Tactics

The following tactical analysis is from Zach Wu, who’s not a Sailors fan, but we just thought it would be good for someone without rose-tinted glasses to analyse the tactics of our games. We hope to make this a regular column so that we can better appreciate what is going on in our games from a tactical perspective. This was an early title decider and a clash of two giants of Singapore football. And the game did not disappoint. [Editor’s note: There you go, something only a non-Sailors fan could say] The 2 teams lined up as such off the ball with LCS opting for a conservative approach with a back 5 while Tampines were in their usual shape. Tampines’s Box Diamond Midfield This is where it gets interesting. Last season, Tampines played a box midfield. Check out last season’s article detailing this. Instead of having a box midfield, this year, the midfield has tilted to form a diamond midfield instead. This results in a single #10 and 2 shuttlers (Shah and Kyoga here) to support the base of the diamond (Zlatkovic who has stepped up from the defence). This worked well against LCS for a couple of reasons. First, there is an obvious 7 vs 5 advantage (in the image above) for Tampines whereby it made it almost impossible for LCS to press them. Second, instead of LCS’s midfield pivot marking the two #10s of the box midfield, the LCS midfield pivot was forced into stepping up onto the 2 shuttlers (Shah and Kyoga), leaving Kunori free between the lines if no one from the LCS stepped up.  Example #1 Here, Kyoga has dropped wide here(orange) to receive while Hariss (purple) has followed him out. With Hariss out of position and with 5 vs 6 situation here, this then leads to Zlatkovic being able to receive the ball in between the lines and facing forward (pink) with the LCS press broken- an ideal situation for Tampines. Tampines was hence able to find a free man between the lines. Example #2 Here, Hariss closes down Milos aggressively. Milos (black) then plays it out to Amirul Adli who then clips it to Shah Shahiran (pink) in the centre of the pitch. Again, Tampines have found the free man between the lines. LCS’s Approach LCS’s game plan was peculiar. While understandably weakened by the loss of Bart and Song (only fit enough to be a sub), they used 2 wingers in in the #10 roles, Shawal and Maxime for their 3-2-4-1 shape. They are players used to other roles and in my opinion not the most suited for this. Both players are renowned for their ability in the final third as compared to their trickery between the lines. Asking them to receive the ball in the middle and look to progress play might have been a little beyond them Possibly, they could have used Hami as a #10 given his quick feet in tight spaces. This definitely harmed LCS on the ball. On the ball, there was little central progression- the ball was rarely played through the centre by either the centre midfielders or the #10. This is pretty ironic as the point of LCS’s box midfield was to achieve numerical superiority in the centre and hence make it easy to progress the ball centrally. The ball went long most of the time. When the ball went wide, it was a big problem when the ball carrier (black) was unsupported. While a #10 has made a run in behind to threaten the defensive line, there was little support to expose the vacant centre (red). This should have been the job of the far sided #10 or a centre midfielder. In all, LCS were poor on the ball. Either You’re Pregnant or Not “A little bit of pressing is like a little bit of pregnant. Either you are pregnant or not? Either you want to play pressing or not.” Ralf Ragnick once said this when talking about pressing. I fully concur. Teams who press should either go for an all out aggressive press or none at all. Everything in between is futile. Unfortunately, LCS chose to be everything in between. LCS’s press was poor for a couple of reasons. Firstly, the press was uncoordinated and uncompact. Here, Thy and Lestienne are trying to engage in a press. Unfortunately the rest of the team are too far from them, making this press uncompact. The second line of pressure (rest of the team) is too far from the initial line of the press (Thy + Lestienne). This allows Irfan Najeeb to receive between the lines and take down the ball even with a bounce. Secondly, the press lacked numbers. In the above two images, this is a goal kick and Thy is curving his run to press Yamashita (first image). However because LCS have not pressed in sufficient numbers, Anu (pink) is left with 2 men to cover. This situation is illustrated here. The LCS back 5 is pinned by 3 Tampines players. This means that there are too many players at the back and hence Tampines will have an overload elsewhere. The crucial area is in the centre of the pitch (black box) where Tampines have a clear 3 vs 2 situation. Anu is unable to mark 2 players, which means even if he marks one, the other midfielder would be free to face forward and advance play. LCS should perhaps have pushed a player from the backline onto Kunori which would then allow Hariss to jump onto the other free Tampines centre midfielder. This allows LCS to mark Tampines man for man 3 vs 3 in the centre while still maintaining an overload of 4 vs 3 at the back. Lastly, the timing of the press was often poor. It felt like LCS were often just running at the Tampines defenders without waiting for a pressing trigger. Teams use a press trigger often to give them a signal to start pressing (such

