Lion City Sailors beat Sydney FC 2-0 in semi-final shock victory

In a commanding display at Jalan Besar Stadium on Apr. 9, Lion City Sailors triumphed 2-0 over Australia's Sydney FC in the first leg of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League (ACL) Two semi-final match.

The two goals were scored by midfielder Bart Ramselaar and striker Lennart Thy.

The result positions the club favourably ahead for the return leg in Sydney on Apr. 16.

"Tonight was an amazing performance": Sailors' head coach

While both teams had reportedly started the game with caution, Ramselaar scored the first goal for the Sailors 18 minutes into proceedings after getting a pass from left-back player Diogo Costa.

The goal ignited cheers and celebrations among the 4,213 supporters in attendance.

Thyy later fired a goal into the roof of the net from a tight angle eight minutes into the second half, after receiving the ball from Costa.

This marked his 10th goal in his last six appearances across all competitions.

In a post-match press conference, the football club's head coach Aleksandar Rankovic praised the collective effort of his team.

"Tonight was an amazing performance – every player, whether starting or coming off the bench, understood the assignment and executed our plan perfectly. That makes my job much easier, and I couldn’t be prouder of the boys," he said.

Second leg in Sydney

The Sailors have scored at least two goals in eight of their 11 ACL Two matches, taking their tournament tally to 25.

Despite the advantage, Thy emphasised the importance of focus ahead of the second leg.

"We can all be happy with the performance we put in today... but there are still 90 minutes to go in Sydney. None of us are thinking about easing off," he added.

The second leg of the semi-final is scheduled for Apr. 16 at the Sydney Football Stadium.

In the meantime, the team will face off against Brunei DPMM in a Singapore Premier League (SPL) match on Apr. 12.

In a Facebook post shared on Apr. 10, Lion City Sailors thanked supporters at the Jalan Besar Stadium on Apr. 9: "You were the ultimate 12th man, bringing the noise - loud and proud with us all the way till the final whistle. This victory is for you and we go again next week in Sydney!"

Top photos via Lion City Sailors Football Club/Facebook