Money Not Enough

The two best teams in Singapore; Lion City Sailors and Albirex Niigata combined to play out a thriller in front of a raucous crowd at Jurong East Stadium. When the dust had settled; it was Albirex who came away with a statement 4-2 victory; and it is now in their hands as to the destiny of the championship.

These two teams always seem to serve up a stormer; and it was no different this time as Anumanthan Kumar struck with a surprise volley midway through the first half to put the Sailors in front. Just like in their previous fixture though; the Japanese side stormed back and even took the lead as in-form striker Kodei Tanaka rose high to head home Masaya Idetsu's lovely cross; then proceeded to cut inside and score a lovely long-range effort to stun the Sailors.

The second half might have seen the Sailors come storming back to level; but instead it was Albirex who pressed with high intensity; and their efforts were rewarded when midfielder Kan Kobayashi surprised all by striking home at the near post. The Sailors' star man; substitute Kim Shin Wook did well to reduce the arrears with a sharp volley; but Albirex have their own star man; as substitute Tadanari Lee rose unmolested to head home another brilliant Idetsu cross.

In the end the truth was clear. The Lion City Sailors were giving each other blistering looks every time a mistake was made; and overall were playing like a bunch of over-inflated egos. On the other had; you had Albirex; who were playing for each other and showing great commitment and teamwork. And that's how you win football matches.