A 10-man Lion City Sailors side were edged 1-0 by Bangkok United in a closely-contested 2025/26 Asian Football Confederation Champions League Two (ACL Two) Group G encounter at the True BG Stadium on Thursday (23 October) night.
The Sailors were left to rue several missed chances, as Muhsen Al-Ghassani’s second-half penalty following Hariss Harun’s foul on Ilias Alhaft – which earned him a straight red card – consigned them to their first defeat of the campaign.
The result, coupled with Persib Bandung’s 2-0 victory over Selangor FC, saw Bangkok leapfrog the Sailors into second place behind the Indonesian champions, at the halfway mark of the group stage.
Speaking at the post-match conference, Sailors Head Coach Aleksandar Ranković acknowledged that Hariss’ sending off changed the game, but also credited his players for the fighting spirit they showed right up until the final whistle.
“We played well today, especially in the first half, when we should have converted one of our chances,” said Ranko. “Bangkok started the second half stronger, although they did not really threaten that much in open play until the red card. We tried to chase the game and force something, but it wasn’t enough.”
The home side got off to a fast start, with Al-Ghassani coming close early on with a header that sailed over Ivan Sušak’s goal. They were then awarded a penalty just 12 minutes in, when Safuwan Baharudin was adjudged to have handled the ball in the box. Up stepped Richairo Živković, but the former Sailor saw his attempted panenka come back off the crossbar.
That seemed to jolt the Sailors into life, with Lennart Thy firing just wide after 25 minutes and Tsiy Ndenge hitting the crossbar with a free kick soon after.
They kept the pressure up on the Bangkok goal as the first half drew to a close, forcing the home side into two last-ditch interventions. Bailey Wright’s 42nd-minute goalbound header was blocked by Nitipong Selanon, before Lennart’s header from the ensuing corner was cleared off the line by Everton Gonçalves.
They carried that intensity into the second half, as Bart Ramselaar curled a shot narrowly past Patiwat Khammai’s post within one minute of the restart.
However, the momentum soon swung massively in the home side’s favour.
Just a minute after Ivan was forced to smother an effort by substitute Teerasil Dangda’s effort, Hariss’ last-ditch challenge on Alhaft saw the Sailors captain receive his marching orders. Al-Ghassani stepped up this time, and made no mistake from the spot as he fired Bangkok into the lead.
The hosts came close to doubling their lead with Al-Ghassani rattling the post in the 78th minute and substitute Guntapon Keereeleang firing just wide in stoppage time, but one goal proved enough for them to claim all three points on the night.
Looking back on the game, Bailey reflected on the missed opportunities that proved costly for the Sailors.
“Football is about moments, and those moments went their way today,” said the Australian. “We put ourselves under unnecessary pressure in the second half and made a few mistakes, which gave them something to hold on to. The team dug deep, but we were not clinical enough tonight.”
Despite the defeat, Ranko praised his side for giving their all in pursuit of an equaliser that ultimately eluded them.
“My team has always shown a lot of character, and that is a positive we can take from the game,” he said. “The result is disappointing as I felt that we deserved a point, but that’s just how football is.”
With back-to-back ACL Two home games – including the reverse fixture against Bangkok a fortnight later on 6 November – still to come, the Serb is keen for his side to make amends.
“This is only our first loss of the campaign, and we are still in the game. We have two games at home next, and we will do our best to get maximum points there,” said Ranko, who also thanked the travelling Sailors contingent for their support.
“We always have a good following wherever we go, so a huge shoutout to the fans who made the trip to Thailand today. I hope they continue to turn up in the following games.”
There is little time for the Sailors to recover from this result, as their focus now shifts to a crucial top-of-the-table clash in the Singapore Premier League (SPL) against Albirex Niigata at the Bishan Stadium on Monday (27 October).
