Reds beaten 5-0 by Lion City Sailors at Jalan Besar Stadium

It was a tough night at Jalan Besar Stadium for the Reds, who saw plenty of the ball but could not turn it into clear chances against a Sailors side that was sharp when it mattered.

The hosts struck early through Matthias Phaëton and were 3-0 up at the break. United regrouped at half-time with a triple change, but the result is one the Reds will want to put right. Full time: Lion City Sailors 5-0 Adelaide United at Jalan Besar Stadium.

First half

Adelaide United lined up in a 3-1-4-2 at Jalan Besar Stadium, but the Reds were rocked inside five minutes. Matthias Phaëton finished right-footed from the centre of the box into the bottom left corner after a fast break to make it 1-0 to the hosts.

Lion City kept the pressure on. Joshua Smits was called on in the ninth minute to save Lennart Thy’s right-footed effort from the centre of the box after Jorge Karse’s cross, and he stopped Toni Datković’s left-footed attempt from the left side of the box in the 17th minute.

The Sailors still doubled their lead from the corner that followed, Bailey Wright striking left-footed from the centre of the box into the bottom right corner. It was 2-0 on 17 minutes, and the Reds had it all to do.

United tried to build through the ball and had their moment in the 27th minute, when Juan Muñiz’s left-footed shot from the left side of the box was saved low by Victor Aznar after Brody Burkitt’s pass. Smits then denied Thy’s header from the centre of the box in the 33rd minute.

Four minutes before the break, Kyoga Nakamura made it 3-0, finishing left-footed from the centre of the box into the bottom left corner after Thy’s assist. Harry Crawford sent a right-footed effort too high in stoppage time after Luke Duzel’s pass, and the Reds went into the interval three goals down.

Second half

Airton Andrioli responded at the break with a triple change, Mitchell Smith, Joey Garuccio and Ben Folami coming on for Brody Burkitt, Luke Duzel and Anselmo de Moraes. The hosts made one switch of their own, Hariss bin Harun replacing Bailey Wright due to concussion.

Joshua Smits was called on early in the second half, saving Bart Ramselaar’s right-footed shot from outside the box in the 49th minute, and he kept out Matthias Phaëton’s effort from the right side of the box on 59. Folami then tested Victor Aznar from distance in the 67th minute after Juan Muñiz’s pass.

Lion City added to the lead with two goals in four minutes. Substitute Ilhan bin Fandi Ahmad finished right-footed from the left side of the six-yard box in the 71st minute to make it 4-0, and Phaëton completed his brace in the 75th, finishing into the bottom left corner from the right side of the box after Ramselaar’s pass on a fast break.

Andrioli made a second triple change, with the additional sub granted due to the Sailors enacting a concussion sub, in the 76th minute, with Jonny Yull, Fabian Talladira and Amlani Tatu on for Jay Barnett, Ryan Kitto and Muñiz. The Reds kept pushing and had their best spell between the 83rd and 85th minutes: Yull fired high and wide from Crawford’s cross, Talladira was denied by Aznar from close range, Yull had another effort blocked, and Tatu’s shot from the centre of the box was blocked after Smith’s pass.

Phaëton sent a penalty high and wide in the 88th minute before the Sailors made a late change. Ethan Alagich was booked for dissent in the 89th minute and Song Ui-Young was cautioned for time wasting in stoppage time, and after Folami had a right-footed effort blocked from the left side of the six-yard box deep into stoppage time, the final whistle confirmed a 5-0 defeat.

Full time

The 5-0 scoreline is not one the Reds will dress up. Lion City Sailors were clinical in front of goal, finishing with 18 shots to United’s 10 and putting 11 of them on target to Adelaide’s three. That gap in the final third told the story, and it leaves the Reds with a second defeat in as many meetings with the Sailors, after the 0-2 loss in the first match between the clubs.

There was still something to hold on to in how United went about it, though. The Reds had 52 per cent of possession and completed 326 of 400 passes against the hosts’ 288 of 353, and Joshua Smits made six saves to keep the margin from growing. Those numbers did not turn into clear chances, and that is the lesson to take from the night. Airton Andrioli’s side will want to regroup, bring that control into the final third and put it right over the rest of the AFC Champions League Two group stage.

Match details

Next match

Adelaide United’s next match is an AFC Champions League Two group-stage fixture away to Tai Po FC at Mong Kok Stadium on Thursday 26 November 2026, with kick-off at 10:45pm ACDT, and the Reds will be looking to bounce back against a side still searching for its first points of the group stage.