[Post-Match Thoughts] Bangkok United vs Lion City Sailors – Bogey Team?
Caught up with former Sailor Jorge Fellipe after the game! When the fixtures were released, this game was billed as a reunion with both friend and foe. The True Bangkok United squad has seen a revamp since we last played them in the 2023 ACL Group Stages. As fate would have it, cult hero Richairo Živković is now teammates with former Stags Seia Kunori and Kyoga Nakamura. A familiar face remained in central defence, Everton Gonçalves Saturnino who scored their equaliser at JBS 2 seasons ago. They qualified for the knockout stages at our expense back then, beating us twice in the process. Therefore, a win would have exorcised past demons whilst representing a huge stride towards the knockout stages. Dark Clouds Unfortunately, things did not pan out the way we wanted. The fans were looking forward to another away day at the True BG Stadium, which we had to visit twice last season due to peculiar circumstances. The original game against Port F.C. was postponed due to inclement weather that resulted in a waterlogged pitch. We then played the rescheduled game at the same venue few weeks later, securing a 3-1 win that was vital to our historic ACL Two campaign last season. As dark clouds loomed prior to Thursday’s kickoff, some matchgoing fans could have been forgiven for fearing the worst. But rain was not on the agenda that day. We came into this fixture in decent form, beating Selangor 4-2 at home and also dismantling Young Lions 5-1 in a dominant display. Coupled with our recent unbeaten streak against Thai clubs (bar Bangkok United, the irony), there was optimism abound for a positive result. At halftime, I spoke to Thai fan Ananda who echoed this sentiment, with the LCS squad looking stronger on paper. Despite a 0-0 scoreline at the time, he felt confident the Sailors could bring home the 3 points. We rode our luck in the first half, most notably when Richairo failed his Panenka attempt after Safuwan Baharudin was adjudged to have handled the ball in the penalty area. It hit the bar on the way over, and we returned the favour when Tsiy Ndenge did the same from a better-struck free kick. Lennart Thy had a great chance to take the initiative but fired wide when aiming for the far post. We then had 2 goal bound efforts from corners cleared off the line, the latter by the colossal Everton. It appeared the game would be decided by set pieces. Red Mist Bangkok emerged from the break with a fresh impetus, fashioning a 1v1 chance that Ivan Sušak did well to parry. It took a mistake from our backline to break the deadlock though, with comical errors leading to the concession of another penalty. This time, Safuwan played a loose ball to Hariss Harun, who had not much choice but to toe-poke the ball to Bailey Wright. It bounced off the Australian defender, which left us in a vulnerable position, forcing Hariss to commit a professional foul. In real time I suspected it was a case of double jeopardy, but in subsequent replays it seemed there was no attempt to play the ball. A red and another penalty conceded. This time, Muhsen Al Ghassani made no mistake from the spot, opting to place the ball in the middle of the goal. Ivan dived to his left, and we found ourselves 1-0 down. The sending-off ultimately confirmed our demise, rarely threatening from thereon despite our best efforts. Diogo Costa acknowledged it was difficult after going down to 10 men, but rallied the players to continue pushing hard. On a personal note, I found the timing and lack of substitutes to be frustrating. We waited more than 10 minutes after the incident to make our first sub, bringing on Shawal Anuar for Safuwan for more attacking numbers. However, we did not wrestle back control of the game and it was the home side who continued to have the better chances. The only other sub was on 87 minutes, this time Abdul Rasaq on for Song Ui-Young. Tactical Loss Losing control of the midfield was a major factor behind the result. 2 of our most important players last season, Rui Pires and Hami Syahin, were left on the bench despite us chasing a result. Had they been on the field, we might have held on to the ball a little better, especially in that right back position when Safuwan was taken off. Leaving 2 strikers on to chase the game might be lauded as brave, but it turned out to be futile considering our primary creative outlet Maxime Lestienne was not even in the squad. An obvious change would have been taking Anderson Lopes off. Other than his 4-goal purple patch against Selangor, he has so far been unable to effect games and this was another frustrating night for the Brazillian. He often dropped deep in search of the ball, when his best work seems to be poaching in the box. Perhaps a swap in roles with Lennart would have been more effective. However, I emphatise with the constraints of the manager. I recall Coach Rankovic’s comments post-Community Shield, where he spoke of the need for more reinforcements. He probably looked at the bench this game and felt restricted by what he could change, when his superstar players were already on the pitch. Ultimately, he is paid the big bucks to produce results and based on last season’s success there is evidence he will continue to deliver. No Time To Mourn A huge SPL clash awaits us on Monday, returning home to play against a strong Albirex side who look to be title contenders. The next few ACL Two fixtures are also crucial, with us currently languishing in 3rd, nothing but 6 points in the next 2 home games will suffice in guaranteeing a RO16 place based on H2H. The season has well and truly started, and the depth of the squad will come to
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