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[Preview] Borneo FC Samarinda v Lion City Sailors (First Taste of the Shopee Cup)

Leave a Comment / Uncategorized / Eddy Hirono

Leaving aside the ridiculous logo of our opponents, our Sailors’ foray into the Shopee Cup should be something we are excited about. While planning my away trips to support the team, I realised something – our Shopee Cup opponents are arguably harder than our ACL2 opponents. Funny, considering that ACL2 looks on paper to be the more prestigious tournament. More money on offer (ACL2’s USD2.5 million for the winner vs Shopee Cup’s USD500,000 for the winner), and also the chance to rub shoulders not only against ASEAN teams but also powerhouses from Japan, China and Korea. Part of why we can’t really predict the outcome of continental matches with much accuracy is because we have limited experience at this level, plus teams are ever-changing. With all that said, let’s dive into the preview (but not like a constipated dolphin, just take a normal dive). What Kind of Team is Borneo FC Samarinda? Looking at this screenshot, I have to admit that I know close to nothing about Indonesia football. Lilipaly is a standout name of course, him having scored against Singapore in the 2016 AFF Cup, and been one of Indonesia’s most eye-catching players over the years. But other than that, Rivaldo and Ronaldo are famous names but probably not the same people we immediately think of when you see those names, and then Fajar is just a place in Bukit Panjang. However, I wish I could say that when I decided to read up on this team and watch them on Youtube, that they are a bunch of unknowns we should be capable of swatting aside with ease. No. They seem to be a very good and well-organised team. They did excellently in the President’s Cup a month ago, and while that may not be seen to be real silverware because it is more of a pre-season tournament, the players from all the teams took it seriously, and Borneo FC fielded their best 11. They qualified for the final, overcoming Persib Bandung and PSM Makassar in the group stages, beating Persija Jakarta in the semi-final, and then losing out on penalties to Arema FC in the final. Throughout that run, they also showed real grit, battling to 90min and beyond. In their 5 games, they scored 3 goals in injury time in three different matches – twice to win the game and once to equalise. Not easy to do, especially against the teams they came up against. If there’s one small crumb of consolation – they seem to be quite susceptible to the counter-attack. If they push on with the home crowd behind them, perhaps we can exploit that. They will know that we thrive on transitions though, so I wonder if they will try to pick us off on the counter instead. Dangermen Of course, I speak from just watching some matches on Youtube, so please take this with a gigantic pinch of salt. Longtime observers of the ASEAN scene will know all about Lilipaly’s quality. Much like Bart Ramselaar and Maxime Lestienne, he has spent some time in Dutch football. He was born there, joined the AZ Alkmaar academy, and eventually played in the Eredivisie in 2 separate spells. Now 34, he’s lost some zip, but his playmaking quality and threat on the ball is still evident when you watch him. He seems to have quickly struck up an understanding with Berguinho and Gaucho. Berguinho reminds me of a B-rated Maxime Lestienne (I hope I do not regret saying this), while Gaucho is a cool, calm customer in front of goal. They look like they have the tools to punish us should we slack off in defence. Another thing to note about Borneo FC is they seem to cross the ball alot. Most of their goals have come from crosses, whether in open play or set pieces. Something to watch out for. Tight Schedule – Tired Players? Our Sailors play 3 games in 8 days. If Coach Ranko hasn’t rotated much before, he certainly will have to give some thought to it now. Do we take the Shopee Cup seriously? Given that the title sponsor is also our sponsor (and indirectly our owner), I don’t see us fielding a second string lineup for this tournament, unlike what BG Pathum did earlier last night. Our fixtures are Borneo FC Samarinda (away), Albirex (away), and then Geylang (home). The Albirex fixture worries me the most despite their poor form this season. Assuming we take the Shopee Cup seriously and field a strong 11, can they recover quickly and still perform at their best at the weekend? Even if we field a strong 11 and get a commanding lead (by no means an easy feat), Borneo FC’s late late heroics may mean that Coach Ranko pauses before making wholesale changes to the team to rest some legs. Well, I’m not the coach. I suspect he will go with a strong lineup for all 3 upcoming games because of the long break that the players had since our last game against DPMM at the start of August. This might work on a one-off basis, but this fixture congestion will pop up again and again in the coming months. 6 games in 20 days stretching from September to October, taking in flights to Bangkok and Hanoi – Ranko has to find an effective formula to allow the players to rest and recover. We have good depth both in our local and foreign ranks – it is time to trust the depth a little more. Supporters should also be abit more understanding of the schedule and the necessity of rotation – if we see a lineup without Maxime Lestienne, let’s try not to panic. Try! Put it this way, if the squad is absolutely reliant on Maxime Lestienne being available to beat Albirex, don’t you think that it is a bit of a failure of the squad / management? I’d think so. Indonesian Fans Indonesian fans are known to be super passionate

