BG Tampines Rovers win Community Shield after beating Lion City Sailors 4-1
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BG Tampines Rovers lifting the Community Shield after defeating Lion Cit Sailors 4-1 at the Jurong East Stadium on Aug 16.
ST PHOTO: GAVIN FOO
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- BG Tampines Rovers defeated Lion City Sailors 4-1 in the Community Shield, with Trent Buhagiar scoring twice for the Rovers, marking a dream start for coach Akbar Nawas.
- Akbar urged caution despite the win, emphasising the need to focus on continuous improvement and avoid complacency, as the team aims to win every game.
- Lion City Sailors' coach Aleksandar Rankovic acknowledged his team's errors, vowing to learn from the defeat despite disappointment in losing the trophy to Rovers.
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SINGAPORE – All eyes were on Lion City Sailors as they kicked off the 2025-26 season, having reinforced their squad with major signings, including two-time J1 League top scorer Anderson Lopes from Yokohama F. Marinos.
But it was BG Tampines Rovers who stole the show on Aug 16, lifting the Community Shield with a resounding 4-1 victory over the reigning Singapore Premier League (SPL) champions at the Jurong East Stadium.
The victory was a dream start for new head coach Akbar Nawas, who returned to helm the club following Gavin Lee’s departure.
While pleased with the performance, Akbar was quick to urge caution.
He said: “We should not be carried away because ambitions can allow you to get carried away and you might get on the wrong end of the stick. If you are complacent about this, things may not go well.
“We have to take it one game at a time, one training at a time and be the best in every training we can and compete in every game we can to win because that would define our season.”
BG Tampines made a flying start, taking the lead within two minutes.
Seiga Sumi pounced onto a loose pass from Sailors defender Lionel Tan, feeding the ball to Koya Kazama who threaded it to Trent Buhagiar. The Maltese winger placed his effort past new Sailors goalkeeper Ivan Susak to open the scoring.
Playing a more direct brand of football under Akbar, Tampines’ new signings impressed, with Buhagiar a constant menace down the left flank.
He doubled his tally in the 42nd minute, latching onto Sumi’s lofted pass before coolly finishing into the bottom corner to make it 2-0.
The Sailors’ troubles deepened shortly after the restart when Kazama curled a free kick into the top corner to stretch the lead to three.
They eventually pulled one back in the 87th minute when substitute Tsiy William Ndenge dispossessed Jacob Mahler and set up Lennart Thy.
Thy rifled past Stags goalkeeper Nalawich Inthacharoen, with a video assistant referee (VAR) check confirming the goal after checking for a foul in the build-up.
Twelve minutes of added time gave the Sailors a glimmer of hope. But, just a minute into stoppage time, Buhagiar punted a long ball to Hide Higashikawa, who outpaced Toni Datkovic before firing home to seal the win before 1,328 spectators.
Akbar credited his players and his predecessor Lee for laying the foundation for their first silverware in five years.
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.
In 2024-25, they also added the Singapore Cup and reached the Asian Football Confederation Champions League Two final, narrowly losing 2-1 to Sharjah FC of the United Arab Emirates.
This campaign, they have strengthened the team with Lopes, veteran Lions defender Safuwan Baharudin, Croatian goalkeeper Susak and former German Under-20 midfielder Ndenge from Swiss side Grasshopper.
Head coach Aleksandar Rankovic said: “Disappointed definitely. It was a good game honestly, with two teams who are really going to challenge the league.
“They deserved it fair and square. They were very effective, we have to give them credit for it. We made a couple of very crucial mistakes at the beginning of the game.
“The only thing I can be very sorry for is that it’s still a trophy – any kind of trophy you want to win. But, for the rest, it gives us insights into where we should work on.”
