There have been unforgettable nights for our Sailors this year. Some great unforgettable nights, some not so great yet still unforgettable nights. 4-0 v Muangthong, 5-2 v Port FC, 2-0 v Zhejiang FC, and of course, 7-1 against our old rivals, Albirex Niigata (S) – these matches belong to the former category.
However, there are also nights we would want to forget, but we probably cannot. 2-3 to Persib Bandung after taking a commanding 2-0 lead, 2-4 to Zhejiang FC in freezing Hangzhou after taking a 2-0 lead, and of course a humiliating 0-5 loss to BG Tampines Rovers.
Of all those results, the BG Tampines one irks me the most. Not only do we have the better players and more resources, the 5-0 loss was the result of players not doing the basics right, and everything that could go wrong for us went wrong. However, I have reason to believe that this won’t happen again tonight – let’s dive into the reasons why.
Can’t Win When Basics Aren’t Done Right
I am not gonna relive the whole game again. That’s torture. A 5-0 loss, and the poor way we played, conceding all manner of soft goals, will never not be torturous to talk about. So let’s just pick one issue and discuss how the team has changed since then.
This is the lead-up to Boris’s first goal. Prior to this, both sides had been pretty even, and our centre-backs were dealing with the attacking threat of BG Tampines reasonably well. But when you play a high line, you absolutely have to put some pressure on the ball carrier. No one is applying any pressure, and there is no urgency at all. Irfan Najeeb literally had more than 5 seconds to look up, take a touch, and then play a simple pass behind the defence for Boris to go 1v1 with Zharfan.
To make matters worse, our defensive line wasn’t in sync, as Lionel Tan did a Tristan Do, and did not keep the same defensive line with Bailey and Toni.
After that, Zharfan spilled the ball for 2-0, Carmona let Glenn Kweh get past him too easily for 3-0 (and the centre-backs left Boris unmarked in the penalty area), we switched off somewhat on a freekick for 4-0, and then conceded a corner-kick goal for 5-0. (Oh shit I just relived it when I said I wouldn’t relive it.)
Wholly preventable goals, and goals that would not have been conceded had we played with intensity and desire from the off – the same pace that we do against our continental opponents.
We’ve seen how the team has grown since this 5-0 result, and how much more convincing we look when the team plays with intensity and discipline. This is a top-of-the-table clash so I don’t think our Sailors will be taking BG Tampines lightly at all.
Not the Same Team
Look at the lineup on that day of the 5-0, and think about who we are likely to see starting tonight. Completely different.
Of that team, I’d expect maybe only 5 of them to start tonight. Bailey, Toni, Maxime, Shawal, and then one of Hariss or Lionel. It’s completely a different team, and also it was the first time that Coach Ranko played 5 at the back. Ignore the formation in the graphic above, the back 5 was Sergio, Toni, Bailey, Lionel and Hafiz.
Since then, I think it’s fair to say that our left-back position has been improved with the signing of Diogo Costa, and as for right-back, Coach Ranko has landed on a solution where Hami Syahin plays there, but tucks into midfield when we have possession to give us more ball security.
Song was also in poor form then, but has since really shown what he is really capable of, with pace and power in the middle of the pack proving to be difficult for opponents to handle.
The familiarity with Coach Ranko’s tactics also grew as the season went along, so much so that when we named a B team to face BG Tampines in our last league game against them, we managed to scrape a 2-2 draw.
Contrast in Form
Last, but certainly not least, while our Sailors are firing on all cylinders, BG Tampines have been grinding out results without looking very convincing. This year, they’ve even managed to lose to Hougang United and draw with DPMM. Their last outing also saw them waste a host of chances to narrowly beat hapless DPMM with the help of an own goal.
This is understandable, considering that they replaced their top-scorer and legendary striker Boris Kopitovic mid-season. As much as we like to make fun of him over here on SailorFanTalk, there’s no denying that the team have grown accustomed to having him lead their attack with his unique brand of aggression and hard work. A major reason for why BG Tampines works as well as they do is because of the familiarity the players have with each other. Boris was their striker for 5 years, and in that time, became their all-time top goalscorer.
Even though the club replaced him with another hardworking striker who could get goals in the form of Itsuki Enomoto, it will still take some time for the partnerships on the field to form. In the meantime, we will have to capitalise.
And we are well-placed to do so. Again I go back to how much the team has grown this season, and how accustomed we now are to the 5-at-the-back system. We’ve also seen how that system allows the likes of Diogo Costa and Akram Azman to really bomb down the wings and stretch play. I think BG Tampines will have a lot of thinking to do as to how to approach this game. They should be scared, looking at the kind of football we are capable of this year against teams like Muangthong, Buriram and Albirex.
Then you add in the factor of how we rested half the team against Balestier, but BG Tampines needed to grind out a win, so almost all their key players had to play. We have no excuse not to show up.
Kudos also to Geylang International for allowing this weekend’s cup game to be rescheduled, which allows our players to focus on tonight’s game and preparation for Hiroshima.
Conclusion
We are gonna be favourites to win this, and unsurprisingly so. The incentive is there – if we win, we will have what I feel is an unassailable lead.
Win, and we have a 9 point lead, with a game in hand, with only 8 more games for BG Tampines to play.
COME ON YOU BOYS IN BLUE!
My predicted line-up
Izwan Mahbud
Hami Syahin, Lionel Tan, Bailey Wright, Toni Datkovic, Diogo Costa
Song Ui-Young, Rui Pires
Maxime Lestienne, Shawal Anuar, 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!
Eddy’s prediction: Sailors 4 BG Tampines 0
Joseph’s prediction: Sailors 3 BG Tampines 0
Written by Eddy Hirono
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