The following tactical analysis is from Zach Wu, who’s not a Sailors fan, but we just thought it would be good for someone without rose-tinted glasses to analyse the tactics of our games. We hope to make this a regular column so that we can better appreciate what is going on in our games from a tactical perspective. Bangkok United (“BU”) were unchanged from their previous league game, a 3-0 win against Sukhothai FC. On the other hand, the Sailors were missing key defensive pieces in Nur Adam, Bailey Wright and Pedro Henrique. BU are known to be a team that like to keep the ball on the ground while not heavily relying on their foreigners. Hence, the Sailors had to set out to disrupt BU’s passing game and create space for their quality attackers to break through on transitions. With the aforementioned absences, it would be hard for the Sailors to play a back 4 given that their first choice leftback (Nur Adam) was out and the alternatives being relatively untested (Harith Kanadi) or not as defensively solid (Chris van Huizen). Also, missing 2 physically imposing, first choice centrebacks would also possibly mean the defending would be less effective. Hence, the Sailors set up in their 5-4-1/5-3-2 hybrid formation. First Half Bangkok United’s Gameplan BU’s gameplan was simple. While getting used to the artificial turf, they would circulate the ball slowly to keep possession. When LCS were pinned back, their fullbacks would join the attack while their 3 midfielders would stay in their positions, forming a rough 2-3-5 shape in attack. Lion City Sailors’ Gameplan Without the ball, LCS generally sat deeper in a 5-4-1 shape with Lestienne slightly higher on the right side. This was to allow Lestienne to push and support Zivkovic in pressing their opponents when an opportunity would arise, then forming a 5-3-2 shape. This allowed the LCS block to move up higher up the pitch and possibly win the ball to launch some counter attacks. Let’s examine one example. Here, LCS have managed to corner the rightback on the ball by eliminating his options. The only real option is to play it backwards to the right centreback (who is just out of frame). Here is another scenario where both BU fullbacks are high up the pitch and out of frame. LCS have recognized it is a 5 on 5 situation here where it is a good opportunity to win the ball and have pressed up onto their direct opponents using their 5-3-2 shape (yellow). However, this 5-3-2 could get bypassed if one of the BU midfielders moved wider and would have to drive with the ball ahead (yellow) when the narrow 5-3-2 press had to shift over. Off the ball, the gameplan was much simpler, with LCS hitting long balls into the wider areas (especially the side Zivkovic was on), for flick-ons. This eventually created the LCS goal, with Diego (orange) winning a long ball and then Chris (yellow) charging into the space. Another way to progress the ball when the BU press was escaped was for one of the side centrebacks (Hariss or Lionel) to drive forward and then either find the wingback advancing (Mamat in orange) or one of the wingers (Lestienne in yellow) who would try to drop into the pocket and receive. (That is my guess why Lestienne was deployed on the right and Diego on the left, to encourage them to cut onto their stronger foot when they receive the ball). My only criticism of the first half would be that at times LCS could have held onto the ball better, especially when there was no pressure on the ball. BU were also struggling to adapt to the artificial pitch, as could be seen from their loose touches and passes. In general, it was a good half, limiting BU to just 0.23 xG while being clinical themselves. Textbook underdog performance thus far. Second Half Bangkok United’s Tactical Tweaks BU made a slight change to their formation while keeping the personnel the same. Instead of pushing the fullbacks high and keeping the 3 central midfielders to form a 2-3-5 shape that could be easily pressed by LCS, they decided to form a 3-2-5 shape instead, by keeping the right back to form the 3 at the back, and pushing one of the central midfielders up to join the left back and the front trio. This small tactical change actually created the winning goal for BU. Here, Diego (blue) is lured out to press the deep rightback thinking he can win the ball. This allows BU to play a quick passing combination (red) to find the #28 (yellow) who has pushed up higher. Having bypassed the LCS midfield, BU would shift the ball wide before moving it back into the centre where Thitiphan finds some space and scores a wonderful goal. There were more issues that led to this goal which I will elaborate on further below. Anu’s Early Substitution It was surprising to see Anu being subbed off. While not the best on the ball, his ability to cover ground and defensive awareness in midfield is second to none in the LCS ranks. Here, for the second goal, Rui Pires (blue) is pulled out of position. Instead of covering, Hami (yellow) steps up aggressively, hoping the defensive line would step up to close the space behind him. Both Hami and the defensive line do not close Thitiphan down and he then scores a banger into the top corner. While there is no guarantee Anu would have stopped the goal, it remains one of the great “what-ifs” from that game. Plan B – First Round of Substitutions Once the Sailors went behind, as Rankovic confirmed in his post-match press conference, the Sailors went back to their usual 433. Rui Pires was sitting while Hami and Diego were ahead of him in midfield. Curiously, however they opted to play Shawal as the central striker, with Zivkovic on the left and Lestienne

The following tactical analysis is from Zach Wu, who’s not a Sailors fan, but we just thought it would be good for someone without rose-tinted glasses to analyse the tactics of our games. We hope to make this a regular column so that we can better appreciate what is going on in our games from a tactical perspective. [Editor’s note] Zach chose the title for this article and it’s funny how this Hougang fan is choosing to use such fan favourite phrases like “OTH is blue”. This Hougang fan is fast becoming a Sailors fan. With both sides largely out of the title race, it now became a battle for the title of best local side. Tampines were beset with many absentees such as Amirul Haikal, Irfan Najeeb and a half-fit Boris Kopitovic. Meanwhile for LCS, Shawal Anuar was the only missing player as he served his reservist duties. LCS have often struggled against Tampines, finding it hard to strike a balance between defence and offence for their transitional-based game. In the 4-3 result earlier this season at OTH, the Sailors were too lax defensively and did not play to their strengths. At Bishan in the 1-1 draw, they were too cautious and mitigated their own transition game. Tampines approach While still retaining their short passing game, their shape had changed greatly since the last time they faced the Sailors instead of the 3-2-4-1 shape they had been synonymous with this past season. As we can see from the touch map, the fullbacks Glenn and Ryaan