The Warriors are just one step away from qualifying for the AFC Champions League group stage after a convincing 3-0 win over Indonesia's Sriwijaya at the Jalan Besar Stadium on Saturday (30 Jan).

A similar result in a week's time against Thailand's Muangthong United will see the Warriors qualify for the lucrative continental competition for the second time.

Despite this being their first competitive game of the season with seven players making their debuts, the Warriors took the game to Sriwijaya and opened accounts after just seven minutes.

A cross by Federico Martinez from the right eluded almost everyone in the centre and finds Warriors' Japanese winger Taisuke Akiyoshi, 21, who unleashed a half-volley which Sriwijaya goalkeeper Feri Rotinsulu couldn't keep out.

An early goal was exactly what the team needed in their first game. The Warriors looked lively upfront with their movement and possession play.

However, Sriwijaya started to get their grip back on the game and could have equalised if not for poor finishing.

Akiyoshi, who was coach Richard Bok's Man-of-the-Match, then tilted the game in the Warriors' favour when he earned a penalty after he was brought down in the box by Christian Worabai in the 62nd minute.

Worabai received his marching orders for that and up stepped Federico Martinez to take the spot kick.

A penalty might seem an easy way for him to open his accounts in the SAFFC shirt, but it wasn't. The referee ordered for the kick to be re-taken and Martinez had to keep his cool to convert again.

Sriwijaya almost clawed their way back with 10 minutes left when Richard Obiora blasted a rebound over the goal after Warriors' goalkeeper Rezal Hassan, who took the place of the suspended Shahril Jantan, had done well to nullify Liberian midfielder Zah Rahan's effort.  

The Warriors were then given another penalty in the 89th minute. This time, Indra stepped up to take the kick, but had it saved before the referee ordered for it to be re-taken again, adjudging that goalkeeper Feri had moved off his line prematurely.

This time, Indra made it count. 

Sriwijaya coach Rahmad Darmawan believed his team didnt' play too badly, but were let down by poor finishing.

He said: “That is the problem for my team and homework for me.

“We showed good motivation and before we went down to 10 men I believed we would be able to score. Even with 10 men, we had good possession but it was more difficult then.

“Our strikers will just have to be more composed and not rush their shots. With our past experience in the Champions League, we must now aim to do well in the AFC Cup.”   

Warriors coach Richard Bok believes there is still room for improvement. He said: “We certainly did well and the result is a morale booster which will give us a lot of confidence for the coming season.

“We need to work on things defensively and there is still a lot of improvement to come. For the whole team, with more games under the belt, we’ll definitely get better. 

“If we play to our true potential, I dare say we will be even better than last year.”

Richard also paid tribute to Akiyoshi. He said: “He showed a lot of energy running down the left with his ability to take on players and getting into danger areas.”

Akiyoshi passed the compliments to the team instead. He said: "I think we did well because every one played their role today. I hope we will put our effort together again so that we will also win the next game."

The Warriors will play either Vietnam's SHB Da Nang or Thailand's Muangthong United at the Jalan Besar Stadium next Saturday for a place in the AFC Champions League group stages.

But for now, the focus will be on the league opener against Geylang United on Wednesday at the Choa Chu Kang Stadium.

Team: Rezal Hassan (GK), Mohd Noh Rahman, Ivan Lovric, Daniel Bennett, Shaiful Esah, Ahmad Latiff (Mustaqim Manzur 77th), John Wikinson (C), Niklas Sandberg, Taisuke Akiyoshi, Indra Sahdan, Federico Martinez (Rhysh Roshan Rai 82nd)

Referee: Ben Williams (Australia)

Crowd: 2,057