Despite being handed a 3-0 defeat on Matchday Three, the Lion City Sailors are talking about inflicting revenge on Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors when the two sides meet again on 8 November at the Jalan Bear Stadium.
The Sailors will line up at the Asian Football Confederation Champions League (ACL) against Jeonbuk in Matchday Four of the ACL 2023/24 group stage, and with an almost packed Jalan Besar Staduim to boot, they may be in with a chance for amends.
“I don’t think we did that bad,” said Manuel Herrera López, known simply as Súper looking back at the 3-0 defeat to the Korean side on 24 October at the Jeonju World Cup Stadium.
“We tried to execute what we worked on in training, but a small mistake or lapse in concentration became crucial, as they do in games like these.
“When you concede a goal in the first five minutes against a team that has such quality, things become very difficult,” he said on the Sailors official website.
“If we had gone into half time 0-0, they would’ve been in a rush, possibly making mistakes and we could have had more chances,” he said.
WILL THE JALAN BESAR STADIUM AID THE SAILORS CAUSE?
And on an artifical turf at Jalan Besar, the Sailors may just get their chance, given that Jeonbuk may also be in a atate of fatigue having played three matches over the last eight days.
“Every day since, I’ve been thinking about how I could have done better, and I’m sure my teammates are also thinking how they can improve, and help the team get a result.
“And I need revenge.”
Super believes the smaller Jalan Besar Stadium turf will be advantageous for the home side.
“It’s going to be a different game here because it is hotter here than in Korea, the field is smaller and we are playing on an artificial surface.
“Jeonbuk play really nice football, but we are going to make it tough for them,” he said, also adding that his side would be going all in to get the three points, so that they remain in the hunt for a place in the knockout rounds.
WORKING ON THEIR DEFENCE
In the opening match against Bangkok United, the Sailors lost 2-1 to the visitors, meaning that Super’s assertion about some kind of advantage may not exactly hold true though.
Sailors Head Coach Aleksandar Ranković (photo below) said at the pre-match conference that the team had been working on their defensive tactics ahead of the clash against the two-time ACL champions.
“In the away game, the defensive side was something we didn’t do well, especially the second balls we didn’t win.
“That’s something we’ve been working on for the last two weeks,” he said.
PHOTOS: LION CITY SAILORS
