Lennart Thy eager to show he is still Lion City Sailors’ top marksman
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Lion City Sailors' Lennart Thy (in white) opening the scoring to spark a 3-0 win over Albirex Niigata at Bishan Stadium on Oct 27.
ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
Follow topic:
- Lennart Thy overcame initial bench time after Anderson Lopes' arrival to become Lion City Sailors' top scorer with seven goals in nine appearances.
- Thy's resilience and "German mentality", as praised by coach Rankovic, helped him regain his starting spot, contributing to the team's success.
- Sailors defeated Albirex 3-0 with goals from Thy, Ramselaar and Akram, while Tampines beat Hougang 2-1.
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SINGAPORE – Despite being the Lion City Sailors’ top scorer with 34 goals in all competitions last season, Lennart Thy found himself omitted from the starting line-up for the first five matches of the 2025-26 campaign.
With the arrival of Brazilian forward Anderson Lopes
But, instead of kicking up a fuss, the consummate professional has shown his ability where it matters – in front of goal – which led to him regaining his starting berth.
On Oct 27, he was handed his third consecutive start in the Singapore Premier League (SPL) against Albirex Niigata at the Bishan Stadium, where he also scored for the fourth straight SPL outing to spark a straightforward 3-0 victory.
The win not only helped the Sailors stretch their perfect record to five games but also extended their cushion atop the eight-team league to five points over second-placed Geylang International.
In the process, Thy also leads the SPL top scorers’ chart with his fifth goal in as many SPL matches. It was also his seventh in nine appearances across all competitions this season.
Only four of those appearances have been as a starter, with two-time J1 League Golden Boot winner Lopes preferred to Thy.
Lopes, 32, has registered six goals in nine appearances for the Sailors – including a four-goal salvo in an Asian Football Confederation Champions League Two clash with Selangor – but has yet to fully convince up front.
While admitting that it had been tough to be on the bench, Thy was certain he would get his time to show what he can do.
The 33-year-old said: “This is how football is. There’s always new guys coming in, so it’s part of the job. Yeah, for me, I can just do my own thing, keep going, keep showing that I deserve to play and make it difficult (for the coach).
“Of course, to see the guys (playing) from the bench is not the nicest thing. But it’s part of the job.
“It doesn’t matter how many minutes you get, you need to make the best out of it. If you got a strong guy in front of you or just behind you... then everybody is forced to bring the best out of yourself.”
Sailors coach Aleksandar Rankovic, who confirmed that Lopes missed the match due to illness, praised Thy’s mindset.
The Serb said: “He’s got a German mentality. I know him from a long time ago when he was also playing in Holland – he’s a player that is never going to give up. For every player, competition always brings the best out of you.”
On the team’s performance, Rankovic said he was pleased with a clean sheet to cap off the victory.
“We could have scored one or two more, but I’m happy we have a clean sheet. We didn’t allow many chances against us,” he said.
Thy opened the scoring for the Sailors in the 19th minute when he expertly got on the end of a sublime cross from Akram Azman to send a header into the far post.
The hosts got the second goal in the 62nd minute when Bailey Wright flicked on a throw-in from Akram and found Dutchman Bart Ramselaar, who rifled home with aplomb.
Right wing-back Akram then capped off his fine night when he made it 3-0 in the 73rd minute.
Albirex coach Keiji Shigetomi cut a frustrated figure on the sidelines, but preferred to focus on positives after the game.
The Japanese tactician said: “We will learn from this and keep building as a team.
“My boys fought hard against the strongest team in the league.”
In the evening’s other SPL clash, BG Tampines Rovers scored a late winner to beat Hougang United 2-1 at Our Tampines Hub.
Faris Ramli bagged a 77th-minute opener for the Stags before the Cheetahs equalised in the 86th minute through Tampines goalkeeper Syazwan Buhari’s own goal.
But the Stags got all three points following a stoppage-time goal from defender Irfan Najeeb to claim third spot with eight points after four games, two points behind Geylang who have played a game more. Hougang remain sixth with three points after five games.
Analysis
Competition for places is bringing out the best from the Sailors. Between Lopes and Thy, the defending champions have two forwards that most clubs in Asia would love to have.
Both also know they need to be plundering goals regularly to earn that starting spot. That same spirit of competition is also bringing out the best in others like Akram.
