Prior to the Tampines game, the Sailors were spoken about by most people as shoo-ins for the title, with Tampines and Geylang perhaps able to put up tough fights, but ultimately falling short as the Sailors machine kicks into gear with better depth at its disposal, and overall just better quality. One humiliating result later, suddenly the Sailors are a club in crisis, there are calls for Rankovic to be sacked, and everything is called into question. Such is the nature of sports nowadays – it is a results industry.
When you lose 5-0 to a title rival to record your club’s biggest-ever margin of defeat, and fail to force the opposing goalkeeper into making a save, the negative noise really builds.
Sailors fans start lashing out at individuals, such as Zharfan (who made a horrendous error for the 2nd goal, but was otherwise blameless for the rest of the goals), such as Hariss (someone who is relied upon coach after coach, but yet finds himself having to prove his worth over and over again) – but forget that it was a team failure. Who on that pitch actually came off with any credit?
Tampines fans by and large are fine – but you will see a few crawling out of the gutter now and again. You see them on LCS’s IG posts, on SFT’s various social media posts. Gloating and laughing. Money can’t buy history, they say. I say to them I wish money could buy manners, because obviously they lack the class and grace to behave in a befitting manner. Don’t be a sore loser, but don’t be an ungracious winner as well.
As much as we hate the negative noise, I am sure the players hate it too. They probably hate it more. A win tonight will not kill all the negative noise. We could win 22-0 with each member of the squad getting a goal at least, and get 98% possession, and people will say “Ah it’s just Young Lions” – but fail to win, and you can be sure the negative noise will reach 400 decibels.
So are we gonna win? Let’s dive right into the preview.
More Fighting Spirit
Whatever happens tonight, the Sailors fans will want to see more fighting spirit. Against Tampines, while noone said it aloud, we were all waiting for something to spark the fans into life. Yes, the Crew and some members of the crowd were chanting – but we needed something to unite everyone. A moment of controversy, a blood-and-thunder tackle – just something for the fans to hold on to, to believe that the team out there is fighting for us. When Shah Shahiran, Yasir Hanapi and Irfan Najeeb are passing circles around you when the score is 5-0, I think the fans wouldn’t have minded if one of our players went ahead and barged a Tampines player to the floor. Yellow card? No worries. At least show you are not a training cone.
It was interesting that in a post-match interview, Ranko said one of the positives was that noone got a red card. I find it interesting because that’s not a normal comment a coach makes, but also because it reveals that Ranko thought some of our players might be so frustrated that they take it out on the Tampines players. I think there’s a middle ground – you don’t have to go in and try to maim someone and get a red card, but you can absolutely be a bit more physical to show you are not ready to be messed around with,
Zlatkovic did it to Nathan Mao last year, and even in last weekend’s game, Boris’s dirty challenge was meant to do exactly that – to intimidate, to distract, to assert dominance.
Against the Young Lions, there may be times when the chips are down – and when that happens, I hope to see a more fighting response this time. Let’s show people that Sailors are not just about quality players, it is also about players who fight for the badge, and are willing to eliminate any obstacles in our way.
Young Lions a Threat from Set Pieces
With a total of 5 goals from set pieces, Young Lions are joint-top of this stat with Balestier Khalsa. However, given that Balestier Khalsa also score many more goals, a greater percentage of Young Lions goals comes from set pieces – a whopping 38%.
Kaisei Ogawa is usually the architect of this success, and has 4 assists under his belt this season.
Set pieces is something Joseph spoke passionately about in the aftermath of the 5-0 defeat to Tampines. I think while set-piece goals are inevitable and every team does concede them, it is the manner which really got Joseph annoyed. Irfan Najeeb was unchallenged as he headed the ball in from Faris’s corner. That came minutes after Boris Kopitovic was also unmarked with yards of space to fire home from Glenn Kweh’s cutback.
Our marking will definitely have to be better if we are to get a clean sheet tonight – the Young Lions clearly work on their setpieces.
Enomoto the Dangerman with Farhan Zulkifli the Wildcard
Enomoto is their top-scorer with 6 goals. In the previous preview, I marked him out as someone who came with a reputation for being good in the air (in aerial duels). He has since proven to be quite useful there, especially in providing the Young Lions with a long-ball option should they need it.
He has also scored once with his head this season. I like his movement a lot, and he is a major reason why Young Lions are looking competitive in all the matches they have played in this year.
The other one to look out for is of course, the livewire Farhan Zulkifli. He hasn’t completed the full 90 a lot this season, and on a few occasions started from the bench. Not sure why that would be considering that I think he is one of their most dangerous players. It may be that his coach would rather he come on against tired legs, as his direct dribbling and running style could cause more chaos that way. He has looked lively, and has 2 goals and 2 assists this season. One to look out for!
Stop Avoiding the Middle
As mentioned by myself in the preview to the Tampines game, and as illustrated in painful detail by Zach in his tactical analysis article after the game, we have a real problem attacking through the middle.
It makes our play predictable, and allows defenders to feel more secure because the danger is on the flanks, not directly in front or behind them.
Bart Ramselaar’s absence is not an excuse. We are the richest club in the land, and we do have depth. Adam Swandi is certainly capable of playing there if given the confidence to do so. He was missing from the previous squad entirely so perhaps he’s injured too. But in Song and Hami – you should be able to have someone capable of at least receiving and retaining possession in those areas.
Perhaps Rui Pires’s return in the last game is a timely one. With him around, Hami can be pushed further forward as he does have the quick feet to help us there.
Conclusion
There has to be a response, but I would caution against supporters thinking that after a big battering, we’re gonna want to immediately put things right and so we’ll come out with a handsome victory. Young Lions are not the pushovers they once were, and we will need to be 100% focused to ensure we come away with 3 points.
They are on a winless streak of 3 games, so they shouldn’t be coming into this one with supreme confidence as well.
Given the gulf in resources and quality, I see us being able to triumph – but perhaps not in the super-convincing way that we all hope and wish for. No matter – we just have to get the 3 points first.
COME ON YOU BOYS IN BLUE!
My predicted line-up
Zharfan Rohaizad
Lionel Tan, Bailey Wright, Toni Datkovic, Chris van Huizen
Rui Pires, Hariss Harun, Hami Syahin
Maxime Lestienne, Lennart Thy, Shawal Anuar
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: Young Lions 0 Sailors 3
Joseph’s prediction: Young Lions 0 Sailors 5
Written by Eddy Hirono
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