BG Tampines Rovers thrash Lion City Sailors 5-0 to go top of Singapore Premier League
SINGAPORE – Coming into the Singapore Premier League’s top-of-the-table showdown between the Lion City Sailors and BG Tampines Rovers on July 18, a tight affair was expected as little had separated both sides.
But the Stags threw the form book out of the window and laid down an early marker in the title race as they stunned the Sailors 5-0 at Bishan Stadium to go top.
With the victory, Tampines – who are bidding for their first league title since 2013 – are now on 22 points, three ahead of the Sailors, who slipped to second after their worst defeat since becoming a privatised club in 2020.
In ending their rivals’ 19-game unbeaten run in domestic competitions, the Stags also extended theirs to eight matches.
Goals from Boris Kopitovic and Glenn Kweh just before the break picked the Sailors apart and caused them to capitulate, with Tampines scoring three more in 11 minutes after the restart.
Stags coach Gavin Lee said: “The result’s fantastic. In terms of performance, quite a lot of times we did very well, but at the same time, we also showed that if we don’t, the Sailors can hurt you.
Sailors coach Aleksandar Rankovic admitted the Stags deserved victory, adding: “They punished our mistakes, especially conceding two easy goals in the first half which actually broke us a little bit mentally.”
When asked about his players’ body language at half-time, with most of them hanging their heads, he said: “That’s something I was surprised by...
“Every time we have some setbacks we always bounce back, and that’s a strength of this team, so I was also caught off guard. That’s something I have to talk to the players (about) and see why’s that.”
The Stags took the lead almost at the stroke of half-time when Kopitovic latched onto Irfan Nageeb’s through ball and smashed it past Sailors goalkeeper Zharfan Rohaizad.
Five minutes into first-half stoppage time, they doubled their advantage as Seia Kunori’s cross found Kweh, who initially miskicked the ball but pounced on a deflection off Zharfan to tap it home on the line.
Emboldened by their quick-fire brace, the Stags came out of the dressing room firing on all cylinders, with Kopitovic notching his second in the 47th minute after Kweh laid the ball off to him.
Before the Sailors could regroup, Tampines extended their lead two minutes later, as Faris Ramli cut inside before placing his shot into the bottom corner.
It was 5-0 in the 55th minute as centre-back Irfan headed home from Faris’ corner for his third set-piece goal of the season.
Kopitovic, who took his goal tally to 10 in eight games, said: “We came tonight with a plan, to show our style of football that Gavin wanted.
“Being top of the league doesn’t come overnight, we deserve it because we play the best football under Gavin.
“We cannot stop now, we must improve everything he wants and we go step by step. We must fight and stay together, and hopefully without injuries, we can win more games.”
At the Jurong East Stadium, Albirex Niigata snapped their five-match losing run by trouncing Balestier Khalsa 7-2 in their first match since coach Kazuaki Yoshinaga was replaced by assistant coach Keiji Shigetomi.
Shingo Nakano and Daniel Goh bagged hat-tricks for the holders, while Arya Igami also netted. Kodai Tanaka and Jordan Emaviwe replied for the Tigers.
Analysis
While Tampines’ finishing touch was initially poor when coming up against the compact Sailors defence, the hosts’ confidence went up in smoke after the Stags snatched a quick-fire brace.
The Sailors’ inability to create concrete chances was their downfall.
Their star Maxime Lestienne was having a quiet night, while the Stags oozed confidence to secure victory.
Tianbao, L. (2024, July 18). BG Tampines Rovers thrash Lion City Sailors 5-0 to go top of Singapore Premier League. The Straits Times. https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/football/bg-tampines-rovers-thrash-lion-city-sailors-5-0-to-go-top-of-singapore-premier-league