What Can We Tell From The Singapore Community Shield 2022

Credit: playmaker.sg

The start of the 2022 Singapore Premier League season is here and it started with the community shield up for grabs. What a great start it has been with two of the title contenders battling it out.

But has it been the same or is it definitely something different this time? What can we tell from this community shield match that can predict the outcome of the league come november 2022?

I'm going to attempt to use data from the match to forecast the trajectory!

Fact #1. This is a different Albirex side

The sad news is that Albirex cleared almost all of their first 11 squad with the exception of Koga. This totally revamped side had to start from zero and looks like they've got some catching up to do as compared to last year's team.

fig1. 2022 Albirex Set Piece Areas

fig2. 2021 Albirex Set Piece Areas

Albirex had 3 +2 set pieces earned in LCS's half in 2022 as compared to 4 +4 in 2021(for both halves e.g. 1 in first half, 2 in second half is shortened to 1+2). This is lower than the last time they met.

fig3. 2022 Albirex Shots

fig4. 2021 Albirex Shots

Despite having star striker Tadanari Lee(Chung), Albirex had 4 shots on-target compared to 7 shots on-target for 2021.

fig5. 2022 Albirex 1st Half Pass Heatmaps

fig6. 2022 Albirex 2nd Half Pass Heatmaps

In terms of passing, Albirex passes more from the left-side of the pitch with their chief creators coming from Omori and Sugita. As compared to 2021, the flanks were dominant on the right-side of the pitch if not evenly balanced. Do take note of the lack of forays near the byline from the team in 2022.

fig7. 2021 Albirex 2nd Half Pass Heatmaps

fig8. 2021 Albirex 2nd Half Pass Heatmaps

Fact #2. The Sailors are more penetrative in attack

In my previous article, I've shown the possession stats for the Sailors in the 2021 match between these two teams. The "bellcurve diagrams" from their stats showed that their midfield was pretty bad at keeping the ball. Over in this 2022 match, we've seen a marked difference in their retention of the ball.

fig9. 2022 LCS possession percentage

fig10. 2022 LCS possession percentage in 2nd Half

The Sailors showed encouraging signs of (a)losing much less of the ball within their own half, and (b)losing more possession in the opponents half demonstrates the incredible amount of penetration they had in the opponents half.

This is a farcry from their performance in 2021. Here's another gauge for their sharp improvement in attack.

fig11. 2022 Key passes

fig12. 2021 Key passes

Both teams actually showed a marked improvement in providing alot of ammo for their forwards but LCS's numbers just blew me out of the water.

fig13. This list provides us with the players with the vision to create keypasses/thru-balls.

Hailing from LCS, we have 3 players with a keen eye. Harris leads the pack with 9, Shinwook & Tajeli at 5 each. After that we have 4 each from Shahdan and Kan Kobayashi(Albirex). The disparity is quite clear.

Fact #3. The Sailors are still solid in defense

fig14. LCS had 60 interceptions in the first half

fig15. LCS had 50 interceptions in the first half

I expected this especially considering they did the same last year when battling with Albirex. The stout defending was quite good. My personal opinion is that Song, Hafiz Nor, Shinwook's tenacity to intercept high up the pitch has also affected the heatmap for the 2nd half.

Conclusion:

I might have overestimated Albirex and underestimated LCS. LCS looks like the team to beat this year as of now. We'll just have to see how they perform against other title contenders like Hougang and Tampines. Meanwhile, Albirex looks like they could be fighting for 4th spot with Tanjong Pagar & Balestier.

**Here are some other data-tables which you can take some time to browse!

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