Lion City Sailors not getting ahead of themselves as they close in on S'pore Premier League title
Lion City Sailors not getting ahead of themselves as they close in on S'pore Premier League title
SINGAPORE – With an 11-point cushion over BG Tampines Rovers, the Lion City Sailors already have one hand on the Singapore Premier League trophy.
They could get their other hand on it as soon as this weekend, should second-placed Tampines drop points against Hougang United on May 2 and the Sailors beat Geylang International at Our Tampines Hub on May 4.
That would give the Sailors 71 points, an unassailable tally should the Stags, who are on 57 points with five games left, fail to beat Hougang.
But Sailors coach Aleksandar Rankovic is not getting ahead of himself.
Speaking after his side's 3-1 win over the Young Lions on April 30, the Serb said: 'We are not thinking about (the Tampines game). 'If' doesn't exist in football. We just go from game to game.
'There's not really a lot of pressure. We've had so much pressure this season that the guys are so used to it, playing eight, nine games in a month. For us, it is nothing new. It is just one step closer.'
The match will be the Sailors' 51st in all competitions since their season-opener at last May's Community Shield, as they remain on course for a historic treble.
They will meet Sharjah FC of the United Arab Emirates in the Asian Champions League Two (ACL2) final on May 18, before facing Brunei DPMM in the Singapore Cup semi-finals, with an eye on the May 31 final.
Rankovic added that the gruelling fixture list has given them 'a lot of strength, character and the momentum to keep going forward and grab everything we can'.
Asked if the prospect of bagging the title early will aid the Sailors' preparations for the ACL2 final, Rankovic said: 'When we seal it, we will seal it. If that's faster or later, that doesn't really matter. They are two totally different competitions, two different games.'
Sailors skipper Hariss Harun, who was recently elected as a vice-president of the Football Association of Singapore, echoed his coach's sentiments.
'It's been a long season. I think we have done well to get to where we are right now,' said the 34-year-old.
'But it doesn't change anything on Sunday. Whether Tampines drop points or they win their game, I think we just need to focus on our game.'
He will return to the squad to face Geylang after serving a one-match suspension for accumulating four yellow cards.
Meanwhile, the daunting task of facing the runaway league leaders, who are unbeaten in the competition since last August, is not lost on Eagles coach Noor Ali, whose side had lost 3-1 to DPMM in midweek.
Calling attention to the quadruple offensive threat of Sailors forwards Lennart Thy, Shawal Anuar, Bart Ramselaar and Maxime Lestienne, Noor said: 'These four are always a threat up front, which you need a collective effort to stop.
'I think we have done well in attack (scoring 88 goals), but the defensive part of the game has not been good for us. We have conceded a lot of goals this season and especially individual errors. Against the Sailors, you can't afford to make mistakes.'
Hougang United v BG Tampines Rovers (May 2, 7.45pm, Our Tampines Hub)
Tampines coach Gavin Lee is not letting the added significance of the game derail their bid for a win.
'We are just focused on us. Every game is important, every three points is something we desire very much,' he added.
Hougang, meanwhile, go into the match on the back of just one win in six league games. They will need to find a way to plug their leaky defence to put an end to the Stags' title hopes.
Brunei DPMM v Tanjong Pagar United (May 2, 8.15pm, Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium)
Basement side Tanjong Pagar have struggled with a paltry 13-point total after 26 games, but they may fancy their chances, having collected seven points against DPMM.
Despite 19 losses, the Jaguars are remarkably unbeaten (two wins and one draw) against the sixth-placed Bruneian side in the Singapore league.
Young Lions v Balestier Khalsa (May 3, 6pm, Our Tampines Hub)
Despite a 3-2 loss and 7-2 trouncing by Balestier earlier in the campaign, the Young Lions were able to mastermind their first victory over the Tigers in four seasons in their most recent encounter – a 3-2 win in January.
They will be hoping for another positive result as they bid to avoid finishing bottom for the first time since 2020. Balestier will be aiming to consolidate fourth spot.
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He said: 'This is just one game – we should be happy, we should enjoy the victory, it's a sweet victory, but after that we have to regroup, reassess and focus on our upcoming season because we cannot let one victory define us.' For Buhagiar, who joined from Azerbaijan Premier League side Kapaz, the match was a chance for Tampines – who were runners-up last season – to send a strong signal of intent. He said: 'The Sailors might not have been at their best today but we showed up and showed everyone what we can do this season. We're ready to go out and fight in every game. 'It's more of a message from the team that we are ready for the season and we want to fight for every title we can. Personally it's good for me, but as a team it's more important to win trophies like this and compete at the highest level.' It was not the result that the Sailors, who had swept all domestic honours last season, had hoped for. 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