Goals from Bailey Wright and Maxime Lestienne secured Lion City Sailors' Shopee Cup win at Jalan Besar Stadium on Thursday evening.
Three games in, and Lion City Sailors have finally earned their first win in this season's Shopee Cup. The Sailors, who had conceded a total eight goals this campaign in their previous two losses, cruised to a comfortable 2-0 win against Kuala Lumpur City last night at Jalan Besar Stadium.
Kuala Lumpur City had previously been on a winning streak in the tournament, making this their first defeat. With a win now in the bag, The Sailors sit in fifth place in Group B, just a spot above Kaya FC-iloilo in last.
The home side were quick to build an attack, creating their first goal-scoring opportunity just a minute and a half into the match. Shawal Anuar had burst forward on the flank, before cutting the ball back into box. The effort however, was blocked by an alert Adrijan Rudovic.
After controlling the midfield for most of the game, The Sailors eventually found their breakthrough in the 26th minute when captain, Bailey Wright headed in Song Ui-yong's corner from the far post to make it 1-0.
Kuala Lumpur's Muhammad Haqimi then came close to an equaliser when the 21-year-old pummelled the ball goal-wards, but his powerful effort curled over the bar.
The Sailors failed to dominate after the break as much as they did in the first half, as the Malaysian side came out of the blocks looking for redemption. After a few failed attacks though, it was Maxime Lestienne who came closest to finding the back of the net in the 63rd minute, but the forward's long range effort rattled the crossbar.
The Belgian however, made no mistake when given another opportunity just two minutes later. A swift one-two between Lestienne and Bart Ramselaar ended with Lestienne’s delicate first-touch chip over goalkeeper Azri Abdul Ghani.
Kuala Lumpur showed no sign of backing down, and were still on the hunt for a comeback. They once again came agonisingly close to securing that elusive goal, this time in the 84th minute. Defender, Mohd Kamal Azizi's shot from far outside the box — much like Lestienne's earlier effort — pinged the crossbar.
Rushing to diminish the dangers of a rebound was Toni Datkovic and Wright. The latter was accused of handling the ball in the process, but calls for a penalty from the visiting players and fans were ignored, and the game ended 2-0 in favour of the Singaporean side.
The victory reignites hopes for The Sailors to advance to the knockouts, but the road ahead remains fraught with challenges as they are set to face Thailand's Buriram United on 23rd January.
Here are more highlights of The Sailors' clash against Kuala Lumpur City.
The 20-year-old Spaniard, Sergio Carmona Perez, delivered a tireless 90-minute performance, relentlessly chasing down every opportunity to regain possession throughout the match.
Here, the defender slides to win the ball back from an experienced Kamal Azizi.
Song Ui-yong and Ryan Lambert lock together as the two midfielders fight for the loose ball.
With Datkovic's attention fixed on the ball controlled by the attacking Kamal Azizi, Carmona's gaze remains locked on Partiban Janasekaran, fully alert to the possibility of the 31-year-old midfielder executing a threatening run.
Lionel Tan and Rui Pires close in on Adrijan Rudovic, before the latter swiftly dispossess the Montenegrin.
The Sailors' defending powerhouse Datkovic wins an aerial battle against Kuala Lumpur City's own heavyweight defender, Giancarlo Gallifuoco.
Kuala Lumpur City's Haqimi, at just 21 years old, proved to be a formidable presence on the field. Here, the forward works with his captain, Paulo Josue to get the ball up the pitch.
Shawal Anuar battles Kamal Azizi for the ball in the air during a match brimming with aerial duels, all in a bid to gain control of the midfield.
The Crew, ever faithful in filling the home stand, celebrate their victory at full time.
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