With 3 games played in the ACL2, we sat on a very tidy 7-points tally, having just defeated Port FC away from home in an impressive 3-1 victory. Depending on results, victory in the 4th game would have seen us through. That didn’t happen. We came into this 5th game knowing a win would have sent us through. That didn’t happen. And now it looks like having put ourselves in a commanding position midway through the campaign, we are in danger of pissing it all away at the end.
If you think about it, our points tally in the group has been a little like how we performed against Persib and Zhejiang in the last 2 games. Get an early lead, give the fans tons of hope, and then end in absolute disaster. The only difference? We still have a chance to remedy the situation in the group, whereas those 2 games are gone already and no amount of gnashing of teeth or regretting will bring those games back.
So how did we throw this one away this time? Here are some of my thoughts.
The Persib Loss was Worse
Just typing that title is painful. You shouldn’t have to compare between two devastating results like that. Especially when it’s in consecutive games. It’s like asking someone whether they’d rather be heavily constipated, or have a terrible bout of diarrhoea. Whatever the answer, it’s still shit.
A list of reasons for why I feel though, that the Persib loss is worse.
- We were at home
- Persib is by far a lousier team, and the weakest in the group – we can claim to be on par with them, but we can’t say the same for Zhejiang FC or Port FC
- Persib created NOTHING all game
- There was no cold weather and difficult conditions to deal with
- Even after the disappointment of allowing Persib to equalise from 2-0 up, there was a chance to grab a crucial point and ensure that our head-to-head record against Persib doesn’t tilt in their favour
Standing in the away end in Zhejiang, I could honestly say that I have some sympathy for the conditions the players had to play in – it was really cold and I am sure some players adapted to that better than others. To do that for 90min against a top opponent can’t be easy.
Also – I think the achievement to go 2 up away from home deserves more credit. In the first half, the gameplan was perfect. Zhejiang was reduced to nothing but half-chances, and their fans grew increasingly frustrated at the lack of action. To cap off an impressive first half with a goal made it even better. The second goal came from a moment of brilliance from Song, who has previous when it comes to AFC competition. I think there is a tendency to feel a lot worse about such results because of the promising position we put ourselves in – but credit has to be given for being in that position in the first place.
And contrary to what some critics have said – no we didn’t go into a 2-goal lead because we played attacking football and hence we lost the lead because we started parking the bus after the 2-goal lead. We were already playing defensive football from the get-go – it’s just easier to defend when your opponents are not playing their best players. And that brings us to …
The Introduction of Franko and Kouassi – Plus a Lack of Legs
Sometimes, we have to look not just at ourselves, but also what our opponents did. Unlike the Persib game where I felt there was a complete implosion and Persib barely deserved to get their 3 points, Zhejiang were much the better team in the second half, even if we did get a Song goal that looked to provide us enough buffer. Kouassi was about a million times more dangerous than Debeas was in the first half, while Franko slowly started to pull the strings in attack in a way that Gao Di never did in the first half.
When your opponent brings on such quality from the bench, it can be harder to cope. When we caught up with Coach Rankovic after the game, this was a factor he pointed to. He said that we have to see who comes off our bench, and who comes off their bench. I am not sure I fully agree with that.
I think when we are clearly the underdog team, we might need to consider that energy can sometimes give us a better chance at victory than pure footballing ability. Our players looked dead on their feet entering the last 10min. If you look at the 4th goal, Rui Pires is jogging back instead of putting pressure on Li Tixiang, a player I marked out in the preview as being one to keep tabs on because of his playmaking quality. He was allowed the freedom of the middle of the pitch to stride forward, and play a pass behind our defence. Unacceptable.
I love Maxime as well, and his quality was what even put us ahead in the first place, with that deadly freekick that Datkovic converted. However, I am of the belief that noone is safe from criticism. Whether his legs were gone, or whether his head was gone, he stopped running once we went 3-2 down. That is unacceptable. If it was his head that was gone, then he needs to be reminded harshly that he wears the Sailors shirt and needs to give every ounce of effort, ESPECIALLY when the chips are down. Nothing more frustrating for supporters who have stood in the cold for 90min, chanting and clapping, than to see someone give up, especially when he is our best and highest-paid player.
If it was because his legs were gone, then the blame turns to the coach. If a player’s legs are gone, his legs are gone, take him out of the pitch. In a game where alot of the threat came from the wings, we desperately needed players who can run back from midfield and attack to help the defenders. Take the 2nd Zhejiang goal for example.
Chris is outnumbered 3 to 1 here on the left flank. You’d think Maxime is near the player furthest right on the screen, but he isn’t.
7 seconds later, after Chris and Lionel unsuccessfully double up on the guy in red to try to win the ball off him, he manages to turn and find his teammate, who puts in the cross that leads to the 2nd goal. A full 7 seconds for Maxime to come back – and you might be wondering, did he? Maybe he’s just out of shot on the right side of the camera frame?
Yup, that’s where Maxime was. Highlighted in red above, nowhere near the crosser. That’s unacceptable for 2 reasons.
One – It’s the 68th minute, I hope he isn’t gassed at that point. If it’s not a tiredness issue, then it’s just him not working hard to get back in time. I mentioned in my post-match article when we first beat Zhejiang that hard work reaps results. See excerpt below.
