Brazilian striker Anderson Lopes stole the show with a stunning four-goal haul as the Lion City Sailors celebrated their homecoming at Bishan Stadium with a 4-2 win over Malaysia’s Selangor FC, their first triumph of the AFC Asian Champions League Two (ACL2) campaign.
The win also meant that the Sailors sit at the top of their group, after Bangkok United fell to a 2-0 loss to Persib Bandung.
“I’m very happy to score four goals and to give a win to our fans. On the two goals we conceded, we’re going to go back and try to improve and move forward from there,” Lopes said.
The former J1 League Golden Boot winner had endured a frustrating start to life with the Sailors, failing to score in his first five appearances before finally breaking his duck in the 7-0 league rout of Tanjong Pagar United. But against Selangor, Lopes underlined his continental pedigree with four goals, a reminder of his lethal touch that saw him net nine times in 10 matches for Yokohama F. Marinos in the ACL Elite last term.
“In every league, there is always time taken to adapt, and be at a certain level that the team needs… I have taken this time to adapt, and now that it is over, I am looking forward to scoring more goals,” he added.
The hosts made a flying start, echoing their formidable home form in last season’s ACL2, when they went unbeaten in five of seven home fixtures, as marquee striker Lopes struck twice early on.
In the sixth minute, Dutch midfielder Bart Ramselaar sold Malaysian international Quentin Cheng with a clever feint before whipping in a cross that Maxime Lestienne flicked on for Lopes, who nodded past Kalamullah Al Hafiz to open the scoring.
The 32-year-old wasted little time in doubling his tally just seven minutes later, pouncing on a loose ball after Ramselaar’s effort from outside the box was blocked by the Selangor defence, before calmly slotting past Kalamullah from close range.
“We started the match very well with two early goals. That’s what you want to see,” Sailors head coach Aleksandar Rankovic said. “And then the game was stopped, and you lose the momentum.”
The match endured a 90-minute delay in the 31st minute due to the activation of the lightning warning system. And the Red Giants capitalised on the stoppage, pulling one back just four minutes after the restart.
Brazilian striker Chrigor Moraes was hacked down after a clumsy challenge by Sailors goalkeeper Ivan Susak, and Moraes dispatched the resulting penalty with ease.
But Lopes had the final say in the first half, completing his hat trick with the last kick before the break, before going on to add a fourth in the 54th minute.
Rankovic heaped praises on his striker’s performance, saying, “We know that he’s a top player. Every foreign player that comes here has had to take time to adapt… It is good that I have two or three good strikers, so they’re breathing down each other’s necks and that brings the best out of them. So I’m very happy for him.”
Faisal Halim got a consolation for Selangor to make it 4-2 in the 73rd minute, but the result consigned them to a second straight defeat in the group stage.
Selangor’s interim head coach Cristophe Gamel, who stepped in following Katsuhito Kinoshita’s sudden departure last week, admitted his side’s defensive frailties proved costly but praised his charges’ spirit.
“Defensively, we lacked consistency. We were a bit naïve in some situations. I only had two days to assemble the team, so I will take responsibility. But overall, you could see the spirit of the boys — they gave their best and fought to the very end.”
The Sailors will next face Bangkok on Oct 23, while Selangor play away to Persib at the same time.
