Singapore’s Lion City Sailors stun Australia’s Sydney FC in first leg of AFC Champions League Two semis

SINGAPORE: A Bart Ramselaar thunderbolt on a rain-slicked Wednesday (Apr 9) set the Lion City Sailors on course for a famous upset as they stunned Sydney FC 2-0 in the first leg of the AFC Champions League Two semi-finals.

The 18th-minute Ramselaar strike and a Lennart Thy goal mean that the Sailors remain on course to make the finals.

At a packed Jalan Besar Stadium, it was the away side that dominated proceedings early on as they dictated both the play and tempo, pegging the Sailors back.

Sydney had beaten South Korea's Jeonbuk 5-2 over two legs in the quarterfinals. But the Singapore side have shown that they can go up against the very best and almost went ahead in the 16th minute.

A Shawal Anuar flick-on found the onrushing Thy but he could not take it past the Sydney goalkeeper Harrison Devenish-Meares.

If that served as a warning, the away side clearly did not take heed.

Two minutes later came the moment of brilliance from Ramselaar, as he collected the ball from the wing, took one touch and hammered an unstoppable effort off the underside of the crossbar.

And it was the home side who looked the more likely to take the win as the half wore on. Full-back Diogo Costa, in particular, threatened with his pace and power, wrecking havoc down the left.

The closest Sydney came in the first 45 was a free kick from ex-Brazilian international Douglas Costa that whizzed over.

The Sailors came out of the break with the same hunger and were rewarded in the 53th minute as an immaculate ball from Diogo Costa found Thy and he rifled home from a tight angle to send the partisan home crowd into delirium.

Thy had the chance to make an impressive showing exceptional late on, as he latched on to a through ball, but his shot was well blocked by