Author name: Eddy Hirono

It was a dream start for us in our first ever home game in the AFC Champions League. Last season’s “home” games don’t count because they were all played in Buriram in a centralised tournament due to Covid-19. As is so often the case, whenever Chris van Huizen gets a cross into the box, things happen. Last night was no different. As the left-footed cross was whipped into the box, it was half-cleared to our Brazilian magnifico, Diego Lopes. He had sent a shot high and wide just 5 minutes ago, but this time, he hit it sweetly on the volley, and it nestled in the bottom corner of the net. Jalan Besar erupted. After a long period where we sat deep and frustrated our Thai guests, this was a much-needed boost of energy. We all know how this one ends, so there’s no need for a spoiler alert, but at the time, it was a sweet moment for the fans. It’s now a day later, so there’s been some time to process my thoughts about the game. Tactical stuff I will touch on, but not in detail – I will leave that to Zach as usual in our upcoming Tactical Analysis article. Let’s go. Angst about the Angst Post-match, after I went about doing all the interviews (both player and fans), I went online to look at the reactions to the Sailors’ defeat. While there were some comments commending the atmosphere, and others acknowledging the effort put in by the players, there were also annoyingly, rather many comments having a go at our players, saying that they lacked effort, were very poor, or were not well-prepared – often a combination of all the above. I felt that based on the eye-test and what I observed during the game, these comments were unfair and were perhaps borne out of angst at the final result. Not analysis, not rational thought, just angst. And then I ended up getting angsty too. I think for me what really swung it was that it was not only the faceless Internet trolls having a go – it was our fans in the SailorFanTalk Telegram chat. Comments such as “they aren’t well-prepared for the tournament during training“, “it feels like we suddenly cannot play football and play like YL“, “players have no desire “, “when we have the ball, how do we keep [the ball]? It’s got nothing to do with opponent“. Where was all this negativity coming from? And in the case of the last comment, how can someone be so angsty that logic flies out of the window? How can your success in keeping the ball not be at least in part affected by the quality of your opponents? These are unfair comments that unnecessarily shit on our own players, players we should be supporting. It was as if people had forgotten that the Sailors were the underdogs coming into this game. Maybe they should read this blog a bit more! Haha. [This way if you wanna re-read the preview.] Then there were people who asked a fair question – could we really count ourselves as underdogs? We were after all, a little lucky in the draw and had escaped drawing the likes of Urawa Red Diamonds and Kawasaki Frontale. Some people felt quite rightly, that we were in the “easiest” group. I think however, the reality is that in the ACL, almost any group we get drawn into, we are gonna be underdogs. Here was my response in full – And that brings me to my next point – in the cold light of day, having rewatched the game, and also with the benefit of statistical reports, can we say that Bangkok Utd didn’t really create any good chances? Our Sailors Did Well Defensively Against a team top of the Thai League, a team that finished 2nd in the league last year, and that had also beaten the reigning champions 2-0 this season, we did well. Really well. Considering the quality of our opponents, I think to limit them to under 1 xG, is very impressive. This was also borne out by the eye-test, where they hardly created any good opportunities. The best chance for our opponents I think was the second half opportunity for Mahmoud Eid which shaved the post on its way out – he was kept quiet all night by the impressive Mamat. As mentioned in my Telegram message earlier, the goals came from slightly bad marking at one set-piece (disappointing of course), and a piledriver right into the top corner. While the players are not blameless in this, I am not sure we should be faulting their effort. Here’s another interesting stat to show you which I think speaks to the effort the players put in – duels won. In terms of duels, we pretty much outperformed them in almost every category, which suggests desire was not the problem. In fact, one of the enduring memories for me from this game was the sight of Richairo Zivkovic running back on more than one occasion all the way to the line of our penalty area to help out in defence. Desire was definitely not the issue and defensively our Sailors frustrated our opponents. In the post-match press conference, Bangkok United manager Totchtawan Sripan said that in their pre-match analysis, they had prepared for the Sailors lining up with 5 at the back despite not doing so in the domestic league. It is to our Sailors’ credit that even though our opponents knew what was coming, they still struggled to create chances. But could we have been slightly more attacking? Let’s discuss that. Should Sailors Have Opened Up More? I can’t lie – this was a thought that kept nagging away at me after the game (and maybe even at times in the first half). While we limited our more illustrious opponents to nothing more than half-chances and long shots, we ourselves did not pose a consistent threat. Often, our

