Tomoyuki Doi’s double hands Lion City Sailors a shock defeat

SINGAPORE – Table-toppers Lion City Sailors’ 16-game unbeaten run in the Singapore Premier League (SPL) was ended by record goalscorer Tomoyuki Doi, as the Geylang International forward netted twice to mastermind a 3-2 upset at Our Tampines Hub.

The loss on May 4 marked the Sailors’ first SPL defeat since they fell to Albirex Niigata 3-1 last August.

Having taken a 2-0 lead through Lennart Thy and Shawal Anuar, the Sailors then fell to a stunning comeback, with Ryoya Taniguchi and Doi helping the Eagles flip the script to steal the victory.

The Sailors, with a far superior goal difference, will need at least four points in their remaining three games to edge out second-placed BG Tampines Rovers, who have a game in hand, in the title chase.

The leaders are due to face bottom side Tanjong Pagar United (May 10), Balestier Khalsa (May 14) and Tampines (May 24). They will also meet Sharjah FC of the United Arab Emirates in the Asian Champions League Two final on May 18. 

The May 4 loss took Sailors’ coach Aleksandar Rankovic by surprise.

“It was a tough defeat. It’s not something we are used to, especially in our league. (With the loss) coming at this moment, it definitely doesn’t help,” he said.

“We still have everything in our hands, and we still are in control of everything.”

Sailors’ captain Hariss Harun, who returned to the squad after serving a one-match suspension, said: “It was not a good result, not the result we wanted. We just need to regroup and go again.”

On squandering the lead, he added: “We never want this (to happen). It’s very frustrating for us.

“We shouldn’t let this happen, but we cannot change the result now. We need to go back and work hard and try to do it in the next games.”

Meanwhile, Geylang coach Mohd Noor Ali heaped praises on his charges, highlighting the contributions of his record-breaking striker.

“It’s a collective effort, but Doi was superb from the front. He was pressing well, he was giving us good attacking options, and we know what Doi can do,” he said.

“He has been solid in that regard. It’s nice to beat the league leaders.”

The Sailors broke the deadlock in the 34th minute. A swift through ball by winger Maxime Lestienne found the clever run of Thy, who took a deft touch, spun sharply and drilled it into the far corner.

Five minutes later, Lestienne whipped in a cross to the back post into the path of an unmarked Shawal, who then guided the ball past former Sailors goalkeeper Rudy Khairullah for his 18th league goal of the season.

Geylang pulled one back right before the interval. A precise one-two between Taniguchi and Vincent Bezecourt down the wing ended in a low cross to the feet of an onrushing Doi, who made no mistake from close range.

In the 71st minute, Geylang stunned the crowd when midfielder Takahiro Tezuka pinged a hopeful ball into the box and Taniguchi nipped in to poke home the equaliser.

Not content with the draw, Tezuka caught the Sailors on the counter-attack as he played the ball out quickly to Bezecourt, who capped off his marauding run with a defence-splitting pass to find Doi through on goal.

The Japanese coolly lifted the ball over Sailors’ custodian Izwan Mahbud with four minutes left to cap off the shock win.

Doi’s brace took his tally to 44 goals in 29 games as the hitman continued to plunder goals at will.

“Throughout this season, (during the games) against the Lion City Sailors, we worked very hard, but we couldn’t win.,” the 27-year-old Japanese forward said.

“So the most important thing was to win the game, and I’m very happy to get two goals.”

Having set the lofty target of scoring more than one goal per game, Doi has surpassed expectations with his current haul but stayed grounded.

“I keep working very hard every game to score one goal, two goals, and after the season, I have (reached) this number,” he added.

“What I did was to focus on every game, and that’s the most important thing. And in the end, if I can get a better (tally), it is better for me.”