Lion City Sailors edge Muangthong 3-2 in first-leg away win in Asian Champions League round of 16

SINGAPORE – For about 50 minutes on Feb 13, it had seemed that the Lion City Sailors had one foot in the Asian Champions League Two quarter-finals.

The Sailors were comfortably holding a 3-0 lead over Muangthong United in the first leg of the round-of-16 tie at the Thunder Dome Stadium in Nonthaburi, Thailand.

But following a red card to Sailors midfielder Song Ui-young in the 52nd minute, the Thai side clawed two goals back – scoring their second with the last kick of the game.

While the Sailors still survived the storm to clinch a valiant 3-2 away win, the tie remains firmly in the balance ahead of the second leg at the Jalan Besar Stadium on Feb 20.

They will also sweat over the availability of first-choice goalkeeper Izwan Mahbud, who was forced off with a head injury in the 77th minute, with Zharfan Rohaizad taking his place.

Away goals are not in play in the knockout stages and should both teams be tied at the end of the second leg on aggregate, two 15-minute periods of extra time will be played, followed by a penalty shoot-out if necessary.

Muangthong forward Melvyn Lorenzen said: “We started the game in the worst fashion we could ever start. We were down 3-0... and we had to find our way back.

“First half, they dominated us. We had no answer for it, but I think we showed good spirit and fought our way back. Now for the second (leg), we have a good chance.”

Playing a knockout-phase tie at the continental level for the first time, the Sailors – formed in 2020 – put on their finest performance on the Asian stage yet as they drew first blood after just 18 seconds and were 3-0 up by the half-hour mark, leaving the Kirins and the home crowd stunned.

Their strong start on foreign turf was a surprise, given that this was against a team who are third in the 16-team Thai top flight and had come into the fixture on the back of a four-game winning streak.

While the Sailors’ starting line-up suggested that they had come with a defensive set-up, the visitors put paid to those assumptions as they showed an intent to unsettle their opponents with direct attacks from the get-go.

With just 18 seconds on the clock, Maxime Lestienne’s ball into the box found Shawal Anuar – preferred to German forward Lennart Thy up front – who got to the ball just ahead of Muangthong goalkeeper Kittipong Phuthawchueak to steer it into the net.

Lestienne then made it 2-0 from the penalty spot in the 11th minute after Muangthong midfielder Purachet Thodsanit was penalised for a foul on young Portuguese left-back Diogo Costa, who is on loan from Primeira Liga side FC Famalicao.

The Sailors’ best goal of the evening arrived in the 27th minute when Lestienne lofted a ball to Dutch midfielder Bart Ramselaar, who produced a sumptuous first-time volley to put the visitors 3-0 up.

As the whistle blew for half-time, the home side found themselves trying to make sense of the onslaught that they had just suffered.

But they came out from the break eager to give themselves an ounce of hope and found it courtesy of Song in the 52nd minute. The Sailors midfielder was given his marching orders for catching Muangthong’s Siradanai Phosri in the face with his elbow.

Capitalising on their numerical advantage, the hosts got one back in the 56th minute through Lorenzen, who leapt above Izwan to head home.

The Singapore side tried to hold on resolutely as they faced a barrage of attacks for most of the second half but, in the final minute of 10 minutes of stoppage time, Muangthong defender Tristan Do ghosted into the box to head in from close range to make it 3-2.

While the Sailors will remain confident of securing a spot in the last eight, they will leave Thailand wondering if they could have returned home with greater peace of mind.

Lestienne said: “We played very well, the first half was amazing from us.

“Second half, with 10 men, was difficult and we don’t know if he (Song) deserved the red card, but we can be proud of how we fought till the last minute together.

“We have one more game, we have to be focused, play like today.”