It is well and truly the last chance saloon for our Sailors. We have thus far not made the most of our last two games, and landed ourselves in this situation where we have to win to confirm progress. Anything else, and we need to rely on other results to go our way. We don’t want that.
(Have you ever wondered why the last chance saloon is called the last chance saloon? Is it a reference to cutting your hair right before the Government announced circuit-breaker controls to curb the spread of Covid-19? No. In the USA, there used to be some states that prohibited alcohol. The last chance saloon was essentially a saloon (pub) that was situated near to an area where alcohol was not allowed – if you go past this point, there may be no more alcohol. Hence, “last chance”. OK I learned something today.)
Speaking of learning, have our Sailors learnt their lessons from the collapses in the last 2 games, and can we finish off the job this time? Grab your shots and let’s dive right into the preview.
The Equation
I touched on this in the previous article, but the equation is simple if we win. If we win, we’re on 10 points, and we will qualify as group winners. (same points as Port FC but better head-to-head record)
If we draw, we need Zhejiang and Persib to draw as well. If either of them win, the winner will leapfrog us and go into 2nd spot.
Amazingly, if we lose, we’re not definitely out. If we lose by 1 goal, we will still qualify ahead of Zhejiang and Persib IF they draw.
Basically, we either need to win, or really just pray that Zhejiang and Persib draw.
A Different Port FC
The last time we played Port FC in Bangkok, we rode our luck at times, and fought hard to achieve a 3-1 victory. The defensive performance was more impressive than the offensive performance. If we are to be a little honest with ourselves, we took advantage of 2 defensive errors to go 2-0 up through the sharpness of Shawal Anuar, and our 3rd goal owed a lot to a huge deflection that took Song’s shot in.
What I think was very impressive was how we managed to completely kill Port’s rhythm after we scored our 3rd goal. There was 30min left in the game, but our Thai opponents created almost nothing of note. However, it might be a slightly different team that we face this time.
Three key players come to mind, Bordin Phala, Irfan Fandi, and every Singaporean’s favourite Indonesian man (after Rich Brian), Asnawi Mangkualam.
Bordin Phala
41 caps for his country, 6 goals. 7 goal contributions this season in the league, from 9 games. He was out injured the last game, but he can undoubtedly make the difference for his team.
Along with Kevin Deeromram, Bordin has 7 goal contributions to top the contributions chart for Port FC. 4 goals and 3 assists from the wideman who can do it all. Bordin is a triple threat – he can run, he can shoot, he can cross. It won’t be easy trying to keep him quiet.
Irfan Fandi
He used to be from around here you know! (Home Utd, not Lion City Sailors). We even had a chant for him.
Irfan Fandi, Irfan Fandi,
I just don’t think you understand,
He makes the strikers sad,
He’s stronger than his dad,
We’ve got Irfan Fandi!
Irfan is obviously a much more developed and better defender than he was when he was with us years ago. The Thai League is more his level than our SPL of course, but he’s had injury troubles, and that’s what kept him out the previous game. His coach has confirmed he will be back, and aside from being a rock in defence, he will add another level of threat at setpieces as well.
One thing about Port you will realise every match you watch is that they are very very good at setpieces. Their goal against us in Bangkok also came from a setpiece, while they were close on a few other occasions too. I don’t have the stats, but I can assure you that they will be a threat from them again tonight.
As a Singaporean we always wanna see our players do well when they ply their trade overseas, but let’s hope we don’t see Irfan celebrating tonight.
Asnawi Mangkualam
Singaporeans’ most hated Indonesian, or maybe even person. After the way he cruelly mocked Faris Ramli in an unsportsmanlike manner for missing a crucial penalty kick when Singapore played Indonesia, no tears will be shed for him if he similarly screws up tonight.
But I tell you what – he will be a menace down the right wing. He has bags of energy, a lot of pace, and he is unafraid to shoot or cross. If Chris is playing there, he will have to be at his best to even stand a chance against Asnawi.
The Motivation for Port FC
From the table, you can see that Port FC has already qualified for the next round. Is there any chance they will go easy on us, rest their whole team, etc?
Unlikely, given that there is no game for them this weekend, so they don’t have to keep their powder dry. Their next game is in January.
Also, while they have already qualifieed, top spot in the group is worth something to teams. In the knockout stage, if you finish top, you get to play the 2nd leg at home. That is an advantage because if the tie goes to extra time, your extra 30min played (and penalties if applicable) gets to be played in your home stadium, with your home fans.
I think given these circumstances, along with Port’s desire to avenge their loss last time out, should mean that they will go all out against us.
Our Approach – to Attack or Not?
This is a topic that splits fans. I am of the opinion that our defensive approach is well-warranted, and despite it not working for us against Zhejiang, I am confident that had we opened up and attacked from the start, it would have been even worse. Take a look at the 3rd and 4th goal, and how our defence struggled to keep up once the defence got higher and the spaces got bigger.
As much as I love Bailey, Toni and Lionel, do they strike you as defenders who thrive with a high line? Do Maxime, Bart and Rui Pires strike you as players who are athletically gifted and do well with a high press? I am not sure I agree with some fans who would like to see that happen on a regular basis. In certain game situations, maybe – but certainly not all the time.
I think our best chance of progress is to invent a time machine and fucking beat Persib at home because they are by far the weakest team in the group and yet we somehow gave them 4 points.
I thiink our best chance of progress is to stick to what we’ve been doing very well – be hard to beat at the back, while taking our chances up front when they come, and from set pieces. What I think is lost somewhat in the sadness and disappointment of losing 2 games back-to-back in horrible fashion, is that we remained very competitive in all 5 games of the group stage so far.
To go to Hangzhou and take a 2-0 lead takes some doing, while prior to the late collapse at Jalan Besar, Persib did NOTHING. The performances have been good, we just need to somehow repeat it, this time against (imo) the best team in the group. It won’t be easy, but there’s absolutely no need to suddenly change our tactic and go for something different just because the last 2 results haven’t gone our way. The 3 games before that – it DID go our way. Let’s remember that.
I think there are problems with our playing style and with some of the personnel, but the last group game is not the time to fix that.
Conclusion
It won’t be easy, and part of me feels like we missed our chance already. But as supporters, what else can we do, but hope and pray, and then cheer our lungs out at the stadium? Nothing.
There’s absolutely nothing else we can do. I want to see my team run till they can’t run anymore, I want to see them expend every ounce of effort, fight for every inch on the pitch. Football is a game where the margins are so fine that even if you play your perfect game, sometimes the ball just doesn’t drop for you, things just don’t happen.
But we supporters, we know, and we can feel. If the team has given its all, then let fate take care of the rest. But till that final whistle blows, I hope the team and the supporters come together as one to make tonight a special night.
Fingers crossed. COME ON YOU BOYS IN BLUE!
My predicted line-up
Izwan Mahbud
Hami Syahin, Lionel Tan, Bailey Wright, Toni Datkovic, Chris van Huizen
Song Ui-Young, Rui Pires
Maxime Lestienne, Lennart Thy, Bart Ramselaar
Score Prediction
Joseph and I predict the scores and track our success in a table. Stay tuned to find out who is the prediction king!
3 points for exact scoreline predicted correctly, 2 points for predicting the winner and margin of victory correctly (but not the exact scoreline), and 1 point for predicting the outcome correctly (win, lose or draw).
Eddy’s prediction: Sailors 2 Port 2
Joseph’s prediction: Sailors 4 Port 2
Written by Eddy Hirono
If you’d like to support the work we do here at SailorFanTalk, you may want to visit https://ko-fi.com/sailorfantalk and leave us a tip!
