Adam Swandi scores rare brace in Lion City Sailors’ 3-0 win over Hougang
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Lion City Sailors’ Adam Swandi scoring from long range to make it 2-0. He added another as his team beat Hougang United 3-0 on Sunday.
ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM
SINGAPORE – His last goal in the Singapore Premier League (SPL) was in November 2020 and, after a tough week for his club, Adam Swandi’s brace provided some respite for himself and the Lion City Sailors in their 3-0 win over Hougang United on Sunday.
The victory moved the Sailors to second on 33 points, three behind leaders and defending champions Albirex Niigata, who have a game in hand.
The home game at Bishan Stadium was also their first since the departure of head coach Risto Vidakovic last Monday.
Adam’s strikes continue a fine run for the central midfielder, who is a creative presence but not a goal-scoring threat.
He was also on target for Singapore in the 2-2 draw with Papua New Guinea in an international friendly on June 16.
The 27-year-old, however, was quick to credit his teammates, saying: “After I score, I don’t celebrate too much because I don’t anticipate myself to score.
“My aim is always to help the team find ways to score, but sometimes when the ball comes to your feet you just take the chance.
“Everyone gave 100 per cent regardless of whatever is happening, so I’m really happy about that.”
He suffered a knee injury while playing for the Lions in a friendly last December, and admitted that the road to recovery was challenging.
“Every player’s dream is to stay injury-free and to keep playing,” said Adam. “To come back from an injury (that lasted) three, four months is never easy, but I had the proper support behind me... we always have the same goal which is to win.”
The Sailors had the majority of the first-half chances.
The first in the 16th minute fell to Diego Lopes, whose powerful shot was tipped away by Zaiful Nizam.
Two minutes later, a Maxime Lestienne header crashed off the bar after Hafiz Nor’s delivery found him.
The Sailors eventually broke the deadlock with the last kick of the first half.
Adam’s deflected pass fell to Abdul Rasaq, who notched his eighth goal of the campaign with a powerful shot past Zaiful.
They doubled their lead in the 49th minute. Adam’s long-range shot flew into the top corner, leaving Zaiful rooted.
Adam doubled his tally in the 75th minute, receiving a pass from Lestienne before curling a deflected shot into the back of the net.
After Vidakovic’s exit, Sailors’ Under-21 coach Daan van Oudheusden and first-team assistant coach Pablo Muniz were handed the reins on an interim basis.
Van Oudheusden was relieved after the win, adding: “This is not the situation we were expecting to be in and we needed to adapt, but I’m really proud of the boys.”
Lion City Sailors’ Abdul Rasaq Akeem (right) scoring the opening goal from close range.
This was Hougang’s second straight defeat – they lost 2-0 to Tampines Rovers on June 10 – after recording four consecutive victories.
But coach Marko Kraljevic refused to use the absence of key players like Zulfahmi Arifin and Naoki Kuriyama as an excuse.
He handed SPL debuts to Louka Tan, 18, and Nasrul Pujiyono, 21, and said: “The Sailors were the better team.
“They were more hungry and aggressive, and they never gave us space.”
Analysis
Under van Oudheusden and Muniz, the Sailors opted for a more progressive approach in their attack, with a 3-2-2-3 formation.
The team looked comfortable in possession and created many chances over the 90 minutes.
Another positive sign would be that they did not allow the Cheetahs a single shot on target.
This was the Sailors’ first clean sheet in eight games, something they must build on to challenge for the title.
