Lion City Sailors beat Adelaide United 0-2 to top ACL Two Group F
Hugo Gomes and Lennart Thy struck late as Singapore's Sailors went top of ACL Two Group F at Hindmarsh; Adelaide started Amlani Tatu and introduced South Sudan's Ajak Riak on 70 minutes.
By Emily · 29 Oct 2026, 13:20 WAT
Lion City Sailors beat Adelaide United 0-2 at Hindmarsh Stadium (Coopers Stadium) on Thursday 29 October to go top of AFC Champions League Two Group F, the Asian Football Confederation and AAP reported. Hugo Gomes scored on 80 minutes and substitute Lennart Thy added a stoppage-time second for the Singapore Premier League champions.
The result lifts Mark Jackson's Sailors onto seven points from three Group F matches, one clear of Adelaide at the halfway mark of the group phase. Adelaide had started the ACL Two campaign unbeaten at home in Asia until the late strikes ended that run, AAP noted.
Sailors dominated large stretches. Matthias Phaëton forced an early save from Josh Smits; Hugo Gomes headed against the post from Kyoga Nakamura's cross; Ilhan Fandi struck the bar from another corner. Fandi later had a finish ruled out for offside. Adelaide's best first-half counters fell to teenager Amlani Tatu, who blazed wide after Brody Burkitt's shot was saved and then missed from about eight metres with the net open after a Victor Aznar parry, AAP's match report said.
Gomes finally broke the deadlock from a Giovanni Haag corner: his first header was blocked and he tucked in the rebound on 80 minutes. Deep in added time Bailey Wright cleared off the line for Adelaide, but the counter released Phaëton, who slipped in Thy to chip Smits and seal 0-2. Adelaide coach Airton Andrioli told AAP his side were "quite off" in the first half and "fortunate" to reach the break level; Jackson praised Sailors for courage to the end.
For TuSport's African audience the exclusive framing is who wore Adelaide red. Burundi-descended Australian U-17 forward Amlani Tatu started and was central to the Reds' clearest chances before the hour; South Sudan international Ajak Riak replaced him on 70 minutes, according to match line-ups carried with the ACL Two board. Both belong to Adelaide's African-heritage pathway that ABC News has previously profiled around Tatu's generation.
That diaspora desk read sits beyond a bare ACL Two scoreline. A Singapore title-holder climbs Group F in Adelaide while two African-linked Reds — a Burundi-heritage starter and a South Sudan capped substitute — feature in the home defeat. Nigerian and African readers following Asian club nights get who scored, when, where, and which African pipelines were on the pitch.
Kick-off was Thursday night in Adelaide — evening WAT the same day. TuSport is not predicting the rest of Group F. Locked facts: Hindmarsh/Coopers, Gomes 80', Thy stoppage time, Sailors 7 points and top, Tatu started, Riak on at 70', AFC and AAP as primary boards.
Sources: www.the-afc.com · aapnews.aap.com.au · www.abc.net.au · adelaideunited.com.au
