Sailors squander two-goal lead to lose 3-2 to Persib

What started out as a promising evening that could have sealed qualification to the Asian Football Confederation Champions League Two's round of 16 turned out to be a nightmare for the Lion City Sailors as they capsized after blowing a 2-0 lead.

- David Lee

In a turbulent last 15 minutes at the Jalan Besar Stadium, Indonesia's Persib Bandung scored thrice to win 3-2, a result which saw Group F blown wide open, as Thailand's Port FC came from behind to beat Zhejiang 2-1 in China.

With nine points after four games, Port now lead Group F of the revamped second-tier continental club competition, with the Sailors dropping to second on seven points.

Persib are third with four points, while Zhejiang are bottom with three. The top two will advance to the last 16.

A defiant Sailors coach Aleksandar Rankovic referred to their remaining games against Zhejiang (Nov 28, away) and Port (Dec 5, home) as "two finals".

He said: "Football can be cruel... We have to keep the ball a little bit longer and not to look for a third goal if it's not there.

"They (Persib) looked like they gave up at 2-0, and we brought them back into the game, so that's on us."

In front of 3,152 fans, the Singapore Premier League leaders set out to stamp their authority with a bright start and were rewarded with a neat ninth-minute opener.