Lion City Sailors hold Japan's Sanfrecce to second-leg draw, progress to AFC Champions League 2 semis

SINGAPORE: The Lion City Sailors continued their remarkable voyage into uncharted territory on Wednesday (Mar 12) after progressing to the Asian Football Confederation Champions League 2 semifinals.

The Singapore side registered a 1-1 draw with Sanfrecce Hiroshima at the Jalan Besar Stadium in the second leg of the quarterfinals to win 4-1 on aggregate.

The Sailors will next face either Sydney FC or South Korean side Joenbuk FC. The Australian side have a 2-0 lead going into the second leg.

The Singapore Premier League club had been awarded a 3-0 win in the first leg of the quarter-finals, as the Japanese side had played French forward Valere Germain, who was supposed to be serving a three-match suspension. Sanfrecce was also fined US$1,000.

The player came on as a substitute to score Sanfreecce's fifth goal in the match on Mar 5 which the Sailors lost 6-1.

But things threatened to unravel early on as the Sailors suffered an early blow in the 14th minute when the mecurial Maxime Lestienne was stretchered off.

But the home side looked hungry, and they created the first clear-cut chance of the game only for Lennard Thy to head over after a good cross from the left.

But Thy would make no mistake in the 20th minute after cushioning an excellent pass from substitute Shawal Anuar and arrowing a shot into the bottom corner.

While Sailors’ custodian Izwan Mahmud was largely untroubled early on, he was called into action midway through the first half and responded with a smart save from a Shuto Nakano effort.

The away side would restore parity in the 35th minute though as Yotaro Nakajima bent a superb freekick into the bottom corner with Izwan stranded.

And while the Japanese side threatened, a combination of solid defending and wayward