Singapore giants Lion City Sailors – boasting stars with European football experience in Maxime Lestienne, Toni Datkovic, Rui Pires, Bart Ramselaar, and Lennart Thy – were given a thorough thrashing at the Batakan Stadium in Balikpapan as Borneo FC Samarinda ran out 3-0 winners in their 2024/25 ASEAN Club Championship Group B opener on Thursday.
Leo Gaucho put Borneo ahead just three minutes into the match, and his Brazilian compatriot Berguinho extended the lead in the 20th minute. The Sailors faced an uphill battle when Pires received a red card, leaving them with 10 men for most of the second half. Gaucho then secured the win for Pieter Huistra’s Pesut Etam side with his second goal in the 80th minute.
Borneo wasted no time in taking the lead, with Gaucho opening his ACC tally by arriving unmarked at the far post to tap in a corner delivered by captain Stefano Lilipaly, just three minutes after the kickoff.
The Singaporean side thought they had an immediate equalizer, but Song Ui-young’s ninth-minute goal was disallowed for offside. Despite this setback, they continued to search for an equalizer, coming close twice in the 16th minute. First, Borneo goalkeeper Nadeo Argawinata made a crucial save to deny Datkovic’s header from a corner, and then Rui Pires’ follow-up shot hit the post.
Just four minutes later, Pires was involved again, but this time at the wrong end of the pitch. His mishit clearance from a Kei Hirose cross fell to Berguinho, who slotted a low shot under goalkeeper Izwan Mahbud, doubling Borneo’s lead to 2-0.
Sailors striker Thy tried to pull one back with a shot on the turn in the 26th minute, but Nadeo was up to the task, making another fine save. At the other end, Ronaldo Rodrigues had a goal disallowed due to a foul on Song in the build-up. Thy also had a goal ruled out for offside in the 41st minute, leaving the Sailors trailing by two goals at halftime.
Aleksandar Rankovic’s troubles deepened when Pires was shown a red card for a foul on Berguinho in the 52nd minute, forcing the Sailors to play the remainder of the match with 10 men.
Despite being a man down, the visitors continued to push forward, and Bart unleashed a powerful shot from inside the box, only for Nadeo to deny him once more. Borneo then had a goal disallowed in the 70th minute when Lilipaly was caught offside.
Ten minutes later, Borneo wrapped up the win with their third goal. Gaucho dispossessed Sailors captain Bailey Wright in the attacking third and cleverly chipped the ball over goalkeeper Mahbud to seal the 3-0 victory.
Group B’s other matches saw Vietnam’s Cong An Ha Noi stunning Thai giants Buriram United 2-1 at the Hang Day Stadium in Hanoi, while Kuala Lumpur City FC of Malaysia edge out Filipino champions Kaya FC-Iloilo 1-0 at the KLFA Stadium.