With their hopes of advancing to the semi-finals of the 2024/25 ASEAN Club Championship (ACC) Shopee Cup hanging by a thread after back-to-back defeats, the Lion City Sailors delivered a strong response in their third Group B match, securing a 2-0 victory over Kuala Lumpur (KL) City at the Jalan Besar Stadium on Thursday (9 January) night.
Goals from skipper Bailey Wright and Maxime Lestienne, one in each half, sealed the Sailors’ first points of the tournament in front of a 1,813-strong crowd. The win provided a much-needed boost for Sailors head coach Aleksandar Ranković and his team after a disappointing start to their Shopee Cup campaign.
“Today was a well-deserved win. We played a very mature game, controlled the match from start to finish, and restricted our opponents to very few shots,” said a visibly satisfied Ranko.
“This victory will give us plenty of motivation heading into the next game. However, as much as we’d like to keep celebrating, the next match is just a few days away, so we have to quickly prepare and assess who is fit and ready to play.”
Ranko’s words of praise for his players were well-deserved, as the Sailors stamped their authority on the match right from the first whistle.
They landed the first blow in the 26th minute when Bailey Wright displayed tremendous strength to outmuscle his marker and head home a Maxime Lestienne corner. The 32-year-old’s opener marked the first goal KL City had conceded in the tournament, ending their run of two consecutive clean sheets.
Anchored by a resolute defence, the hosts made it difficult for the visitors to find their rhythm, limiting them to a few speculative efforts that posed little threat to Izwan Mahbud in the Sailors goal.
That defensive solidity was a marked improvement from the Sailors’ first two group games, where they conceded three goals to Indonesia’s Borneo FC Samarinda and five to Vietnam’s Công An Hà Nội (CAHN) FC.
“Of course, the first two matches didn’t go our way, unfortunately. We experimented with a new system in the first match against Borneo, and while that’s no excuse, I’m happy we learned from those games and that my team could bounce back with such a performance,” Ranko explained.
“I think we’ve grown into the tournament, and playing in the AFC Champions League Two has helped us a lot. If we could play matches like these week in and week out, I’m confident we’d continue to improve physically, tactically, and mentally.”
With the two sides still separated by Bailey’s goal heading into the second half, Sailors’ key man Maxime stepped up to drive his team forward in search of a second goal.
He fired a warning shot in the 65th minute, whipping a stunning curling effort from range that crashed off the upright of goalkeeper Azri Ghani’s goal.
It proved to be a sign of things to come, as Maxime’s quality shone through just two minutes later.
Picking up the ball just outside the penalty area, he played it into Bart Ramselaar, who swiftly returned the favour with an inch-perfect through ball to meet the Belgian’s run into the box. Maxime made no mistake from close range, coolly clipping the ball into the bottom corner to double the Sailors’ lead.
Despite notching his 13th goal in all competitions, Maxime was quick to credit his teammates for their collective effort.
“It was very much a team effort from front to back. We knew we’d be out if we lost today, but everyone worked hard and gave their best,” reflected the forward. “We have plenty of quality in our team, so now we just need to stay focused and take it game by game from here.”
KL City’s best chance came in the closing minutes when Kamal Azizi’s ambitious effort rattled Izwan’s crossbar, but the Sailors held on to secure the first clean sheet of their campaign.
This crucial victory lifted the Sailors off the bottom of Group B, ahead of Philippines’ Kaya FC–Iloilo, who suffered a 1-2 defeat to group leaders CAHN FC on the same night.
The Sailors will host Thai League 1 powerhouse Buriram United next in a crunch Matchday Four clash on 23 January.
For now, though, Ranko’s team will shift their focus back to league action in the SPL, starting with an away trip to the Hassanal Bolkiah Stadium to face Brunei DPMM next Monday (13 January).
“We haven’t played in the SPL for a while after missing a couple of games, so we’re very eager to be back,” said Ranko. “DPMM are not the same team they were before the break, so we have to embrace this new challenge.”
