Lion City Sailors’ Bailey Wright out to keep Sydney FC at bay in Asian Champions League Two semis

SINGAPORE – Less than a month ago, Lion City Sailors defender Bailey Wright’s phone was buzzing with excitement at the reunion with former Socceroo mates, such as Rhyan Grant, Andrew Redmayne and Joel King, after Sydney FC were confirmed as their Asian Champions League Two semi-final opponents.

But things have since gone a bit quiet ahead of the April 9 first leg at the Jalan Besar Stadium and the return leg on April 16, with a historic place in the final at stake.

With a hearty laugh, Wright told The Straits Times at the Lion City Sailors Training Centre on April 8 about the initial thrill: “That’s typical because obviously a few of us have shared some incredible memories together with the national team.

“Competing against each other at club level is also pretty special, so there were messages here and there. But really, we all want to disappoint each other. We are all professionals and it’s the nature of the game.”

In response, Sydney skipper Grant quipped: “Bailey’s a really good guy and I’m glad to see he’s doing really well here. It would be great to come up against him but hopefully, it’s not too enjoyable for him as we’ll make things as hard as possible for him.”

Interestingly, Wright, who has 29 caps, has never played in the A-League as he began his professional career in England with Preston North End 15 years ago. And now, the Melbourne-born centre-back is fully focused on winning trophies with the Sailors and putting them on the Asian footballing map.

“There’s a real opportunity for us to do that. First, we have got two big games ahead of us against a really good team whom we highly respect, but we are a really good team too, and we know we are capable,” said Wright, who has one goal and helped the Sailors to three clean sheets in 10 ACL Two games this season.

The stakes are indeed high, as the winners of the tie will host the final against either Saudi Arabia’s Al-Taawoun or Emirati side Sharjah FC.

After topping Group F, the Sailors overpowered Thailand’s Muangthong United 7-2 over two legs in the round of 16, and then beat Sanfrecce Hiroshima 4-1 on aggregate with an outstanding 1-1 home draw. The Japanese side had won the first leg 6-1 but the Sailors were awarded a 3-0 win after their opponents fielded an ineligible player.

The Sailors also have a seven-point lead in the Singapore Premier League and are odds on to retain the Singapore Cup.

This is the sort of progress Wright envisaged after he was convinced to move to Singapore from Sunderland in 2023, months after playing at the 2022 Qatar World Cup.

The 32-year-old said: “Could I have gone to other leagues that were perceived as stronger and more competitive? Yes, but I’ve loved the determination of this club to be successful, which keeps me motivated and hungry.

“The club have been evolving since before I was here. If you look around us now, these facilities don’t just happen overnight, and with that, you’ve got to build and progress. I feel, even from the start of this season till now, we are a completely different team to what we were.

“We have challenged what people think about the Sailors and Singapore football. Now is another opportunity to do that. We want to go to the final and lift the trophy.”

The visitors, who will also be looking to reach their first Asian final, finished behind Sanfrecce in Group E. They edged out Thailand’s Bangkok United 5-4 on aggregate in the last 16 and beat South Korea’s Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 5-2 over two legs in the quarter-finals.

While they are sixth in the 13-team A-League, they are Australia’s most successful club with five titles.

Besides several Socceroos, they boast former Brazil international Douglas Costa, who has won 11 league titles with Ukraine’s Shakhtar Donetsk, Germany’s Bayern Munich and Italy’s Juventus. Since joining Sydney in August 2024, the skilful winger has notched five goals and seven assists in 20 games.

Such calibre is what is fuelling Sydney coach Ufuk Talay’s optimism as they look to negotiate the artificial pitch that has often tripped up visitors.

He said: “We could make it an excuse, but I’m a big believer of good players adapting to any pitch they play on. So our mindset is to get the most positive outcome in the first leg, which will give us a great advantage playing the second leg at home.”

Meanwhile, Sailors coach Aleksandar Rankovic will be boosted by the return of combative midfielder Song Ui-young, who served a three-match suspension, and talisman Maxime Lestienne, who missed four games due to an elbow injury and has four goals and seven assists in 10 ACL Two matches.

Song, who has five goals and one assist in seven games in the tournament, said: “I put the team in a difficult situation with my suspension and I feel guilty. I’m grateful to the team, and I know I need to put in all my effort and energy to help the team now that I’m back.

“This is the biggest game in my career and the club’s history. We are very much ready to give our all and get the best result we can.”