The Lion City Sailors made history once again on Wednesday (16 April) night, as they became the first and only Singaporean club to reach the final of a major Asian club competition.
Despite a 1-0 defeat to Sydney FC at the Allianz Stadium, the Sailors held firm to book their spot in the Asian Football Confederation Champions League (ACL) Two final with a 2-1 aggregate victory in the semi-finals.
It was, however, far from a straightforward evening for the Sailors, who had made the arduous 6,300-kilometre journey Down Under carrying a two-goal cushion from last week’s 2-0 first-leg win at the Jalan Besar Stadium.
Sailors Head Coach Aleksandar Ranković made two changes to his starting eleven from a week ago – both down the right flank – with Maxime Lestienne and Hami Syahin replacing Shawal Anuar and Christopher van Huizen.
That proved a shrewd move, with Maxime immediately making his presence felt in a bright Sailors start. Played through by Bart Ramselaar in the sixth minute, the Belgian winger had a clear sight of goal, but his tame effort was comfortably collected by Harrison Devenish-Meares.
It was a clear sign that the visitors were not content to merely sit back and defend their two-goal lead, and were intent on catching Sydney on the counter whenever the opportunity arose.
“We knew we were going to be under a lot of pressure. Sydney had to throw everything at us,” said Ranko. “But I think we did a really good job. They had their chances, but honestly, we had a few good ones of our own that could’ve killed the tie.”
The hosts’ first clear chance came in the 10th minute, when Anthony Caceres’ snapshot from a tight angle forced a sharp save from Izwan Mahbud. From the resulting corner, Jordan Courtney-Perkins found the back of the net, but Sydney’s celebrations were cut short after a VAR review ruled the goal out.
As the rain began to pour, the Sailors had another opportunity just past the half-hour mark. This time, Lennart Thy rose to meet a cross, but his header was comfortably gathered by Devenish-Meares.
Both sides knew exactly what was at stake, and it showed in the fierce one-on-one duel between Sydney’s marquee man Douglas Costa and the Sailors’ Portuguese full-back Diogo Costa, with neither giving the other an inch of space.
However, it was Ufuk Talay’s side who ended the first half on the front foot. Alexander Popovic forced Izwan into a save with a 39th-minute header from a corner, before Rhyan Grant found the back of the net moments later — but for the second time in the half, Sydney had a goal ruled out, this time for offside.
It was turning into a defensive masterclass from the Sailors’ back five, marshalled by former Socceroo Bailey Wright — who, in a twist of fate, was playing his first-ever competitive club match on home soil.
“We knew we were going to be up against some real quality,” said Bailey. “We’ve had our moments of luck, but I believe you earn that through hard work, commitment, and preparation. As a defender, you relish games like these, where you have to fight for every ball and truly earn the result, no matter how difficult it is.”
The second half began with the Sailors showing plenty of attacking intent, as Maxime, Bart Ramselaar, and Rui Pires all had decent chances to break the deadlock in the opening minutes.
The real question, however, was what would happen at the other end — and to Sydney’s credit, they kept pushing in search of a way back into the tie. But it took until the 61st minute for them to fashion their first real chance of the second half, when Adrian Segecic’s swerving effort from outside the box forced Izwan into a sharp save.
In the 74th minute, the Sky Blues came even closer, as Polish forward Patryk Klimala rose to meet a cross with a powerful header, only for Izwan to pull off another vital stop to preserve the Sailors’ two-goal aggregate lead.
Sydney’s persistence finally paid off in the 85th minute. Douglas Costa whipped in a cross that was nodded back across goal by Grant, and Joe Lolley was on hand to steer it past Izwan to make it 2-1 on aggregate.
“When the goal goes in at 85 minutes, it’s code red — you just have to defend for your lives in those final 10 minutes,” said Ranko. “I think the guys did a tremendous job.”
Ranko responded by sending on Lionel Tan to shore up the defence, and despite relentless pressure from Sydney, the Sailors’ rearguard held firm and got the job done in front of the 10,588 fans at the Allianz Stadium.
And when Kuwaiti referee Abdullah Jamali blew the final whistle, the Sailors bench erupted, with players and staff sprinting onto the pitch to celebrate what is arguably the greatest moment in the club’s history.
“From the start of this journey, I don’t think anyone really expected us to be here.” said Bailey after the game. “We’ve come through some real adversity, some tough obstacles, and we’ve had our setbacks, but here we are,
“Sydney are a really good team and they made it hard for us tonight. We didn’t win this game, but we got through. Honestly, I’m still pinching myself. These are the moments you dream of — playing in finals, being part of something special. That’s why you play football. And now, I just want to help the team go even further.”
This monumental achievement sees the Sailors go one better than Home United and Geylang International, who reached the semi-finals of the AFC Cup back in 2004.
Nearly 21 years on, the Sailors are now preparing to play in the prestigious ACL Two final — where they will take on United Arab Emirates’ Sharjah FC on Sunday, 18 May.
“What we’ve done is an unbelievable achievement for a Singaporean club,” said Ranko. “I’m still waiting for someone to wake me up — but honestly, I don’t want to be awake. I want to keep dreaming… and let’s hope we can go all the way.”
