I won’t be the only one who felt a little apprehensive when I saw the starting lineup for our Sailors on Sunday evening. Maxime on the bench, no Bart and Lenny at all in the squad. Haiqal Pashia playing right wing-back. Youngsters like Bill and Carmona, starting in defence, Obren starting on the wing. On paper, this was certainly not the strongest Sailors line-up. My immediate thought was that this was a huge gamble, one with the upcoming fixture against Port FC in mind. Thankfully, the gamble paid off, and Tampines were unable to gain any ground on us. Let’s dive into some of my post-match thoughts.
That Equaliser – Did we Get Lucky?
There’s nowhere else to start, is there? Tampines looked on the verge of getting a crucial win with some good play in the second half, but were denied when Shawal Anuar leapt high into the air to plant a header on target. What happened next is the subject of much controversy. Syazwan grabbed the ball – but where? Was it over the line? The referee and assistant referee didn’t give it. The Sailors players were livid, and play continued for a bit before the ball finally went out of play. VAR continued checking, and in the end, the goal was given.
But was it a slice of luck for us? In my opinion, yes.
When the assistant referee and referee don’t see the ball cross the line, they cannot give the goal. So they didn’t. What comes next is while the play carries on, the VAR is checking to see if the ball did cross the line. Unlike in the English Premier League, there is no goal-line technology. There are also probably fewer camera angles, which is why the best angles were this two angles.
With the greatest of respect to the VAR team, I am not sure that you can clearly give a goal with these 2 angles as your evidence. Other circumstantial factors come into play, such as Syazwan’s guilty look on his face, him having to roll the ball forward after accidentally taking it backwards, and the vehement protests of the Sailors players. All these may convince the refereeing and VAR team that the ball did indeed cross the line – however, none of this is 100%.
Why does it need to be 100%? Well, because once the goal isn’t given, then the threshold for VAR to intervene and reverse that call is that it must be a “clear and obvious error”. The green between the ball and the line shows that it must have been really close, but it is not in and of itself a factor that guarantees the ball did cross the line.
In my opinion, we got lucky here. Had the roles been reversed and Sailors conceded such a goal, I’d be livid.
Shawal Anuar – Defying His Age
Shawal gets better with age, doesn’t he? How does this man keep doing it?
Speed of feet is one thing, speed of thought is another. For the first goal, we saw both. The former contributed to him outpacing Shah Shahiran, a man much younger than him. The latter contributed to him taking the shot on early, with his weaker foot, reading the situation quickly to realise that he just had to lift it above the retreating Syazwan. The former meant that he could close down Shah Shahiran’s shot in the first place, but it was the latter that saw the danger and responded to it.
Sometimes you can try to analyse goals, but if you look at the paragraph above and break it down, you miss the point of the goal, the artistry of the goal. It would be like me trying to describe why Sydney Sweeney is a very good-looking person. Don’t do it, just enjoy. What a goal it was, and it will live long in the memory. If we thought that Shawal’s goal last season against Balestier Khalsa (also a left-footed first-time shot from near the halfway line) was good, then this is about 15458x better.
Then the 2nd goal – just when I was remarking to the fans seated near me that we were not going anywhere with our repeated crosses into the box, Shawal leapt up like a salmon and proved me wrong. I should have never doubted him.
Izwan + Zharfan
I am so happy for Izwan. Right after I publish a long article discussing in detail how he could have done better in Hanoi, he goes and does this. A mature performance (both goals were not his fault), and a penalty save to boot. The perfect way to bounce back.
On the flip-side though, you do feel for Zharfan. Imagine what’s going through his mind. He was replaced when the team was trashed 5-0 and he made 1 mistake.
In midweek, Izwan made a couple of mistakes and the team was trashed 5-0. The next couple of days, he would have had to play the role of supportive teammate to Izwan, but inside he would have been wondering – “is this my chance?” Then came matchday, and the announcement of the starting lineup, and he would have felt a minor setback. If that wasn’t enough to reinstate him into the team, even in a rotated lineup, when will the chance come?
To then sit on the bench, and watch as the rival for your place in the team saves a penalty – that must have led to all manner of conflicting emotions for him.
Some fans remarked that while the team was being serenaded by the fans after the final whistle, he abruptly left and headed for the dressing room. I say we cut him some slack – it’s a tough situation to be in, and he is human after all.
We are blessed to have two of the best goalkeepers in the land in our team (perhaps only bettered by Hassan Sunny and Naumovski) – so here’s hoping there’s some way to keep them both happy.
Rui Pires
On a night where I felt we were the underdogs, I felt the team did well overall. Tampines outplayed us for large stretches but there wasn’t a barrage of clear-cut chances. Their first goal was brilliant interchanging play, while their second goal was very fortuitous. Both goals resulted from the right side of defence being a little tentative – which is unsurprising considering Haiqal Pashia was played at RWB, and Bill Mahmadou came in for Lionel Tan on the right side of a defensive trio.
In games like these, it is imperative that the midfield and strikeforce works a bit harder than usual.
Which is why it was so surprising for me to see Rui Pires ambling back on defence when the ball broke to Seia Kunori. He had already shown he was dangerous when his shot earlier in the game deflected off Boris for Tampines’s 2nd goal. There is a huge gap in midfield, and he should recognise the situation and look to get back in there asap, or go and foul Seia Kunori early. However, he did neither. Look at Maxime Lestienne, by the way (orange boots, near the bottom of the screen).
And look at where Maxime Lestienne is after Seia has taken the shot. He is right there with him. Rui Pires is still a distance away from Seia. If Rui isn’t carrying an injury, or lacking match fitness, then this is very disappointing. At 2-1 down, another Seia goal would have killed the game off. I expect Rui to be right in there challenging Seia.
Respect for our Rivals
As much as we all love to hate Boris Kopitovic, I have to say that I think I would have absolutely loved him if he played for us. He runs his socks off every game, and he is just hilarious because of his shithousery. Always getting into a scrap, always going down easily – there is never a dull day with him around.
In case you were wondering why I stopped calling him Kopentovic as I usually do on this site – Kopentovic is a nickname that must be earned. It was previously earned because all his goals were from the penalty spot. Not anymore after Izwan said no – so he has been temporarily stripped of the title.
Back to the game. He dived a lot, moaned a lot. Our fans booed him a lot, and laughed at him a lot when he missed the penalty.
After the game, he came to the Sailors bench to shake the hands of our players, and then waved to our fans to apologise for his conduct and applaud the Sailors fans. Respect. A classy gesture to show that what happens on the pitch stays on the pitch.
Also, our Crew were loud as usual, but shoutout to The Yellow Knights for doing their bit for the atmosphere too. If every SPL game had such an atmosphere, I think more fans will come.
Conclusion
We came through the most difficult domestic game with a 2nd-string team. It may have been a gamble, but it’s over now, and it paid off for us. We keep our three-point lead, and we have all our big players rested for the more difficult game against Port FC in Bangkok.
I reiterate my view that the decision to rest players against Tampines is an OK one, considering that even if we had lost, we would have a lot more time in the league to ensure we win the title, but there is no such luxury in the ACL2.
Preview for the Port game should drop later today!
Written by Eddy Hirono
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