What a result. Away against an in-form Thai league team in 3rd position in the table, and we walk out of Thunderdome Stadium with not just a draw, but a win. I know a lot of the focus will rightly be on the red card and the late goal, but it really really shouldn’t. Let’s dive right into some talking points for this game.
An Unlikely Away Win
Time to throw out a footballing cliché. If you’d offered me a draw before the game, I’d have bitten your hand off.
Now time for a new take on that old cliché. If you’d offered me a win before the game, I’d have bitten way more than just your hand off, I would have bitten all of you. I wouldn’t care how the win comes about – it can be a lucky win with our goal coming off a deflected shot that goes in off a defender’s bum. A win is a win.
So it’s a bit surprising to see some negativity even after achieving more than what we came for – an away win. It feels a bit like a lottery winner winning a million bucks and then feeling sad that he is burgled 1 hour later and loses a hundred thousand bucks. You’re still up – and crucially, with money you never had.
I think some of us got so excited by our first-half performance that we felt like our Sailors were the favourites. Far from it – our Sailors were always the slight underdogs, simply by dint of being in an inferior league.
Of course, I understand some of the negativity and I’ll write about the Song red card soon, that came at a time when we were 3 goals up. However, let’s remember that we are bringing back a 1-goal lead to Jalan Besar Stadium, and our regional rivals absolutely hate that pitch. Now, let’s talk about that red card.
Song’s Red Card – Soft?
I think it’s a soft red card because 1) it’s not an elbow, and 2) Song doesn’t make a fist and harden his forearm before making contact. Try it yourself. Make a fist, and touch your forearm with your other hand – see how hard it feels. Now open up your palm, and touch your forearm with your other hand – see how hard it feels. Alot of difference, eh? It probably didn’t hurt much at all, and it was more of arms flinging around than a malicious attempt to injure an opponent.
However, even with that said, I’m gonna be honest here. I can see why the red card was given. It’s soft, but it’s not a horrible decision. Just a harsh one. I hope I am making myself clear here. Had it been the other way around, I would be happy of course that we benefited from a red card to our opponents, but I wouldn’t say it’s an unjustified red card.
Song does have a little look to see where his opponent is, and he took the risk by putting his arm higher than it needed to be. It’s not as if our opponent lowered his head and Song caught him there. It was a high arm – he gave the referee a decision to make, and the ref made the harshest one possible. It happens.
Should we go all in and blame Song though? I don’t think so. I wrote this about Song when he was a crucial part of our 3-1 away victory against Port FC.
Oops.
This is Song’s game though. And just like Wayne Rooney, or Patrick Vieira, or Luis Suarez, the red cards they receive are not a bug, it’s a feature of the player. Take away that ferocious competitive spirit and you get a player who contributes so much less to the team. You may have them available for a few more games here and there because they don’t get suspended as much, but you don’t get 100% of the player in the matches they do play.
It’s also slightly sad that it is Song’s desire which even puts him in that position. At 3-0 up and as part of a midfield duo, he could have been forgiven for holding his position in the centre of the park and not make that many attacking runs. However, he makes that run all the way down the right channel to give his team an option to play out, and they find him. That’s when the unfortunate incident happened, after Muangthong did well to shepherd him away from the box. If only he had less desire to help his team out of a tight spot, he might not have landed them in a tight spot – the irony.
Also I remember in one of SailorFanTalk’s very first episodes, when we spoke with former players Abdil Qaiyyim and Aqhari Abdullah, they said that even in training, Song is always competitive, always running around, always getting his arms and elbows in the way. His fierce, combative nature is what makes him such a pest on the field.
(Wow that picture really takes me back.)
In the cold light of day, I would ask Song – was it really necessary to be so physical when we are already 3-0 up? I suspect it’s not an easy question to answer. Football isn’t an exact science where you can turn off features of your game and not wonder if the cumulative effect of players across the pitch all choosing to give a little less will end up in a goal being conceded. We move on.
Dazzling Attacking Trio
At times, the attacking trio of Shawal, Maxime and Bart looked like our very own Singaporean version of the Messi-Suarez-Neymar connection that won so many games for FC Barcelona and delighted the world. They each had a goal, and in the first half, it really looked like they would add to their tally.
We already noticed that against Tanjong Pagar, there was a lot more link-up play between the forwards than usual, and we did wonder if it could be replicated against stronger opposition in Muangthong. Well, that question was answered with barely 20 seconds on the clock.