were relatively deep while the 2 wingers had separate roles; Faris high and wide against van Huizen while Joel was narrow and infield. Tampines’s general shape was very similar to Brazil at the 2010 World Cup. It was a 4-2-3-1 with two deep holding players (Gilberto Silva and Felipe Melo) although some people did interpret it as a 4-4-2 diamond with Robinho drifting inside from a wider position on the left flank. Be it a diamond or a lopsided 4-2-3-1, Tampines’s shape was to try to ensure they had a midfield 4 in the centre to outnumber LCS and then use switches of play to free up Faris to dribble at van Huizen 1 vs 1 who proved to be LCS’s Achilles heel the last time the two sides faced off at OTH. LCS Approach LCS’s approach was to keep it simple and play a largely transitional game – stay tight, and look to play on the counter. Firstly, Zharfan’s took every goal kick long to ensure Tampines would not press them and lose the ball in buildup. There was also a huge bias to the left side (i.e. most goal kicks were sent to the left) as Zivkovic had a huge physical advantage against his direct opponent Ryaan Sanizal. Secondly, it was LCS’s intense press that forced the mistakes that resulted in 3 early goals. LCS’s press LCS’s press was extremely effective for 2 reasons. Firstly, they recognized pressing triggers well. Be it a loose or slow pass, a backwards pass, poor body shape to receive etc, they pressed every time a Tampines player made even a small mistake, making it extremely difficult for Tampines to play their short passing game. This was extremely evident for Lestienne’s 2 chips of Syazwan (one ended up behind the goal and the other in the goal); he recognized the pressing trigger early and seized upon the mistake quickly. Secondly, Rankovic’s gameplan was extremely effective in countering Tampines overloading the midfield. The wingers (purple) were extremely narrow while the central players tracked their man tightly (red). This ensured LCS had a 4 vs 4 in the centre of the pitch. Here, the wingers guarded space while the central players would go for their respective men. I would like to highlight the difference in approach as compared to the game at Bishan. Here, the front 4 (red) would be set up to guard the space while the other 2 centre midfielders (out of frame) would go for their respective men. Rankovic’s gameplan was also partly helped by Tampines shape and missing personnel. With the Tampines fullbacks deep, it was extremely hard to go forward with the ball. Boris missing also meant that even if Tampines could drag their respective markers out of shape in the centre, Taufik Suparno (not being a player famed for his hold-up play) would not be able to receive and lay off the ball reliably, largely being silenced  by the physical pair of Lionel and Bailey. Second Half Tampines were quick out the blocks (purple) in the second half, being far more intense in their attacks (especially during 46-60mins) with their need to get back into the game. They also created far better chances with an xG of 2.19 in the second half as compared to a mere 0.53 in the first. However, this came at a cost. Tampines were getting fatigued (purple) and their PPDA (opponent passes per defensive action) dropped tremendously during 61-75mins. They were less able and slower to put pressure on the ball, resulting in a huge drop from 4.5 PPDA to 23.0 PPDA from 46-60mins to 61-75mins. They ran out of steam and LCS took full advantage at the end after being momentarily pegged back. [Editor’s note] PPDA stands for passes per defensive action – basically, how many passes are your opponents allowed to make before you try a tackle or an interception. Conclusion At face value on the basis on xG it seemed like an even game. However, this could not be further than the truth. LCS went ahead with 3 goals in the first half; this meant they could sit deeper (on their 3 goal lead) and prey on Tampines’ mistakes, conserving energy. On the other hand, Tampines were so far behind (at half time) that they had to go all-out attack and they eventually wore themselves out. Without a quality bench to call upon, they faltered at the end and allowed LCS to restore their

As the sun set on the Jurong East Stadium, the Sailors and Swans came together for a titanic clash. Both teams arguably put up their strongest lineups and it was a fascinating game from start to finish. First Half Disrupting Albirex’s rhythm LCS’s general approach was simple. No playing out of the back from goalkicks – Zharfan went long in search for Zivkovic, and the rest of the team tried to send the ball forward quickly when transitioning from defense to attack. Off the ball, it was a clear 4-3-3 (pink) shape. There were some pre-planned moves that LCS used to harry Albirex on the ball and disrupt their tempo. Here, Lestienne is using an outside-to-inside curved run (black) to press the Albirex’s right centreback. He is making use of his cover shadow (black triangle) while advancing onto the centreback, forcing them to play to the alternate side. [Editor’s note: for those reading Zach’s analysis for the first time, what he means in human language is that he is making it difficult for the right centreback to make the pass to his right because he is blocking that passing angle] With their 4-3-3 shape, either striker Zivkovic or one of the midfielders would put pressure onto Kaisei Ogawa, Albirex’s #8, who was their deep lying playmaker in front of the defense. This was especially effective when Ogawa’s midfielder partner, Shodai Yokoyama (#14) pushed higher. As a result, Albirex had to often play the ball back or to the fullbacks, making Albirex’s buildup quite flank-orientated. At Albirex’s goal kicks, the LCS front trio (pink) would push up while the centre midfielders (yellow) would go tight, man-marking their opposite numbers. LCS would drop to a 4-5-1 shape when Albirex advanced deep into their half. The block that LCS had was generally quite solid. Here, Hafiz Nor (blue) is drawn wider as there is Fuwa #17 holding the width out of frame on the left. A space then opens up between Lionel and Hafiz Nor but is covered by Adam Swandi expertly, using his cover shadow to great effect by blocking the central passing lane (black triangle). The midfield trio (pink) also remain compact