Lion City Sailors denied at final hurdle as Sharjah FC clinch AFC Champions League Two title at Bishan

Lion City Sailors' Bart Ramselaar has his shot closed down by Sharjah FC's Shahin Abdulrahman and Khaled Ibrahim in the ACL2 final. ST PHOTO: ARIFFIN JAMAR

Lion City Sailors denied at final hurdle as Sharjah FC clinch AFC Champions League Two title at Bishan

SINGAPORE – The Lion City Sailors’ bid to become the first club from Singapore to win a continental title came to an agonising end on May 18.

Despite fervent support from a capacity crowd of 9,737 at the Bishan Stadium, the Sailors were edged out 2-1 by Emirati heavyweights Sharjah FC in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League Two final.

The tight encounter saw the Sailors enjoy most of the chances, but it was Sharjah who made the breakthrough in the 74th minute.

Brazil-born attacker Caio Lucas was afforded enough space and time to pick out the overlapping Khaled Ibrahim at the far post who then pulled it back for Tunisian international Firas Ben Larbi to finish past Izwan Mahbud.

Belgian winger Maxime Lestienne looked to have sent the game into extra time when he stepped up in the second of 11 minutes of added time with a strike from just outside the box.

But Sharjah restored their advantage with Marcus Meloni dribbling past Sailors’ defenders and finding the far corner of Izwan’s net in the seventh minute of added time, as their 500 travelling fans erupted in sheer delirium.

The Sailors, who became Singapore’s first privatised football team in 2020, had already made history by being the first team from the Republic to ever feature in a continental final.

Their journey to the final started with them topping Group F ahead of 2023 Chinese Super League second runners-up Zhejiang Professional, Thai League 1’s third-placed Port FC and Indonesia Liga 1 champions Persib Bandung.

In the knockout rounds, there was a convincing aggregate win over Muangthong United from Thailand in the round of 16 before lady luck shone on them, as they were able to turn a 6-1 quarter-final, first-leg loss to Sanfrecce Hiroshima into a 3-0 win after the Japanese side fielded an ineligible player. They then held the Japanese side to a brave 1-1 draw at home.

In the semi-finals, the Sailors came through with a 2-1 aggregate win over Australia’s Sydney FC.

Having clinched the 2024-25 Singapore Premier League title on May 10, they are still on course for a double, though. They will face DPMM in a two-legged Singapore Cup semi-final on May 21 and May 27.

Full match report to follow.

Deepanraj Ganesan is a sports journalist at The Straits Times focusing on football, athletics, combat sports and policy-related news.

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