[Preview] Borneo FC Samarinda v Lion City Sailors (First Taste of the Shopee Cup) Read More »

[Tactical Analysis] Second-gear Sailors Sweep the Shield (Sailors 2 Albirex Niigata (S) 0)

1 Comment / Tactics, Uncategorized / Zachary Wu

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. While Sailors did everything right, it was smooth sailing for the Sailors because Albirex, their perennial bogey team, failed to show up. First Half Albirex were in their customary 4-4-2/4-2-3-1, with their simple gameplan of long balls to Shuhei Hoshino for the rest of the team to feed on. They sometimes also tried to put balls over the top for Daniel Goh to chase. Off the ball, they were compact in their shape, often trying to deny Sailors the centre of the pitch. For Sailors they had a host of new signings (as we all know) but for me the more interesting thing was the implementation of their 3-2-4-1/3-2-5 system. Tampines used it for large parts of the 2023 season while Sailors first used it when assistant coach Daan van Oudheusden took over as caretaker manager in a 3-0 win against Hougang which was also covered here. It was rarely seen after that single game but having had a good pre season to prepare for it, Sailors finally used it here. This was what it looked like at kick-off, but it soon morphed into something else when the Sailors were in possession. The key was Obren here. Off the ball (and initial buildup from goalkicks), it was a usual standard 4-2-3-1. However, with the ball in more settled phases of possession the energetic Obren would push up as a left winger while Bart would move inside. Lionel would also tuck in from right-back. To escape Albirex’s tough central block, the option was usually to go wide. Here, a ball from Toni finds Obren who then plays the ball first time into the gap between Syed Firdaus and Koki Kawachi which Bart has exploited. This particular move led to LCS entering the final third numerous times resulting in a few dangerous situations. Given Albirex’s compactness in the centre of the pitch, going wide was the right decision, with Albirex’s defensive line sometimes slow to move across to plug gaps. For Albirex, Hoshino’s hold up play was ineffective with the quality of Bailey and Toni, making it extremely hard for Albirex to construct any dangerous attacks. Second Half The second half continued very much the same way as the first half with Albirex sitting in their 442/4231 shape while LCS were trying to make inroads. However, one small change would be the wide centrebacks, Lionel and Toni were instructed to be more brave on the ball and drive forward given that Albirex were still sitting in their passive 442 shape. The game did not change much, with numerous like-for-like substituties on both sides before Lestienne’s late penalty hammered the nail in the coffin for Albirex. Conclusion Overall, the Sailors would be satisfied with some quick silverware and with their new-look players and system they look the side to beat. Tougher tests like Tampines Rovers (in my opinion) lay ahead for the Sailors. Meanwhile for Albirex, it must be alarming that their new look attack looked toothless when Shuhei was silenced, which meant their runners could not be involved in play. The lack of quality from wide areas was also a noticeable factor. They MUST adapt quickly or risk getting pulled into midtable scrap, with other sides like Geylang or Balestier upgrading their squad in the off season. 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!

[Tactical Analysis] Second-gear Sailors Sweep the Shield (Sailors 2 Albirex Niigata (S) 0) Read More »

[Post-Match Thoughts] Thug-jong Pagar Fall Apart After Red Card (Sailors 4 Tanjong Pagar 1)