in the centre. By working as a team, LCS frustrated Albirex greatly. However, by using a 4-3-3 shape off the ball it could occasionally be bypassed and this gave Albirex’s fullbacks time and space to advance the ball, which they did not capitalize on in the first half. LCS also tried to use a 3-2-4-1 in possession with Hafiz Nor clearly much higher up the pitch than Nur Adam on the opposite side. However, with LCS slightly overzealous in getting the ball quickly forward, this often led to many turnovers and did not allow LCS to settle into a regular shape in possession. In all, it was a good half for LCS. They disrupted Albirex’s rhythm with their high-intensity approach, and even carved out chances on transitions which they should have scored. Second Half A tale of two halves Compared to the first half, Albirex came out roaring while LCS seemed slightly timid and unfocused. LCS no longer adopted the 4-3-3 shape to force Albirex back – instead they chose to sit deeper in a 4-5-1 and absorb pressure. To play this way, the Sailors had to ensure they cut out errors but this could not be further from what eventually panned out. Here, Hafiz Nor (pink) switches off and stands completely square, totally unaware of the blindsided run (black) the Albirex player makes on him. This leads to a dangerous opportunity for Albirex. At the 55th minute, having seen Hafiz Nor switch off, Rankovic took off Hafiz Nor and Adam Swandi for Mamat and Shawal. While taking off Hafiz Nor for the more defensively solid Mamat was understandable, I personally felt taking off Adam Swandi was a mistake. Adam is a very intelligent and technical player that can control the tempo of the game while offering some defensive presence in centre midfield. This would be important later. Immediately after the penalty was scored against the run of play, LCS went to a clear 5-4-1 (Shawal and Zivkovic out of frame). As you can see here, Hariss obviously has dropped into the backline as a third centre-back. However, this left a very lightweight midfield of Hami and Diego which would be important later. Mistakes cost LCS Anu had already given Tanadari an easy 1 vs 1 chance in the first half when he got attracted to the ball and stepped out unnecessarily with Zharfan bailing him out with a good save. Here, Anu (pink) is attracted to the ball and steps up aggressively. He fails to scan and does not realise Shodai Yokoyama #14 (black) is making a blind-sided run on him. He then unfortunately fails to cut out the pass, and Yokoyama did what he did. I must add, Nur Adam is also culpable here too (very ironic as the commentator had just mentioned how solid Nur Adam had been whole game). As Anu initially steps up, Nur Adam does not close the space inside (yellow) that Anu had vacated, only making a half-hearted attempt to reach the ball when Yokoyama is finally through on goal. For the second goal, I think Diego has a huge part to play in it. Here, he is jogging back with no intensity. Instead, he should be rushing back to help out the backline, busting a gut to block the cutback into Seia Kunori. Diego fails to do so, and Kunori’s shot leads to Tadanari’s goal, putting the nail into the coffin for the Sailors’ title challenge. Here, playing an offensive-minded player in a midfield pivot certainly cost LCS. Perhaps if Adam Swandi was on the pitch, LCS might have been able to play Hami and Adam in this midfield pivot with Diego in a wide position and this goal might not have happened. Both goals were extremely simple mistakes by LCS players which cost them the game. The third goal

The following tactical analysis is from Zach Wu, who’s not a Sailors fan, but we just thought it would be good for someone without rose-tinted glasses to analyse the tactics of our games. We hope to make this a regular column so that we can better appreciate what is going on in our games from a tactical perspective. This was new coach Rankovic’s first match at home while Brunei DPMM was coming off an admirable result, drawing against Albirex. LCS set up in their expected lineup, with the only surprise being debutant Bailey Wright replacing Hariss Harun rather than Lionel. DPMM on the other hand brought in Helmi Zambin for Azizi Ali. Everyone thought that this match would be a foregone conclusion, but wow did it knock our socks off. First Half LCS Tactical Set-Up LCS interestingly chose to ditch the 3-2-4-1 shape (left), which was used against Hougang and Tanjong Pagar for a more standard 4-3-3 (right). They did use a well-defined 4-3-3 against YL but I thought it was a one-off game – using a simpler formation to be more direct and wear the Young Lions out through the intensity and pace of the game. In theory, a 4-3-3 against DPMM’s 5-2-1-2 shape gave time and space to the LCS fullbacks. However, after the fullbacks received the ball, they were often left without options ahead due to DPMM’s approach which I will now go on to. DPMM Tactical Set-Up Adrian Pennock’s side was set up to deny passing options to the ball carrier, even if there was no direct pressure on the ball carrier himself. At goal kicks, DPMM pressed high, with the striker on the ball side (Voronkov) pressing the ball-side centreback (Lionel) while the ball-side wingback (Helmi Zambin) would get tight to LCS’s ball-side fullback (Hafiz Nor). This made it very difficult to progress the ball. Zharfan could have possibly come closer to offer a difficult but possible option to break the DPMM press (blue). The ball is with Lionel (purple) – all his options ahead are being marked, and DPMM have also a 4 vs 3 at the back, making it very difficult to progress the ball. As a result, Lionel was forced to send the ball long resulting in a turnover. In open play, the midfielders and forwards of the 5-2-1-2 shape DPMM denied LCS space centrally, forcing them to play down the wing and making it hard to progress play. Defensive Mistakes Cost LCS LCS were poor on transitions too. Here, Nur Adam (red) engages the opponents cautiously as there are DPMM players near him. Bailey, the left centreback pushes up to squeeze the space. However, Lionel is not in sync with Bailey. He stays deep and does not shuffle across, remaining a few metres behind Bailey. This results in a big gap, with Azwan Ali running through this exact gap to score the