Shawal passed the ball right to Maxime, and then continued his run into the box. Just as Maxime was about to play the cross though, their telepathic understanding meant that he sprinted to get ahead of his defender, predicting where the cutback was going to be. Just look at the body shape here – you can see him making that crucial dart into space.
He then manages to stay calm and poke it beyond the onrushing goalkeeper. Started and finished by Shawal – he really is a gem for us. And if we thought this goal was good, what about that 3rd goal?
Look at this position – it has to be an inch-perfect pass, and a great run to meet the pass, for anything to result from this move. And that’s exactly what happened.
The defender was completely bamboozled by that pass and didn’t quite get his body shape right to defend that, but what happened next was so sweet. Without any second thought, Bart just took it on the volley, and it was so controlled, so measured. He didn’t lash out at the ball – there was no violence, only finesse, a masterful stroke of the ball to guide it in past the keeper. This is a goal we’ll remember for a long time to come.
And don’t you just fucking love it when the goalscorer runs straight to the fans? Lovely.
And remember the preview article talking about how Maxime was on a “barren” streak by his high standards? Well, 2 assists and a goal, how about that for a reply?
Diogo Costa – What a Player
So we’ve discussed two goals so far, but the penalty came about because of Diogo Costa’s enterprising play.
Since he joined the Sailors, he has been a revelation. Before his arrival, the left-back spot was one that many fans were divided on. There are different strengths when you look at some of our options for left-back
- Carmona – Good at running with the ball down the left flank
- Van Huizen – Good cross on him
- Obren Kljajic – Powerful running down the left flank
It’s early days yet, but it seems that Diogo Costa has all the above attributes, and on top of that, is a good passer of the ball as well.
He created the 2nd goal by driving at the Muangthong purpose with intent, using both feet in the dribble well. Some stepovers later, there was enough panic in the Muangthong defence, and he was clumsily pushed over. What a run.
He used the ball well and defended well too all game. The only blot on his copybook? He didn’t pick up Tristan Do for Muangthong’s 2nd goal.
To be fair to him, there was an overload. Both him and Datkovic do not scan to see who is around them – until it’s too late.
This is the moment when Diogo first spots Tristan Do. And by then it’s too late. He closes him down, but Tristan has the run on him, and the cross is inch-perfect.
Again, the goal conceded is one conceded by the team, and I don’t think you’d be able to pinpoint any one player for this failure. Prior to this goal, Muangthong had already come close on a few occasions. Not Diogo’s fault, but I am certain he (and Toni) won’t think that way – he’ll feel he could have done slightly better. Lionel may also feel he could have done slightly better to close down the cross, but Poramet uses both feet well, so it’s hard to just show him one way. Hindsight is 20/20, and we can say this and that could have been done better, but it’s tough when you’re out there on the pitch.
Oh, and on that note, time for a quick message to certain “fans”.
(Message to so-called fans – if you’re gonna pinpoint this person and that person and write them off as bad players because of certain goals conceded by the team, then please be rational and also look through the other big chances given up by the team against Muangthong and in every game, and go hate on those people too. Crucially, to be balanced, please also pick out the good things that said players have done too – because you don’t want other fans thinking you’re stupid right? And one more tip – if you wouldn’t dare to say your critical words face to face to the player that you are shitting on, then don’t say it online as well. Just makes you a keyboard warrior.)
The Fans
A huge shout-out to the big Sailors fan contingent that made their way to Bangkok. Muangthong’s fans are always loud and passionate, but our Crew was still able to make themselves heard loud and clear. Singing proudly is easy when your team is leading 3-0, but the singing was most needed in the second half to give some energy to the players, and the Crew kept going.
Credit must also go to the Muangthong fans for creating such a good atmosphere and never failing to believe in their boys. Which makes this next part a little sad to talk about – there were some black sheep who threw iced drinks at Zharfan Rohaizad after the game – hopefully the stadium security will be able to pick out those idiots and ban them from attending future games.
Conclusion
It’s Advantage Sailors ahead of next week’s return leg. Of course, we would have preferred if 3-1 was the final score. Says a lot about the desire and determination out there from our players, that we were able to keep it tight for so long without any attacking outlets. 3-1 would have been almost game over. Instead, 3-2 means that it is all to play for.
We’ve put ourselves in a great position to continue our adventure, and I hope that this is our priority. Screw the Cup, we can afford to lose 1 game and still be in a position to qualify for the knockout stages. Let’s give everything to make sure that we finish what we started in Bangkok.
See you in the preview for the Tanjong Pagar game.
Written by Eddy Hirono
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