No substitute for Sailors' deep bench

SINGAPORE PREMIER LEAGUE

Lion City Sailors 3 Hougang 1

Having spent millions in the off season to beef up their squad, the Lion City Sailors' investment appeared to have paid off in their Singapore Premier League opener, as they kicked off their title defence with a comeback victory that showed their quality in depth.

Substitutes Hafiz Nor, Maxime Lestienne and Diego Lopes all had a hand in two second-half goals as the champions notched a 3-1 win over Hougang United at the Jalan Besar Stadium yesterday.

Said Sailors coach Kim Do-hoon: "The substitutes came on and did their part. This is the flexibility we have. We have different options and it is something we will continue to use and develop.

"We expected it to be tough. I want to congratulate my boys for staying cool and continuing to play their football instead of feeling nervous. They kept playing and eventually scored the three goals to get the win."

The Sailors signed Lopes last year for a league-record transfer fee of $2.9 million from then-Portuguese top-tier club Rio Ave. This season, they paid $2 million in transfer fees for Brazilian centre-back Pedro Henrique while securing free agent Kim Shin-wook on a salary package worth $3 million.

While Belgian winger Lestienne joined on a free transfer, his salary at previous club Standard Liege was estimated at €900,000 (S$1.4 million) annually.

Despite the gulf in finances, it was Hougang who notched a surprise opener.

New Brazilian signing Pedro Bortoluzo gave the Cheetahs an early lead in the seventh minute. Sahil Suhaimi prodded the ball into the forward's path just outside the box and Bortoluzo unleashed a fierce left-footed drive into the net.

But the champions were determined to kick off their campaign with a win, especially after last season's runners-up Albirex Niigata suffered a shock 2-0 loss to Tanjong Pagar United on Friday.

They replied in the 23rd minute, making the most out of South Korean forward Kim's 1.98m frame. A free kick just outside the box from Shahdan Sulaiman found Kim unmarked, and he put away his header for his first league goal of the season to add to his brace in the previous Saturday's Community Shield win over Albirex.

Substitutes Hafiz, Lopes and Lestienne made the difference in the second half. In the 66th minute, Hafiz was released down the left flank and cut the ball back for the underlapping Iqram Rifqi, who tucked it away to give Sailors the lead.

Lestienne then marked his debut with an assist in the 86th minute, finding Lopes in the box during a counter-attack to make it 3-1.

With coaches allowed to make five changes this year, up from three last season, substitutions will be critical this season, as Hougang found out. Cheetahs coach Clement Teo acknowledged that his side had no answer to the changes Sailors were able to make.

He said: "We'll take the positives from the first half, where we played positive football. I feel we could match them today and over the course of the season. But they can bring on players who are really good to change the game.

"It's tough for us but if teams like Liverpool and Chelsea can lose games, why not Sailors? We can't just give up and so mustn't the other teams. We must change our mindset. We can't compete financially but we can compete tactically."

The Sailors will next face Geylang International at Our Tampines Hub on Friday while Hougang take on Tanjong Pagar at the Jurong East Stadium on Sunday.