opener. While I can understand this is a new-look backline and they need time to gel, this is a defensive mistake that should not happen at the professional level. As a whole, LCS struggled to create chances (on their own) due to DPMM’s compact shape and press, which made it especially hard given that they did not have a good reliable structure in possession this game. That said, however, LCS did have two huge chances that they spurned, a lucky turnover that led to Diego’s shot being stopped heroically by a covering defender and the penalty that Maxime missed. It was really a case of Murphy’s Law for LCS on the day. Two huge missed chances and Bailey Wright was sent off on his debut after he was put in a very difficult position. This left LCS 2 goals and a man down right at the break. Second Half LCS lined up in a free flowing 4-2-3 shape, intent to get back into the game. They started at an extremely high intensity and pinned DPMM back with a goal early on. They also created numerous other chances (like the Shawal header) which they did not take advantage of. However, with the attack being so free-flowing, it often led to players being out of position and they sorely lacked a player offering width on either side, making the LCS attack extremely narrow. Also, another factor to consider was Lestienne, the usual talisman of LCS. It was even discussed during the match by the commentator that he should be in the all time SPL/S-League team but this game he was far from his best. Haunted by the penalty miss in the first half, Lestienne was trying too much to win the game by himself in the second half, often forcing passes that were not on and playing meaningless crosses with no hope of his teammates getting onto the end of such crosses. LCS hence lost the ball way too often and ran out of steam midway into the second half. [Editor’s note: Of course, SailorFanTalk recognizes that Maxime has saved us on numerous occasions this season, and if anyone is entitled to have a bad game, it would be him.] Weathering the Storm With his team fast tiring with cramp especially, Pennock made an important set of changes at around the 75th min. Pennock moved DPMM into a 4-4-2. This allowed DPMM to double team the LCS wingers, reducing their qualitative disadvantage in 1 vs 1 situations. Also with a set of fresh legs in the form of Azizi upfront, this allowed DPMM to press and harry LCS defenders into mistakes and take pressure off the rest of the team. This was enough to see the game out, with LCS also bringing on some fringe players having seen the game was lost. Conclusion This was an extremely costly result for LCS. Currently they are 2 points off Tampines and 2 points off Albirex having played a game more. Also with new signing Bailey Wright suspended, Abdul Rasaq possibly out and Richairo Zivkovic not match fit, it does not bode well

The following tactical analysis is from Zach Wu, who’s not a Sailors fan, but we just thought it would be good for someone without rose-tinted glasses to analyse the tactics of our games. We hope to make this a regular column so that we can better appreciate what is going on in our games from a tactical perspective. The Sailors were back in action with another new face in charge in the form of Daan van Oudheusden as the interim coach. On paper LCS looked to have lined up in their customary 4-2-3-1/4-3-3. However there was definitely more than met the eye, and it became clear as the game went on. Hougang on the other hand was struggling to even put out a team. They had only 1 centreback for selection in Kazuma (Kuriyama and Anders injured), leading to Irwan Shah playing centreback. Midfield lynchpin Zulfahmi Arifin was also out injured. Shahdan was not match-fit enough to make the squad. They lined up in a 4-2-3-1, hoping to pick LCS off on the break. First Half LCS adopts the 3-2-4-1 In Europe, most top teams such as Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal or Barcelona have adopted the 3-2-4-1 in possession of the ball.  This has been widely adopted for numerous reasons. Firstly, the back 3 and the midfield pivot gives the team in possession an overload in the initial buildup which makes it hard to press. Secondly, it allows for 2 wide players to stretch the width while keeping two #10 playmakers moving between the lines. Lastly, the “box midfield” of the midfield pivot and the two #10 playmakers allows teams to outnumber opponents in midfield, be it 4 vs 3 or 4 vs 2, allowing the team to control the midfield. While every team differs in their way to achieve the 3-2-4-1 shape on the pitch it is no surprise that most progressive teams that want the ball have adopted this shape in possession. Our local teams have jumped onto this particular tactical innovation too. Tampines have been using a 3-2-4-1 shape since the start of the season while Geylang did use a 3-2-4-1 shape against the Sailors too (and should have won the game if not for 2 Lestienne free kicks). Having seen the effectiveness of the 3-2-4-1 shape (as compared to their usual 4-3-3/ 4-2-3-1) interim coach Daan van Oudheusden set Sailors up as such. On the ball (left above), Nur Adam would tuck in beside the other 2 centrebacks, Anu and Hami would form the midfield pivot. Diego and Adam would be two #10 playmakers between the lines while Lestienne and Hafiz Nor would provide the width with Abdul Rasaq up top. Off the ball (right above), LCS defended with a narrow 4-3-3. This 3-2-4-1 was very succesful against Hougang’s 4-2-3-1. Here the back 3 and the midfield pivot of LCS (pink) outnumbered Hougang, making it easy to keep the ball and hard for Hougang to press. Also occasionally, LCS would be able to advance the ball quickly by finding the player between the lines, in this case Diego (yellow) when Hougang’s midfield marking was not tight. LCS’s box midfield (pink box) also allowed for them to have numerical superiority (4 vs 3) against Hougang’s midfield trio (Sahil, Amir, Krajcek). Hougang were hence hesitant to press LCS here. Also, with the 2 wingers of LCS high and wide, this allowed for easy switches to the flank, allowing the wingers to take on their man 1 on 1 and for LCS to use their qualitative superiority there. In all, this experimental 3-2-4-1 shape was generally quite effective for LCS. If not for some wayward