As mentioned in the preview piece, this game mattered little to us, and so it was interesting to see such a strong lineup. Maxime, Diego, Richairo, all started. Other players you would expect to see start on Wednesday, such as Hafiz Nor, Chris van Huizen, Hariss Harun, and Zharfan Rohaizad played 90min as well. Curiously, Bailey Wright was not on the pitch and also not on the bench, so there may be some doubt as to whether he will be fit to start Wednesday’s game. There were some positives for us to take from this game, so let’s dive right into it. Noone Got Injured + People Got Minutes I think the first positive out of this is that nobody picked up an injury. With the Singapore Cup and the AFC Champions League right around the corner, we are gonna need everyone on board, not just for the numbers, but also for the variety. Long-time followers of the Sailors will know that we have some really good players, but each offers something a little different. Hafiz Nor and Mamat both defend and get down the wing pretty much all game – however Hafiz Nor packs a better shot, while Mamat is perhaps that bit more solid defensively. This is just one example – but I think you get my point. Coach Rankovic will want his full arsenal of talent available to him so he can pick the right weapon for the right game situations. Zivkovic and Lestienne got 45min each – and I think this is your most quintessential “get some minutes under your belt” kind of performance. Neither of them looked anywhere near their flying best, and I really don’t think Geylang had anything to do with it. Subconsciously, I think some players already thought ahead to Wednesday’s crunch tie against Bangkok United, and wanted to make sure they didn’t pick up an injury. Some players on the other hand, probably knew they were not gonna start on Wednesday and so turned in great performances to try and play themselves into the manager’s plans – more on that next. Haiqal Pashia – A Man on a Mission Shoutout to Haiqal Pashia – who I thought really changed the game when he came on. By his own admission in a post-match selfie interview, he should have had a hat-trick. First, when he cut in around the 52nd minute and hit it hard in front of goal, but Hafiz Ahmad did well to save it. Then, late on in the game, Nathan Mao did well to put two chances on a plate for him, but he only managed to score one. It was an energetic performance, and one the team really needed because the first half was very flat. Haiqal’s runs in behind made Geylang’s defence look a bit more unsettled, and when Haiqal’s first shot was well-saved, eventually the pressure told, and when the ball was recycled and played to Chris on the left flank, he whipped in a delightful ball for Shawal Anuar to score with a commanding header. It was a crucial goal that put us level on the scoreboard early in the second half. Perhaps the more recent followers of the Sailors might not know this, but Haiqal Pashia wasn’t always a bit-part player for us. In the 2021 season, except for when he was out injured, he started every game for us. This was in part, due to the rule which required all SPL clubs to start a U23 player and not substitute the player until at least the second half. To his credit, this did not happen all the time, and he was an integral part of the team that won the title for us that year. This season, until the 1-1 draw with Tampines in June, he had only made a single appearance and even then, for only 11 min against Geylang in March. Since June, he has made 9 appearances, although most of them have been as late subs into the game. Not much gametime for him. If you really wanted to see him play more minutes, you would have to watch him in the U21 league, where he is often the main attacker, and has a role of the “veteran” leading the younger boys. I have watched a few of the U21 games, and the pattern for him seems to be that he makes very good runs, and often ends up with good chances, but perhaps he could do a little more with his end product. If he can combine the 2, he’ll be a cracking player. Which is why it is so satisfying to see him score 2 goals in 2 substitute appearances for us. Some may remember the title-winning season where we went into a game with Albirex at Jalan Besar Stadium, and a win would see us seize the title initiative heading into the final few games. It was September, crunch time in the season. In a game where we had to dig deep and defend for long stretches, our threat on the counter-attack was gonna be our main weapon, and so it proved. Midway through the first half, Haiqal Pashia was on the end of a Faris Ramli cross, and he put us 1-0 up, allowing Sailors fans to dream. It was however, also the same game where Haiqal made a similarly good run, was again found by Faris Ramli, and somehow he managed to miss with an open goal to aim at. Eventually Albirex snatched a late equaliser and we thought we lost the title, but Tampines did us a big favour, held them to a draw later in the season, and we were still CHAMPIONS. Oh shit I digressed big time. Point is this – Haiqal Pashia could prove crucial for us in the ACL when we will have to sit deep and defend well, and hit opponents on the counter. I cannot imagine us playing any other way against Jeonbuk, for example. The starting

