SINGAPORE – Despite a raft of new signings, it was old hands Maxime Lestienne and Shawal Anuar who delivered for the Lion City Sailors on May 4, when they beat Singapore Premier League (SPL) defending champions Albirex Niigata 2-0 in the Community Shield.

At the Jalan Besar Stadium, reigning Player of the Year Lestienne set up Shawal’s well-taken opener in the 43rd minute, before earning a penalty which he converted in the 82nd minute.

A satisfied Sailors coach Aleksandar Rankovic is already looking forward to the new SPL season that kicks off with their match against Hougang United on May 10 at Jalan Besar.

The 45-year-old Serb said: “I always call Shawal the MVP (most valuable player). Every time he started or came on from the bench last season, he delivered. I’m very happy to have this kind of players who know the league well.

“The newcomers just have to adapt and follow. We controlled the game and allowed only one shot on target that was a free kick. I expected more chances for us, but I’m happy we won the Shield.

“Coaches always say they want their teams to peak from the start but, from my experience, that’s not the case and you peak after four or five games as we have to get used to the new players that play for us and also the other teams. But we have to set the fundamentals right now.”

Determined to regain the SPL title they last won in 2021, Singapore Cup winners Sailors showcased their expensively assembled team – who included additions such as Croatian defender Toni Datkovic, South Korea-born midfielder Song Ui-young, Australian forward Obren Kljajic and Dutch playmaker Bart Ramselaar – in front of 4,148 fans.

While the defence stayed solid and the attack was lively, it was Lestienne who picked out Shawal’s run with a lofted pass from midfield.

The Singaporean winger-turned-striker, who turned 33 on April 29, brought down the ball with an exquisite first touch before rifling past Hassan Sunny.

Shawal, who scored 16 goals in 33 games in his first season with the Sailors in 2023, will be expected to fill the boots left by Richairo Zivkovic.

He said: “As a striker now, I get the ball, I must finish, that’s my mindset.

“I’m happy to play as a striker, but I’ll play where the coach wants me to.”

The Sailors sat deeper and looked to hit Albirex on the counter-attack.

Their plan worked as the Video Assistant Referee backed Clarence Leow’s decision to award the Sailors a soft-looking penalty after Lestienne’s run was adjudged to have been obstructed by Amy Recha.

The Belgian then stepped up to send Hassan the wrong way.

The White Swans missed a golden opportunity to get back into the game in the 90th minute when Zharfan Rohaizad parried Yohei Otake’s free kick into Gareth Low’s path, only for the left-back to blaze the loose ball over with the goal gaping.

This may have been a glorified friendly that saw $30,000 raised for the Beyond Social Services charity, but the competitiveness was evident in a second-half incident when Rankovic ran into his opponents’ technical area to confront Albirex coach Kazuaki Yoshinaga, who was annoyed by Sailors defender Lionel Tan’s challenge on his player.

But Rankovic, who shook hands with the Japanese coach after the game, played down the incident.

He said: “These things happen and sometimes it’s good. There’s no bad feeling... It’s not something that’s planned for but maybe the players and the crowd need a little bit of such excitement.”

Yoshinaga will be looking at attacking solutions if Albirex are to retain their SPL title after they transformed from a Japanese side to a local team after last season.

While the backline led by Stevia Mikuni defended well, the likes of former Japan international midfielder Yojiro Takahagi struggled to create opportunities for striker Shuhei Hoshino.

The 56-year-old Japanese coach said: “I don’t think there is much of a difference between the challenge of leading this team compared to last season’s team.

“I just need to change the way I communicate with the players.

“We did better than I expected in some areas. But we couldn’t score, so we need to improve on our attack, and we can do better in terms of fighting spirit.”