finishing and some heroic defending by Hougang, LCS would have been further ahead than just a single goal at the break. Second Half The game was killed off with precision not seen previously of the Sailors this season. LCS scored an early second goal and kept the ball well, not allowing Hougang to counter well with their 3-2-4-1 shape. They were in control and cruising. Hougang had defended staunchly so far, but with the loss of Zulfahmi in midfield, and poor pass selection on counter-attacks, it meant they were impotent as a threat. In the end, Marko figured that the game was a lost cause and put on 2 youngsters in the form of Louka Tan and Nasrul Pujiyono who both did well. Idraki was also given a short run out at the end to ease him back into match fitness after 2 horrific injuries. [Editor – this is the part where Zach’s true identity as a Hougang fan really seeps through haha] Conclusion LCS were thoroughly impressive. The 3-0 scoreline should have been a lot higher, especially with the numerous Hougang mistakes at the end. With the appointment of Coach Aleksandar Ranković and the (rumoured) foreign signings, LCS are well-equipped in the title fight, just 4 points behind Albirex. With 9 games to go and with a game against Albirex too, the title fight is far from over. Written by Zach Wu Edited by Eddy Hirono If you don’t want to miss any articles, be sure to follow us on Instagram and join our Telegram chat! If you’d like to support the work we do here at SailorFanTalk, you may want to visit https://ko-fi.com/sailorfantalk and leave us a tip!

The following tactical analysis is from Zach Wu, who’s not a Sailors fan, but we just thought it would be good for someone without rose-tinted glasses to analyse the tactics of our games. We hope to make this a regular column so that we can better appreciate what is going on in our games from a tactical perspective. Compared to the reverse fixture, this game was not big on goals, but it was very intriguing from a tactical perspective. First half The general setup of the two teams was very much similar to the FA Cup final. Tampines were Manchester City, the more progressive team that wanted the ball while LCS were Manchester United, trying to use their attacking threats best on transitions and counter attacks. LCS’s setup LCS was aware that Gavin would set Tampines up in a 3-2-4-1 shape with the ball. LCS set up in a 4-2-4 shape, with the front four of LCS being extremely narrow to block passes into Tampines midfield. LCS’s shape was partly inspired by United in the FA Cup final the previous weekend with United also playing a narrow front 4 to block passing lanes. This way, by playing the front 4 so narrow, they would force the opponent to play into wider areas, where the other options would be strictly marked. Here, both Tampines #10s (Joel and Yasir) are man marked by the LCS centre midfielders while the Tampines left winger (Faris) is also followed closely by his opposite number Hafiz Nor. This LCS approach made life very difficult for Tampines indeed. As seen from the passing map, because of the narrow pressing shape, LCS players often picked up the ball in narrow positions and found it difficult to counterattack as they lacked width. This was something echoed by club legend Stipe Plazibat. Hence, LCS picked out a measly 0.65xG in the first half. Tampines setup On paper, Tampines looked largely unchanged from their last meeting with LCS (bar the small change of Joel replacing Saifullah and Faris/Glenn swapping flanks). Above are the 2 shapes they adopted last time out. They looked to have 3-2-4-1 shape on the ball and a 4-2-3-1/4-4-2 shape off the ball. While the shape was similar, Gavin changed the personnel around slightly. Here, Shah would slot into left centreback without the ball, with Milos defending at the leftback. Joel, playing as one of the #10s behind the striker without the ball would drop into centre midfield without the ball too. Gavin was perhaps inspired by Pep Guardiola for the slight change in personnel. Here Gavin, moulded Shah into John Stones, playing as a defender without the ball and playing as midfielder with the ball. In fact, post-match when Eddy and I spoke with Kyoga, Kyoga laughed and did acknowledge it was a bit like the John Stones role. While it was risky trying this new approach for the first time in a game of this magnitude, I can see why Gavin opted for it.  Firstly, it would reduce the workload on a single player, as with the previous shape, Glenn had to provide the width down the left as a winger and run back quickly to defend as a left back too. Secondly, playing Milos as a fullback (compared to Glenn) would allow Tampines to have a strong presence down the flank against the tricky LCS right winger (be it Maxime or Shawal). That said, it was largely a stalemate for the first half. LCS was comfortable blocking the passing lanes with their front 4 waiting for counter attacks while Tampines were struggling to get pass the LCS front 4. Hence, there were few chances created for either side in the first half. Second half The second half pretty much followed the same pattern, with LCS denying the passing options centrally to Tampines’ box midfield while Tampines tried to manipulate the 4 man frontline of the Sailors and possibly go around the press. Faris subsequently scored a banger of a goal when a momentary lapse of concentration from LCS gave him the space to shoot. Subsequently, Yasir was given a second yellow for a rash tackle on Súper, resulting to Tampines going down to 10 men. With a lead, away from home and down to 10, Tampines decided to sit deep in a 4-4-1 block, with the onus now on LCS to break down Tampines’ deep block. LCS’s main method to create chances on the night against this deep block was to go over the block by finding the space behind the Tampines backline (above) and cutting back the ball with a clever knockdown to take shots (below). While it generated some big chances like this Diego shot and a Lestienne shot cleared off the line by Shuya, this was generally difficult to do as the pass had to be perfectly weighted and the run perfectly-timed to connect. In fact, this method of creating chances might have been even better with a proper striker on the pitch, drawing the defenders’ attention and creating more time and space for the cutback and shot. Too conservative from the Sailors With the Sailors now a man up and with a tired Tampines offering little counter attacking threat, the Sailors had to take the initiative. More often than not, they were in situations like those above. The ball would be worked wide to a Sailors’ player and they would find out to no avail that there were few targets to aim for in the box. The problem was made even worse when a natural striker in Abdul Rasaq was substituted off, leading to Shawal Anuar being the striker for LCS. This was quite bewildering and frustrating to watch on the sidelines especially considering they had a big #9 in the form of Bernie Ibini on the bench. In addition, Abdul Rasaq had already hit the bar earlier from a similar crossing position which showed the potentness of a proper striker upfront. Bernie would have definitely given the newly shuffled

