Sydney FC emerged with a 2-0 defeat in the first leg of their AFC Champions League 2 match away to Lion City Sailors.
The Sky Blues will head to Sydney Football Stadium next week confident they can get a result in the second leg after dominating a lot of possession and finishing strongly.
Lion City Sailors FC 2 (Ramselaar 18’ Thy 53’) def. Sydney FC 0
Moments That Mattered:
18’ | RAMSELAAR GOAL – After a quick counter-attack, Dutch import Bart Ramselaar fires an effort from just outside the left hand side of the box which rattles the bar and bounces in to put the Sailors ahead.
53’ | THY GOAL – Lennart Thy finds himself on the break in the box and puts his effort into the top of the net to extend Lion City’s lead.
66′ | SEGECIC CHANCE – Costa shoots on target and the blocked shot comes out to Segecic who shoots again, but Bailey Wright throws himself at the ball to deflect it over.
67′ | SEGECIC CHANCE AGAIN – Costa plays the ball into Klimala who with his back to goal, drops the ball off to Segecic but the youngster hits across the ball and watches his shot skew just wide of the far post.
81′ | BIG SAVE – Devenish-Meares gets an outstretched leg to the ball as Thy went clear and shot.
The Sky Blues walk out in Singapore treading where no Sydney FC team has trod before, an Asian Champions League 2 semi-final, with the promise of glory at the Jalan Besar Stadium.
However it was a cagey start but with 20 minutes almost gone a quick counter-attack sees the ball at the feet of former PSV and Utrecht midfielder Bart Ramselaar.
He wastes no time and fires in an effort from just outside the box which rattles the crossbar and bounces down into the goal.
It was the best and only action of the first period as 45 minutes came to a close and Sydney FC ready up for a tough second half on the wet, synthetic pitch.
Early in the second half Lion City extended their lead when Thy found himself under pressure in the box.
He took the ball on and from a tight angle placed a shot over Devenish-Meares and into the roof of the net, extending Lion City’s lead to 2-0.
As the game entered its latter stages, substitute Adrian Segecic had two chances to pull a goal back for the Sky Blues but a low block from the hosts thwarted him, while Devenish-Meares had to pull off a good save to keep the deficit at two.
The final whistle in Singapore has given Sydney FC a lot of work to do in the second leg back at home next Wednesday night.
What They Said: Ufuk Talay: “We had a lot of the ball, but we didn’t really penetrate.
“They sat very deep—ten players inside their 18-yard box at times. It was difficult to break them down.
“I think key passes in crucial moments, especially in the final third, really let us down tonight.
“The first goal was great execution from the opposition. The second came from a transition moment we should’ve handled better.
“They had two real chances, and they took both. That was the difference.
“Overall, we had plenty of possession, but we were quite ineffective when it mattered most.”
Rhyan Grant: “It’s tough. You have to be patient. We tried to find the right moments to break them down, but it just didn’t really click tonight.
“We did some good things out there, but in the end, it wasn’t quite enough.
“They stayed compact, made it difficult. But we know the areas we need to improve in.
“That’s football, though—you just have to move on, focus on the next one. We go again next Wednesday, and hopefully, we can be a lot better.”
Lion City Sailors FC (Home) | 1. Izwan MAHBUD, 22. Christopher VAN HUIZEN, 26. Bailey WRIGHT, 4. Toni DATKOVIC, 29. Diogo COSTA, 7. Shawal AUNAR (60’ 17. Maxime LESTIENNE), 14. Hariss HARUN (c), 15. Song UIYOUNG (89’ 18. Obren KLJAJIC), 8. Rui Miguel PIRES, 10. Bart RAMESELAAR (73’ 16. Hami SYAHIN), 9. Lennart THY
Unused Subs: 5. Lionel TAN, 11. Mohammad HAFIZ NOR, 13. Muhammad ADIB, 19. Muhammad ZULQARNAEN SUZLIMAN, 20. Sergio PEREZ, 21. Abdul RASAQ ISHIEKWENE, 23. Haiqal PASHIA ANUGRAH, 28. Zharfan ROHAIZAD, 30. Akram BIN AZMAN
Head Coach: Aleksandar RANKOVIC
Yellow Cards: 94’ Maxime LESTIENNE
Red Cards: None
Sydney FC (Away) | 12. Harrison DEVENISH-MEARES, 4. Jordan COURTNEY-PERKINS, 41. Alexandar POPOVIC, 23. Rhyan GRANT (c), 16. Joel KING, 15. Leo SENA (86’ 20. Tiago QUINTAL), 6. Corey HOLLMAN (46’ 7. Adrian SEGECIC), 17. Anthony CACERES, 11. Douglas COSTA, 10. Joe LOLLEY, 9. Patryk KLIMALA (75’ 8. Anas OUAHIM)
Unused Subs: 1. Andrew REDMAYNE, 21. Zachary DE JESUS, 24. Wataru KAMIJO, 25. Jaiden KUCHARSKI, 37. Will KENNEDY
Head Coach: Ufuk TALAY
Yellow Cards: None
Red Cards: None
Venue: Jalan Besar Stadium
Referee: Zaid THAMER MOHAMMED
Attendance: 4,231