Two – it’s unacceptable because we had just conceded a goal to Zhejiang barely 3 min earlier. The momentum is with the home team, and they are pouring forward in waves. Keep them quiet for ten minutes at least, make them work for their goal. This is not making them work for their goal. This is way too easy.
Of course, I am not just blaming Maxime for this goal. The whole team is still to blame for not responding well to the pressure. In this goal for instance, could Chris and Lionel have dealt better with the initial tackle? If you look at the still before the cross is played, the scorer is Song’s man. Song loses him entirely. Could Izwan have taken up a more aggressive position before the cross is played, allowing him to claim the cross or punch it away? I don’t know, and maybe my articles are effort-biased, but in my opinion, effort is the one thing that players are fully in control of, which is what is disappointing about this. Speaking of effort …
Could Coach Rankovic Have Done Anything Differently?
In a major continental game where we were in the lead away from home, could Coach Ranko perhaps have done anything differently? When we caught up with him post-game, he told us that to be fair to the players, he would have to analyse the game after the match. In the post-match press conference, he said that we lost possession in our defensive third far too often … and fatigue also seemed to play a role”.
I also asked him about why Hariss Harun didn’t travel with the team, and his answer was that Hariss was injured. Realistically, the options on the bench he could have brought on were Carmona, Anu, Hafiz Nor, Abdul Rasaq, Bill Mamadou, Bart Ramselaar, and Haiqal Pashia. Three of those came on, but I thought in particular, the Rasaq substitution took way too long. When he came on, his hard work was evident, and I wonder if he was brought on earlier at the 80min mark, whether we’d be sitting here today talking about a hard-earned draw.
Also, if fatigue was an issue, why did these subs take so long to come?
Could Carmona not have come on on the left side to add some fresh legs? How about Haiqal Pashia, Anu and Hafiz Nor?
Also, was Bart carrying an injury or something? Why did he look so low on energy?
While Zhejiang was much the better team in the second half, I think questions have to be asked on whether we did our best to manage the substitutions in this game. Coach Ranko is probably already feeling the heat from fans – but I’d urge a bit of calm and remember that we picked up 7 points from our first 3 games. Let’s see if he can finish the job in the last game vs Port FC.
Positives
On a night of many negatives, there were some positives off the football field.
- Zhejiang FC showed us what an excellent stadium presentation was. Everything from the lights show pre-kickoff, to the half-time children’s choir singing, and the fantastic stadium announcer made this football match experience way better than any match I’ve ever watched in Singapore, and maybe even some other leagues around the world.
- The stadium announcer, after the 1st Zhejiang goal, announced the goalscorer, and then said in a very forceful manner “比赛还没结束”, which is Mandarin for “the match isn’t over yet”, and then encouraged the fans to continue backing the team. The stadium announcer doesn’t have to be neutral and I felt that what he did there was great for the atmosphere, while not being ridiculous or disrespectful to the opposition. I think this is something that our own stadium announcers and even those in other SPL clubs can consider. The closest thing we have is the Tampines stadium announcer, bless his soul, who describes everything as “electrifying” and “epic”, even the conversion of a routine penalty kick. I think Gavin Lee could have a wet fart on the bench and it’d be called epic too.
- The Crew had some new fans following us for the away game, and I could see how welcoming the Crew was to all fans. There was care shown to each other, and it helped to create the best atmosphere we could have created in such conditions. Even at the end when tears flowed from some, the immediate attention was to each other, and not directing their anger at anyone or anything.
- Once again, the club staff were brilliant in making all sorts of arrangements for the fans, not just the lucky few who won the lucky draw to go there with the club, but even those who travelled up on their own expense. And this happens every away game! LCS may be a very rich club, but you can be rich without having a heart too, and in these staff, they very much show that the heart beats for the fans. Shoutout to (in no particular order)- Carolyn, Anizza, Kenneth, Jackson, Eugene, who were on this trip with us, but of course not forgetting many others from the club who always always always put fans first (names like Aniq, Badri and Naj come to mind).
Conclusion
Amazingly, we are not dead yet. There is even a situation where we lose and still qualify – such was the strength of our starting 3 games.
If we lose 1-0 to Port in our last game, and Zhejiang draw with Persib, then we will have a superior goal difference to Zhejiang who will be level with us on points. Head-to-head record we are even – their 4-2 win cancelling out our 2-0 win at Jalan Besar.
If we draw with Port, we are then on 8 points. If Zhejiang beat Persib, they will overtake us with 9 points. If Persib beats Zhejiang, they will be on 8 points as well, but will then overtake us on head-to-head record, given that they have taken 4 points off us over 2 games. If they draw, we’re through.
If we beat Port, we will have 10 points, and be ahead of Port on head-to-head, given that we would have done the double over them. Then there is nothing that Zhejiang and Persib can do to us.
Long story short, we need to get out there and go for a win, but amazingly, even if we fail to win or even pick up a point, we might still qualify. If we get a draw, then we will just hope that Zhejiang and Persib draw too.
Lots of permutations, but frankly I just wanna see whoever steps on the field absolutely play for the badge. Port is not an easy opponent, but we have fucked up enough, let’s get it done this time.
Written by Eddy Hirono
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