The following tactical analysis is from Zach Wu, who’s not a Sailors fan, but we just thought it would be good for someone without rose-tinted glasses to analyse the tactics of our games. We hope to make this a regular column so that we can better appreciate what is going on in our games from a tactical perspective. Having lost pace in the title race, LCS were licking their wounds. No harder opponent could have come in the form of Albirex. It was fight or flight and man did the boys in blue do the Crew and SailorFanTalk fans proud. [Editor’s note – in an earlier draft sent to me, Zach wrote “do us proud”, which goes to show that I think slowly but surely, we are converting him into a Sailors fan. All part of the masterplan.] First Half Albirex started an unchanged lineup while LCS brought in Hariss for Lionel and Mamat for Hafiz Nor. The first half was relatively uneventful from a tactical perspective. As a whole, it was quite scrappy, with constant turnovers and long balls. The game was quite even, with Albirex just being the more clinical side having a 2-goal lead heading into the break. Second Half (Long Balls and the Space in Behind) Coach Risto rang the bold changes, with Abdul Rasaq on for Bernie and Hafiz Nor on for Zulqarnaen who was far from his usual high standards. LCS changed up their approach from the first half too. In the first half, LCS were extremely slow to get the ball forward to their attackers, together with Bernie not being an especially mobile forward. The emphasis now was to get the ball forward quickly and to attack the channels, especially when Albirex had committed players forward. This could be seen for all the 3 goals that LCS scored. Here for the first goal, Anu plays a quick long ball forward, Abdul Rasaq brings the ball down (Haaland-esque?) for Diego who plays it to the onrushing Shawal into space who then cuts back the ball for Diego to finish. Here for the second, Hariss wins the ball who then plays it wide to Max, playing a cross across the box which misses everyone bar Shawal who finishes clinically past Hassan. For the winner, an innocuous Shawal clearance turns out to be a brilliant ball for Max who exchanges a quick 1-2 with Diego, before crossing to the backpost for Abdul Rasaq to finish first-time. This was classic counter attacking football, a long ball forward and exploiting the space beyond the tiring Albirex backline. LCS executed it to the highest order against this Albirex team. Plaudits must also go out to Abdul Rasaq who added extra fluidity into the attack with his superb holdup play and Hariss (much maligned of late) with a brilliant switch for the second goal that caught out the Albirex defence. A Rare Yoshinaga Mistake? One thing that helped LCS was Kaisei Ogawa, Albirex’s #8 going off with an injury just after LCS’s equaliser. He is Albirex’s more defensive midfielder in their midfield duo and screens the backline for Albirex. With his injury, Yoshinaga played Masaya Watanabe (a centre midfielder who can play wide) and Shodai Yokoyama (usually the more offensive Albirex centre midfielder) as a central midfield pairing. This, in my opinion, was Yoshinaga’s mistake. He was now playing 2 very forward-thinking, offensive-minded players in a drawn game (when Kaisei Ogawa went off) against the best counter-attacking side in the league. Just before the third goal, both #14 Shodai Yokoyama and #13 Masaya Watanabe (yellow) were caught high up the pitch while Albirex were trying to score their own winner. That midfield pivot was way too offensive at that game state of being a level game. Instead, he should have brought on #2 Ryo Takahashi, the fullback who had a goal and assist in the reverse 4-0 thumping while shifting captain #6 Asahi Yokokawa into midfield to pair with #14 Shodai Yokoyama. Not only would the midfield have been more secure with Yokokawa anchoring the midfield, but also Takahashi, a tall strong powerful fullback, would have been better equipped to deal with the threat of Lestienne who assisted the winner. Of course, this is just my opinion and Yoshinaga is still a brilliant tactician, but I believe here he made a tactical mistake that cost Albirex the game. Conclusion It was a long time coming, but the Sailors have finally won a league game against Albirex. It must be a big relief to LCS that they have finally overcome their mental block of beating Albirex (in the league). LCS played to their strengths and their gaffer made the right changes to really unleash the counter-attacking potential of the Sailors offensive line. The call to sub off a big-name foreigner in Bernie for the green Abdul Rasaq (for greater mobility) also paid off, and him scoring the winner was the cherry on top of the cake. Going forward, especially with Super’s injury, Hariss has to start in defense. He offers leadership, a superb ping on his right foot and is not any worse defensively than Anu or Lionel at the back. However, against lesser sides, LCS have to have a better gameplan to deal with deeper blocks and be consistent against them. Even if LCS can beat Albirex again for the third round of fixtures, it will all be for nought if they do not keep up with Albirex (if they fail to beat the lesser teams). Written by Zach Wu Edited by Eddy Hirono If you’d like to support the work we do here at SailorFanTalk, you may want to visit https://ko-fi.com/sailorfantalk and leave us a tip!

