[Preview] Sailors v Young Lions – Chance to Get Back on the Saddle

This picture accurately describes what it felt like for the fans the last time we faced Young Lions. We were in control, winning the game, and then suddenly, we fell off the horse, conceded a controversial penalty, and ended up dropping two very valuable points. No matter how you look at it, those two points were the worst dropped points this season. There is no excuse for a club with the resources that we have, to be dropping points to the Young Lions.

I don’t think much analysis is needed here. We’re facing a team bottom of the table, with very little confidence. They have lost 4 in a row, and their last loss was particularly gutting – up 3-1, only to lose 4-3 to Tanjong Pagar United. They have the worst goal difference in the league, and only 5 points from 13 games.

On the other hand, we are unbeaten in 7 games, and our goalscoring record is 2nd best in the league – going up against the 2nd worst in the league. Sometimes football is easy, and this seems like one of those games. Though that’s what I said the last time we faced Young Lions, and interestingly, we have not beaten them the last two times we faced them. Here’s a few thoughts I have about tonight’s game.

Directness

The last time we faced Young Lions, they did excellently to limit the Sailors. The midfield and defence shuffled side to side, side to side, as we probed patiently for an opening. A little too patiently, I felt. It seemed like the team was happy to sit on their 1-0 lead.

We need to be a bit more confident in our ability to beat Young Lions, and I don’t just mean on the scoreboard. We need to introduce some unpredictability into the play, mix it up. Sometimes we’ll probe around patiently, but other times we’ll take them on on the dribble. Shawal had a bit of a muted game against Tampines – let’s see him bounce right back this game and terrorise whoever is marking him with his pace and directness.

Hami is back from suspension, let’s see him not just stroke the ball around, but also go for a few killer passes, just to keep the defenders guessing. Let’s not make things so comfortable for them in defence this time round. If Bernie is fit and if the club intends to rely on him in any shape or form, then perhaps we could think of getting Bernie some minutes this game. There can be no better opponent to try to bully for a huge forward like him.

Just Win

To be honest, there is not much more to say. Just win.

Conclusion

Just win, please. Nothing more important than to get 3 points in games such as these. We’ve slipped off the saddle in the last 2 games against Young Lions, let’s get back up where we belong.

Come on you Sailors!

Score Prediction

Joseph, Ethan, and myself 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: LCS 5 YL 0

Ethan’s prediction: LCS 5 YL 1

Joseph’s prediction: LCS 4 YL 0

And here’s the leaderboard –

Written by Eddy Hirono

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