Lion City Sailors and Tampines Rovers avoid Asian heavyweights in ACL Two draw

SINGAPORE – The rebranded 2024-25 Asian Football Confederation Champions League (ACL) Two competition has yet to kick off, but Singapore Premier League teams Lion City Sailors and BG Tampines Rovers would already have cause for optimism.

Both sides avoided clubs from powerhouses Australia, Japan and South Korea in an Aug 16 draw in Kuala Lumpur for the new second-tier continental club competition.

The ACL Two will see 32 teams in eight groups playing a home-and-away round-robin format from Sept 17 to Dec 5.

The top two teams from each group will advance to the knockout stages.

The Sailors, who qualified for the competition as the top-ranked local side in the 2023 SPL, are in Group F along with China Super League second runners-up Zhejiang Professional, Indonesia’s Liga 1 champions Persib Bandung and Port FC, Thai League 1’s third-placed side.

Incidentally, Port recently signed Lions defender Irfan Fandi.

Tampines are in Group G with Thai FA Cup holders Bangkok United, Hong Kong Premier League champions Lee Man FC and V-League 1 champions Nam Dinh FC.

Japan’s Sanfrecce Hiroshima will have Australia’s Sydney FC, Kaya FC-Iloilo of the Philippines and Hong Kong’s Eastern Sports Club for company in Group E.

Group H comprises South Korea’s Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, Malaysia’s Selangor FC, Thailand’s Muangthong United and Dynamic Herb Cebu of the Philippines.

For the Sailors, it will be a case of building on their last two continental campaigns, in which they produced notable results despite being unable to reach the knockout stages.

During their debut ACL campaign in 2022, the Sailors made history as the first SPL team to defeat a K-League 1 side when they beat Daegu FC 3-0.

The following year, they caused another upset with a 2-0 victory over two-time ACL winners Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors.

Sailors coach Aleksandar Rankovic, who had his first taste of ACL in that campaign, said they had “showed in the majority of those matches that we can be very competitive, and that we can go toe-to-toe with the best of Asia”.

“The target for this season is to build on that foundation and outdo ourselves at this level,” he added.

Captain Hariss Harun said while his team avoided Asian heavyweights, there is “no easy draw at this level”.

Emphasising the need for “everyone to play their part”, given that the Sailors are also competing for honours in the SPL, Singapore Cup and the Asean Club Championship (Shopee Cup), he added: “There is no easy group. It is an opportunity for us this time to take a next step.

“We have the experience of the past two campaigns, so we have to use that and try to make it to the next round.”

Tampines, meanwhile, will look to put on a respectable showing this time around.

In their last continental outing at this level three years ago, they had a chastening experience.

Making their debut in Asia’s premier club tournament in 2021, the Stags lost all six matches with one goal scored and 27 conceded, finishing behind group winners Jeonbuk, runners-up Gamba Osaka of Japan and Thailand’s Chiangrai United.

Stags coach Gavin Lee admitted that the SPL is still the priority for his side, who are leading the nine-team local league, even though they hope to “showcase our quality” on the continent.

Lee said: “It’s very exciting, because we as a club, we really look forward to competing on the regional stage.

“Yes, we don’t have to travel big distances to face clubs in Australia, China or Japan...

“But we cannot underestimate anyone within the region, even closer to home.

“We are expecting six very difficult games.”