BG Tampines Rovers exit ACL2, but vow to return, go one step further

SINGAPORE – BG Tampines Rovers’ quest for a historic continental semi-final berth may have ended on March 12 following their elimination from the AFC Champions League Two (ACL2), but the team’s deep run has certainly whetted their appetite for future campaigns.

Despite a hard-fought 2-2 draw against Bangkok United in the quarter-final, second leg at the Jalan Besar Stadium, the Stags fell agonisingly short, as they bowed out 4-3 on aggregate.

Their Maltese forward Trent Buhagiar – who was named the Man of the Match for the second leg – is optimistic that the team will be back next season for more.

The 28-year-old, who scored the hosts’ first goal of the night, said: “I think that we showed as a club that we are capable of doing well in this competition. We had a tough group; we got through that. We put on some really good performances throughout this whole competition... and stayed consistent. We played really good football in parts, which ultimately led to this position.”

“We can take a lot of positives from this tournament and we can show in the future that we can go one step closer next season, and that’s the aim. This club needs to ultimately move forward and keep progressing.

“I’m super proud of the team and obviously the club is moving in the right direction. We’ve got some really good players in here. I’m sure the club will be back in the same position next season and pushing for more.”

Bangkok arrived in Singapore with a slender advantage after a 2-1 first-leg victory in Thailand on March 5, in a game where the Stags were left to rue goalkeeping errors.

On March 12, Asean football icon Teerasil Dangda, 37, extended the visitors’ aggregate lead in the 15th minute.

The Thai exchanged passes with Omani fellow forward Muhsen Al-Ghassani, before unleashing a strike from outside the box to beat the Stags’ 16-year-old American goalkeeper, Kasey Rogers.

The Stags then lifted the 1,350-strong crowd in the 39th minute when Buhagiar took down a sumptuous ball over the top from Shah Shahiran and fired it into goal.

But the hosts’ joy was short-lived when Bangkok struck again three minutes later. Dutchman Ilias Alhaft squeezed an effort past Kasey to make it 2-1 on the night and 4-2 on aggregate.

Tampines came back out for the second half eager to keep the contest alive. After relentless pressure, the hosts levelled proceedings on the night in the 71st minute when Japanese midfielder Koya Kazama turned in a loose ball from close range.

With the visitors visibly rattled, Tampines upped the ante again, but Bangkok held on to book their berth in the final four.

The Thai side will now contest a two-legged semi-final against Japan’s Gamba Osaka on April 8 and 15. The winners of that clash will advance to the ACL2 final against the winners of the West region.

Bangkok coach Totchtawan Sripan, who noted that the Stags gave his side a close contest over both legs, wants his team to keep creating history in the competition.

The Thai tactician said: “We would love to cause a surprise and beat (Gamba) and we would love to get as far as we can.”

The Stags had enjoyed a stellar yet fortuitous run in AFC’s second-tier club tournament.

They topped Group H unbeaten, ahead of South Korea’s Pohang Steelers, Thailand’s BG Pathum United and Filipino side Kaya-Iloilo.

In the last 16, they lost 4-0 in the first leg against Cong An Ha Noi. But they were eventually awarded a 3-0 victory after the Vietnamese team fielded two ineligible players, before winning the second leg 3-1 at home.

The previous time that the Stags made the last eight of a continental competition was in 2016, when they exited the AFC Cup, the previous iteration of the ACL2, in the quarter-finals.

Stags’ interim head coach Robert Eziakor rued their ACL2 exit but praised his charges for coming close to a positive result.

The Nigerian and his team will now turn their attention to the Singapore Premier League (SPL), where they are five points behind leaders Lion City Sailors, albeit with a game in hand.

“We’re not far away (from the Sailors) and we still have the belief and the dream that we will have a strong end to the season,” said Eziakor.

Buhagiar said they will now channel their energy towards the SPL, adding: “The only positive we can take from this (loss), is that we’ll be able to focus on the league and have that break in between games.

“We obviously wanted to go further in this competition, but now we will focus on the league and close the gap on the Sailors.”