first game will give them all the confidence that they can hold us at bay. Aside from the header they conceded from a very good Maxime cross, I cannot really remember when we really threatened their goal. And that was with 10 men. Even though Bart has only 5 assists in all competitions, without the threat through the middle of midfield that Bart sometimes provides, and the shooting ability which may help to open up space for his fellow midfielders, I fear that Persib will double-team Maxime and realise that nullifying him means taking away a large part of the Sailors threat. From the right of midfield, the threat is clear, Maxime Lestienne – 19 assists in the league after 17 games played. Surprisingly, of the 6 goals we’ve scored in the ACL2, only 2 saw a direct involvement from Maxime – 1 goal and 1 assist. I think you’ll agree with me here when I say that it’s a matter of time before we see a greater contribution from our brilliant Belgian. Where else do we turn for creativity? Shawal has 10 assists in the league, Lennart Thy has 3. Song Ui Young? Zero assists. But it’s to the latter 2 where I feel the “creativity” can come. Just like in the game against Port, I have a feeling that hard work is what will reap rewards for us. What we may lack in craft, we can certainly make up for it in graft. Graft, by the way is one of the English language’s shitty words. Graft could mean hard work, but could also mean shady, corrupt practices. So while I could be saying that we can create our own chances through sheer hard work and grit, it may be misinterpreted by some to mean we can go right ahead and bribe the referee. For the avoidance of doubt, that is not what I mean. We’re gonna press them from the front, and force them into mistakes. Lennart Thy and Song will play a big part in that. Speaking of Song … Song Has a Point to Prove There was an interesting moment in the pre-match press conference held yesterday when a reporter asked Coach Ranko is Song Ui Young was injured. The reason for asking? The NT call-ups have been announced, and one notable exclusion is Song Ui-Young. This has caught some by surprise because he finally looks to be playing himself into some kind of form. He’s scored in his last game in the league, as well as the ACL2. Both goals highlight his ability to sniff out a chance, and make a late run to escape the attention of defenders. Of course, he has done this for years, but recently he just lost his way a little. What is surprising is that when he finallly plays himself back into some form, and seems to be one of the few NT players able to

[Preview] Lion City Sailors v Persib Bandung (A Huge Chance for the Sailors in the Blue and White Derby) Read More »

[Post-Match Thoughts] Im-Port-Ant Win (Port FC 1 Sailors 3)

Leave a Comment / Post-Match Thoughts / Eddy Hirono

What. A. Win. I didn’t see it coming at all, and if you had offered me a chance to take a point away from home against in my opinion, the strongest team in the group, I would have taken it, no questions asked. I suspect many supporters would have done the same, having seen us get pummeled away from home 3-0, and 5-0 this season in continental competition. Yes, Port dominated the ball, and made a heckload of passes. See below. But when it mattered, we came up with the goods. Besides goals, another key stat to look out for is big chances created – interestingly, Port had nothing on that front. Izwan hardly had a save to make all night. Let’s talk about some of what we saw in an important and potentially historic away victory that puts us in a very good place with half the group matches done. Intensity Wins Games In continental games, especially away fixtures, I would love to see how much additional effort our players have to expend. Our Sailors can be accused of taking it a little easy in domestic fixtures, but you can really see them running their socks off whenever they come up against better opposition. I don’t think it’s just a motivation issue – it simply is about survival. If you don’t run, if you don’t close down the spaces, you get punished big time on the continental stage, purely because of the greater quality of our opponents. And when we talk about intensity, our fans, especially those who have supported since the Home Utd days will think of Song Uiyoung. This season, we have not seen him at his sparkling best, but the image of Song sprinting around the pitch, sometimes seemingly like a headless chicken is one we will associate with him always. He was undoubtedly the star of the show two ACL campaigns ago, as we downed K-league side Daegu once, and almost did it twice. He was also the star of many AFC Cup games back in the red and white of Home United. I think it’s fair to say that this season, we have not seen the best of him yet. And it looked likely to continue as he blasted over when presented with a half-chance in the box. The score was 2-0 then, and I feared that it would be a costly miss. Of course, we now know that he would score from a heavily-deflected shot in the second half to seal the points for us, but I wanna talk about his intensity instead. From the first whistle, he sprinted around like a man possessed. I have been critical of Song this season in some games when I felt like he wasn’t at his best, but this was the Song I know and love. Not the biggest guy, but always pressing, always scrapping, always getting his arms and elbows and legs in the way of opponents, making it hard for them to settle. And it was this quality that brought us our crucial second goal, when he fought for the ball that wasn’t even 50-50. I think it was 30-70. Noboru always looked likely to win it. However, Song’s presence meant that Noboru didn’t get a clean connection with the ball and only managed to scuff it into an area where Shawal could pounce on and capitalise. Song’s robust presence in midfield (along with some reliable passing – 13 out of 16 successful passes) let our opponents know that we were up for the fight. While that intensity may have been set by some early Song duels, but it was seen in every single person out there. You think about how our central defensive trio reacted when put under some intense pressure in the second half, you think about how much defending Lennart Thy and Shawal Anuar had to do, often helping out as far back as in the flanks outside our penalty area, and you can see how such results are borne out of a lot of hard work. But of course, hard work alone isn’t a guarantee of success, you still need some quality. And that brings us to … Shawal Anuar the Superstar Everytime we see Shawal Anuar put in such a performance, it is worth thinking about how difficult this journey of his to the top has been. He is 33 this year and isn’t getting any younger, but some of his best football has been seen after he turned 30. Coach Ranko often calls Shawal his MVP, his superstar, and with such performances, it’s easy to see why. If you don’t know how difficult his journey was, I suggest you check out this excellent article by Straits Times writer Deepanraj Ganesan. From cleaning glass panels in shopping malls while getting paid a S$50 allowance to play, to cleaning the floor with his opponents in the ACL2, he has certainly come a long way. The first goal was a simple finish for him, set up by an inch-perfect cross by Chris van Huizen (whose name was mispronounced about 400 times by the commentator that night), but it was an example of him making the right run into the right space. I would also like to point out that Lennart Thy and Shawal Anuar both saw the play unfold, and worked together as a strike duo to make the right runs. Shawal burst into the area in front of goal, while Lennart was on his bike as well, but upon seeing Shawal in that position, occupied the area behind Shawal in case of a cutback from Chris. The second goal is by far the more impressive one. First, he had to have the instinct to sniff that the ball was going to reach him. If you watch the replay, you will see that he already started his run even when the ball was still in the air. He sensed that Song might win that aerial challenge, and while Song didn’t,

[Post-Match Thoughts] Im-Port-Ant Win (Port FC 1 Sailors 3) Read More »