Lion City Sailors extended their flawless start to the Singapore Premier League (SPL) campaign with a 5-0 demolition of Balestier Khalsa, with fit-again defender Bailey Wright marking his return by netting the opener.
The victory was made sweeter as the Sailors kept their first clean sheet of the campaign, a reminder of the solidity at the back that saw them post the league’s best defensive record last term.
“I wanted to get back in the team as soon as possible but I had to get myself fit and ready. The performance today was something that was in the making and was eventually going to come because of the hard work that we have put in, regardless of the eleven that were out there,” Wright said.
The Australian centreback, who chipped in with four goals in the SPL last season, opened his account when he found the target after a late run into the box.
“I put pressure on myself to score or be aggressive in the box and be at the right place at the right time. I know we have good delivery and I like to score,” said Wright, who is hoping to get ten goals across all competitions this season.
With the Sailors set for a tough away clash to Persib Bandung this Thursday (Sep 18) in their Asian Champions League Two (ACL2) opener, they will be grateful to arrive at the Stadion Gelora Bandung Lautan Api having built some semblance of momentum.
“Every game counts, every point counts. So to keep this momentum, it’s very important…The win gives you a little bit of a confidence boost, but Persib will be a totally different game,” Sailors head coach Aleksandar Rankovic said.
The Serb also lavished praise on Wright who had been sidelined with an injury at the start of the season.
“He’s the one that is the glue for my defence, the one guy that keeps everything together, that’s coaching from behind and has experience. He is somebody that I cannot miss,” Rankovic added.
The visitors got off the mark in the 27th minute when a Maxime Lestienne cross was not properly dealt with by the Balestier defence and Wright arrived at the back post just in time to rifle it home.
Just five minutes later, Bart Ramselaar looked certain to have doubled his side’s lead after a four on two counter attack but his ground shot clattered against the post.
Redemption eventually came in the second half when a neat cutback from Diogo Costa found Ramselaar on the edge of the box as he curled his shot past Balestier keeper Mario Mustapic and punched the air in celebration.
“It was nice to score, especially after the miss in the first half. Happy to help the team with a goal and two assists… It was a feeling of relief as well, because the score was just 1-0 and they were really dangerous on corners and free kicks, so I think it was an important moment to score”, said the Dutchman.
With the clock ticking down, the Sailors continued to surge forward and the floodgates opened soon after as the Tigers let in three more goals by Lennart Thy, Abdul Rasaq and Lestienne.
The only blemish in an otherwise consummate display was marquee signing Anderson Lopes’ continued struggle to register an attacking contribution, despite starting in all four of the Sailors’ matches across competitions so far. The Brazilian came off for Thy in the 58th minute, before the Sailors went on to score four more goals.
But Rankovic stuck by his new striker, and backed him to come good.
“He’s a great player. He’s going to score a lot of goals in this competition and I hope in the Champions League as well. He just has to find his rhythm, but he’s very important for us. And the fact that we scored four goals later, it’s also a lot of credit to the guys that came in.”
Meanwhile, the heavy defeat left head coach Marko Kraljevic frustrated.
“First half was very good… But after I took off Masahiro Sugita, we were not good enough and the shape of the team changed… Whatever the score is, you can’t lose the shape of the team,” the Croat said, referring to the Japanese midfielder’s substitution in the 57th minute due to sickness.
Balestier will have yet another chance to get their first win of the season when they face Young Lions next Sunday (Sep 21) at Our Tampines Hub.