Leave a Comment / Post-Match Thoughts, Uncategorized / Eddy Hirono

It is not often that we can say a team that picked up 3 yellow card and 2 red cards were not punished adequately, but this is a view that I hope to be able to defend in this post-match thoughts article. While the Sailors picked up an expected win, and have one foot in the semi-finals, I think some of Tanjong Pagar’s conduct was very unsavoury, bordering on being thuggish. Especially in light of recent events involving referees, I hope that something can be done by FAS to warn all teams in the league against such conduct. Let’s dive right into it. Shakir is a Lucky, Lucky Boy Quite how Shakir Hamzah escaped a red card this game is beyond me. First Incident He should have received a yellow card as early as the 10th minute of the game. He slid in on Richairo Zivkovic and conceded a penalty after his trailing leg swept our star striker off his feet. While I can understand a player debating with the referee about whether the penalty call was legitimate, I don’t think we can excuse this. You be the judge. In my opinion, the aggression with which he runs to the referee, and then repeatedly encroaches on his space, forcing him to first backpedal, and then second, put out a hand, is worthy of a yellow card. I was quite surprised the referee didn’t give it. The hand out should have been the final warning. It effectively says to Shakir – back off, or you’re receiving a booking. Instead, Shakir repeatedly walks towards the back-pedalling referee, pushing his body into the protective hand of the referee. All this time, the verbal volleys don’t stop, even as his teammates try their best to stop him. Thuggish behaviour. Second Incident His anger didn’t stop here. A few minutes later, still seething at the penalty award earlier, Shakir kicks out at Maxime Lestienne even though Maxime was already dribbling away from goal after a quick throw from Izwan (more on this later). No intention to get the ball, he just swings a leg to the back of Maxime’s calf and catches him. Thuggish behaviour. A deserved yellow, nothing more. Third Incident In the 51st minute, Anu mistimes a tackle and seconds later, Hami commits a tactical foul on Shahrin Saberin who is breaking away at pace through the midfield. Both were challenges worthy of a yellow card, and the referee rightly gave yellows to both of them. However, once again, Shakir runs after the referee from a real distance away, and leads a pack of Jaguars to hound him. See the gif for yourself below. Look out for Shakir steaming in from the left. In fact, he comes in with so much pace he almost knocks the referee off-balance a little. The referee can also be seen to be wiping his face, so I suppose the shouting was so intense that he felt some saliva come onto his face. Again, thuggish behaviour. He is already on a yellow card at this point – so how does he escape a second yellow card for this? Surely the referee cannot be encouraging such behaviour. Just a week ago, Wan Tung Han, a senior referee was assaulted on the pitch after one of his decisions angered a player in an FA Cup match between East Coast United and GFA Victoria. That was in an amateur game. Now, let me make it clear, I am not condoning it just because the player who assaulted the referee was not a professional. I hope the police deals with him accordingly. But here’s some food for thought for us all – if our senior professionals are acting with such disrespect to the referees, then what kind of example are they setting for the rest of us weekend warriors who play in Sunday league games or amateurs in IWL? How about kids back home who think that this is acceptable? I hope the FA has a chat with clubs to ensure that there is no repeat of such scenes. After the chat, that’s fair warning, and if any player persists in such behaviour, they should be awarded a yellow card. A signal needs to be sent to try to stamp such behaviour out at all levels. Tanjong Pagar Should Change Their Animal Also, on a slightly light-hearted note, perhaps TPU should consider changing their animal. They are not jaguars, because … The screencap would suggest that they very much hunt in packs – it almost looks like the referee is handing out free Taylor Swift tickets or something. I repeat the points I made above about the example it sets for players all around Singapore. Tajeli Loses His Cool I’ve left the worst of the thuggishness for last. Tajeli completely loses his cool in the 88th minute, kicking out at Richairo, HARD, for absolutely no reason at all. Richairo had intercepted a loose touch from him, and there wasn’t any hint of a hard tackle or anything – it was 100% clean. I don’t quite know why Tajeli did it, but I can accept that a player sometimes loses his cool and does something inexplicable. I guess this is one of those occasions. He let his team down because they now lose him for the rest of the Cup. With Blake also suspended for their final group game, they have managed to turn a comfortable situation in the group into a real disaster. Richairo picked up a deserved yellow card for his retaliation, but I would say it takes a real saint to not be affected by a crazy challenge like this. I am glad he did not do more. Blake’s Yellow Cards His first yellow card was an interesting one. The commentator referred to it as a completely needless one, and characterised his action to push Izwan as one intended to antagonise the keeper. I don’t think it was that simple. Blake is usually a combative player but I believe

[Post-Match Thoughts] Thug-jong Pagar Fall Apart After Red Card (Sailors 4 Tanjong Pagar 1) Read More »