SINGAPORE -- It took them over four months but, at the third time of asking, Lion City Sailors are up and running in the ASEAN Club Championship.
After suffering defeats in their opening two matches in Group B, conceding eight goals in the process, the Sailors finally notched a victory -- a comfortable 2-0 win over Kuala Lumpur City at Jalan Besar Stadium on Thursday -- to breathe life in their campaign.
The result means the Sailors are back in with a chance of making it out of the group stage of the tournament, keeping alive their hopes of glory on multiple fronts in what is shaping up to be a hectic second half of the season for them.
They are currently trailing Singapore Premier League leaders BG Tampines Rovers by three points but with three games in hand, are through to the AFC Champions League Two knockout round, and will be expected to contend for the yet-to-begin Singapore Cup.
As of Thursday, progress in the ASEAN Club Championship is back within reach.
"If we didn't, we would more or less be out [of the tournament]," said Sailors coach Aleksandar Ranković. "This keeps us in the tournament.
"Now we have one more home match [in this tournament] next against a very strong team [on Jan. 23]. Buriram [United] are one of the best teams, if not the best, in Southeast Asia.
"It's a great challenge but we love it. We love playing this kind of matches. We've proved we can match these teams.
"Great credit to my team. I think today we played the perfect game. We definitely deserved to win."
Despite their early troubles in the competition, the Sailors were completely in control of the proceedings -- undoubtedly benefitting from KL City's unfamiliarity with the artificial turf at Jalan Besar.
They would duly take the lead in the 26th minute when Bailey Wright showed good strength at the back post to hold off his marker head home a Song Ui-Young corner.
Six minutes after the hour mark, the contest was effectively ended when Maxime Lestienne broke free inside the area following a neat one-two with Bart Ramselaar before calmly slotting his shot past Azri Ghani.
The Sailors will now return to SPL action on Monday against DPMM FC and have another domestic tie with reigning champions Albirex Niigata (S) before resuming their ASEAN Club Championship campaign with another must-win clash against Buriram.
Although the Thai League 1 giants will pose a huge challenge, Lestienne believes they will have no reason to show any fear.
"For me, all these games are the same," said the Belgian. "We try to give our best every time.
"We know the quality we have. We can win every game if we give everything as long as we are focused. It doesn't matter who we play."