The following tactical analysis is from Zach Wu, who’s not a Sailors fan, but we just thought it would be good for someone without rose-tinted glasses to analyse the tactics of our games. We hope to make this a regular column so that we can better appreciate what is going on in our games from a tactical perspective. Noor Ali had already beaten LCS twice last season, and with an impressive gameplan on the day, he took the fight to LCS. Both teams made interesting changes – for LCS, it was Hariss back into defense while Anu started in midfield. For Geylang, Yushi Yamaya was used with Bezecourt in a strike partnership with Iqbal moved to the right. Geylang = Tampines-lite? Interestingly, Geylang adapted Tampines’s approach (as with many top European teams) with 2 differing shapes on and off the ball. While they were defending, it would be a 442 (here, Bezecourt is out of frame), sitting in 2 disciplined banks of 4. Off the ball, it was a different case, and it was clearly intentional by Geylang. Fadli Kamis, the rightback would stay deep and join the other 2 centrebacks to form a temporary back 3 (yellow). For the opposite fullback, Ahmad Syahir(pink) would stay high and wide to occupy width. The midfield pivot (orange) of Tezuka and Huzaifah would stay close, lurking just behind the LCS front two of Diego and Bernie. Geylang would look something like this with the ball, in a 3241 shape, akin to Tampines. A left footer holds the width down the left (Ahmad/Glenn), the left winger comes infield (Danish/Saifullah), there is a natural winger that holds the width on the right (Iqbal/Faris) while the rest of the team forms a back 3, a midfield pivot and with a lone striker upfront. While on the ball, it made Geylang stable with possession and hard to press (just like how Tampines dealt with LCS). Also, off the ball, with the right back (Fadli Kamis) staying back, this would allow him to remain goalside of Lestienne, ensuring that Lestienne would not be able to break freely into space. Poor ball progression from LCS LCS struggled heavily in build-up as they were unable to progress the ball reliably up the pitch. The issue lay with both individuals and tactics. LCS use a 4-1 buildup, with a single holder ahead of the defense. Hence there is a huge onus on the holder to make himself available in buildup and find the free space. Here, Hami Syahin (pink) has adopted a very poor body position. He is entirely facing his own goal, making it difficult for him to see what is behind him and play a forward pass. As a result, he is forced to go back. Seconds later, as the ball is played back to the right centreback Hariss Harun comes another issue. Hariss is obviously trying to play the pass into Diego (yellow). However, the near side Geylang midfielder (Huzaifah in orange here) would screen off that pass by using his cover shadow (orange triangle) to block off the pass. Even on the opposite side, Geylang would do a similar movement to block the pass. (Editor: cover shadow is a term used to mean the area covered directly behind a defending player. Zach has drawn a triangle because by positioning himself there, Huzaifah has blocked off the angle for Diego to receive the pass) LCS’s insistence of building up in a 4-1 shape (which already puts a huge emphasis on the holding midfielder), with the poor awareness of the players needed to play this holding midfielder role, made LCS cumbersome and ineffective in possession. As a whole, it was a poor first half from LCS, not only being poor defensively but their attack was also not clicking; the only big chance they had was the scramble from a Van Huizen cross near the end of the first half. Second Half Geylang’s approach remained similar throughout, holding a 442 shape off the ball and a 3241 shape on the ball. LCS’s approach remained the same and still struggled to create clear cut chances themselves, only creating half chances from Geylang mistakes and the two free kicks which Maxime expertly converted. Zulqarnaen MOTM I have to really give a shoutout to Zulqareen who proved once again he is of the calibre of a national team player. He made 3 crucial defensive interventions (as captured by LCS Tiktok below) to keep LCS in the game, when the rest of the defence seemed to be all at sea. Conclusion Despite the positive result, the performance was dire for LCS. They barely threatened from open play and could not play past the Geylang block. Also, if your rightback is the man of the match with 3 (yes three!) goal saving tackles, it really shows how poor LCS were on the day. Nathan was impressive, having lasted just under an hour. If he continues this rich vein of form, he will be a good squad player for the Sailors. On the other hand, new signing Bernie was anonymous. Yes, he barely got any service today but if this persists it could be the second coming of Mister Lamppost (Kim Shin Wook). Geylang on the other hand should leave with their heads held high; if not for Maxime turning up with 2 brilliant freekicks to save the Sailors’ blushes today they would have walked away with points. Written by Zach Wu Edited by Eddy Hirono If you’d like to support the work we do here at SailorFanTalk, you may want to visit https://ko-fi.com/sailorfantalk and leave us a tip!