This article should really have come out earlier but WordPress will be the death of me. Usually reliable, it decided to crash while I was 99% done with the article and typing my concluding thoughts. How very annoying – and so I have to start all over again. (Yes, I did save along the way, but even the backups are gone – what a tragedy.) It’s not often that someone can get 2 goals and 3 assists in the game and yet not be the focus of an article, but that’s exactly what will happen to Maxime Lestienne in this article. I will still of course, touch a little on Maxime first before talking about Richairo and the rest, so let’s go. The New Normal Yikes. Guess it has been a while since you saw that dreaded phrase. At first, when it was used during the Covid-19 period and I first heard it, I thought to myself, “well isn’t that such a succinct and elegant way to describe the pandemic!” But after a while, when everyone around you and in the supermarket and in the coffeeshop started saying “new normal” and even the mynahs cooing sounded like they were cooing “new normal”, it got a little tiresome and I wanted to puke whenever I heard it. What has this got to do with Lestienne? I think we are spoiled, haha. Lestienne is now on 25 goals and 21 assists this season and that’s just…insane. It’s calculator time again, so that’s 46 goal contributions in 23 games, making it 2 goal contributions a game. Just madness. It’s the 8th time this season that he has recorded both a goal and an assist in the same game. For him, impressive feats are “normal”. And that probably explains why even on a day when he got 2 goals and 3 assists, my mind was dominated by Richairo, who himself picked up 2 goals and 1 assist. Long may this “new normal” last. LCS, please put a damn contract in front of him and let him sign it! Richairo = Curry No, not the former NBA Most Valuable Player. The more important one. You know how when you eat Nasi Padang or Caifan, what is important is whether the rice is cooked well, whether the vegetables are fresh and nice, and whether the meats selected are tender. But to really elevate the dish, you need a good curry on top of it. It’s why you flirt with the Nasi Padang makcik, it’s why you tell the Caifan Uncle that his new watch very bright ah, Uncle, you strike TOTO is it Uncle? All you want is for them to smile to themselves and then just put 2 seconds more worth of curry onto your plate. Then you can bring it back to your seat and just whack and savour the curry as it makes every component of your dish taste better. Yes? Yup, Richairo Zivkovic is the curry. You won’t die if you don’t have it – your nasi padang is still nasi padang, your caifan is still caifan. There’s still a bit of gravy in those other dishes, your beansprouts, your sweet and sour chicken. There’s still gravy – the dish still works. In football terms, your team will still function – your team still works. But Richairo is different gravy, man. Some of you may know that I felt the criticism of Kim Shin-Wook last season was harsh. I felt he drastically improved his goalscoring ratio here as compared to that he achieved in other leagues, and he looked like he was genuinely trying his best. That was last season. This season, we all feel that Abdul Rasaq is doing a great job upfront, and has reached double digits (more on this later). But when you look at Richairo in full flight, it’s really a sight to behold. When he’s down the wings, I can tell you he must be a nightmare to defend. As someone who plays fullback quite a bit, the worst players to mark are those who are fast, can cross with both feet, can win the ball in the air, and can shoot with both feet. He is all of the above. Watch him in games – his left-footed crosses are better than some players’ right-footed crosses even though it is his weak foot. This game alone, both goals he scored with his weak foot, and the first of those goals was an absolute rocket into the top corner. While the team was still doing quite well even before he joined us, since he has joined us, every attack looks that bit more dangerous. Since he has started in the team, the team has achieved a slightly higher goals per game average. Of course, there is a very small sample size involved so please take this stat with a pinch of salt. We spoke with Richairo after the game, and it was funny how he took his own goal with good humour, but also very interesting to see that he was quite impressed with some of the attacking combinations during the game, especially on the counter. He also spoke about how this would be useful in the Champions League if we face good opposition. Check it out for yourself! Abdul Rasaq – Young Lion Is there anything noteworthy about this table of top 10 goalscorers and assisters in our league? You may notice that out of the 20 names here, only 3 are Singaporean – Abdul Rasaq with 10 goals, Joel Chew with 9 assists, and Adam Swandi with 7 assists. This is not the time and place to examine all factors about why this is so, because that would need a long article with tons of input from various sources. We just want to take this opportunity to congratulate Abdul Rasaq on what is a very impressive achievement. He started this season as the no. 2 striker behind Kodai Tanaka, and when given the chance to