9月26日に喜熨斗勝史監督を解任したスランゴールが、その後任に選んだのは元スリ・パハン監督などの経験もあるフランス人のクリストファー・ギャメル氏でした。監督代行就任からわずか5日のギャメル氏の初の試合がこのACL2第2節です。KUALA LUMPUR: Selangor’s new coach Christophe Gamel is determined to break the duck in the Asian Champions League 2 (ACL 2) when they face Singapore’s Lion City Sailors in a Group G clash at the Bishan Stadium tomorrow.
The Frenchman, who replaced Japanese Katsuhito Kinoshi last week, admitted that having only four days with the team has not been ideal, but he remains optimistic of a positive result.
“I’ve had just four days with the team and one game in between — not enough time, but in football, we all crave for time,” said the 53-year-old.
“The boys have to be motivated and compensate for the lack of time with more energy, motivating themselves and being motivated in the game. I can’t complain about that. It’s our job to try to make it happen no matter the conditions, and I trust them.”
Gamel stressed that he does not want to be compared with his predecessor, Katsuhito, who had set the target of reaching the knockout stage.
“I don’t compare myself with anyone. Our main priority is Selangor. It is difficult at the moment to talk about finishing first or second because we have zero points.”
The Red Giants are bottom of Group G after losing their opening match 4-2 to leaders Buriram United on Sept 18. However, recent wins against Singapore (2-1) in the Sultan of Selangor Cup and Tampines Rovers (4-2) in the Asean Club Championship could boost their confidence.
“First, we go for three points, then we can make better decisions,” said Gamel.
KUALA LUMPUR: Brazilian striker Anderson Lopes was the star of the show for Lion City Sailors (LCS) as they sank Selangor 4-2 in their Asian Champions League 2 (ACL 2) Group G clash at the Bishan Stadium on Wednesday.
After kicking off their ACL 2 campaign with a similar 4-2 defeat to Bangkok United on Sept 18, the Red Giants need a positive result to improve their standing in Group G.
Their leaky backline was exposed as early as the sixth minute when Lopes headed home following a swift counterattack and just six minutes later, the striker struck again for the Lions.
The match was then suspended for almost two hours in the 31st minute due to heavy rain, but upon resumption the Red Giants pulled one back through a Chrigor Moraes’ spot kick.
Just before the half-time whistle, Lopes completed his hat-trick to restore LCS’ two-goal cushion.
The Brazilian forward remained a constant menace and added a fourth goal barely into the second half, calmly finishing from Bart Ramselaar’s pass in the 54th minute.
Christophe Gamel’s men, however, refused to give in, with Noor Al Rawabdeh rattling the crossbar a minute later, much to the relief of goalkeeper Ivan Susak.
Their persistence finally paid off in the 73rd minute when Faisal Halim cleverly evaded his marker to slot in Selangor’s second of the night.
But the fight back proved insufficient as LCS quickly shored up their defence and held on to a comfortable win top Group G with four points, while the winless Selangor are bottom without a point.
KUALA LUMPUR: Selangor continue to struggle to gain points in this season’s Asian Champions League 2 (ACL2) after losing 2-4 to Singapore club Lion City Sailors in the second match of Group G at Bishan Stadium, a short while ago.
This was the second consecutive defeat suffered by the Red Giants squad in the tournament after losing by the same score to Thailand’s representative, Bangkok United, in the first match at the Petaling Jaya City Council Stadium (MBPJ), on September 18.
The result saw Selangor, currently managed by interim head coach Christophe Gamel, continue to struggle in the bottom position of the group after failing to pick up any points after two matches.
In the action just now, Lion City Sailors, who are also the leaders of the Singapore Premier League, started fiercely when they took a two-goal lead early in the game thanks to Anderson Lopes’ goals in the seventh and 13th minutes.
The match was, however, delayed for more than an hour after the referee was forced to stop play in the 31st minute due to bad weather.
Selangor managed to close the gap six minutes after the match resumed through a penalty kick by Chrigor Moraes, but the spirit of Gamel’s men to continue their comeback was slightly dampened when Lopes completed a hat-trick in first-half injury time.
In fact, the Brazilian-born striker continued to cheer up The Sailors squad when he scored the fourth goal in the 54th minute after cleverly finishing off Bart Ramselaar’s pass.
Selangor continued to fight back and scored a second goal through their captain, Faisal Halim, in the 73rd minute, but it was not enough to prevent the Lion City Sailors from winning.
The victory allowed Lion City Sailors to move to the top of the group with four points, pending the result of another match between Bangkok United and Persib Bandung.