Woodlands vs DPMM FC Report [2-1]

Rams claim first home win

Ko Po Hui
info@sleague.com

Goals from Mojtaba Tehranizadeh and Jamil Ali helped Woodlands Wellington to their first win at home this term, as they held off DPMM FC to record a 2-1 victory.

Abu Bakar Makari pulled one back just a minute after the Rams duo had sent the home side into a 2-0 lead, to set up a close finale on a wet and heavy Woodlands pitch.

But the Rams hung on to leave coach Nenad Bacina savouring the three points. “I’m too excited to say anything now!” he smiled.

“I have been telling my players that every game is like a war, and they are facing a problem mentally in that we have been playing well in some games but dropping points at the same time.

“I congratulate my players for tonight’s win over DPMM as they are one of the top teams, and by beating them it proved we can actually play,” Bacina added.

On a sodden surface, it was no surprise to see both teams starting cautiously.

After a mundane opening, the game witnessed its first piece of end-to-end action in the 10th minute.

Woodlands man Jalal curled a freekick onto the head of towering team-mate Daniel Hammond, but the Englishman’s header was tame.

That allowed DPMM to launch a counter-attack, which led to Algerian Abdel Hamid Berguiga’s effort from outside the box being fumbled by Woodlands keeper Rezal Hassan, only for Ismadi Mukhtar to clear off the line.

The Bruneians grew into the dominant side of the match with much of the possession, but failed to convert a series of chances they created.

No such problem for Woodlands, who went into the lead in the 33rd minute despite having been on the back foot for most of the half.

Tehranizadeh’s diving header from close range sent the Woodlands supporters into celebration, as the Iranian himself sprinted off to mark his third goal of the season.

The Rams could have doubled their lead in the 39th minute when Jamil floated a cross from the left, but Tehranizadeh missed the target by a few inches.

The man nicknamed ‘Moshee’ was again denied in the 54th minute when he was sent through into the Bruneians’ penalty area by Jamil’s intelligent ball, but his effort was poor.

Four minutes later Berguiga was again in the thick of action when he outsmarted the burly Precious Emuejeraye, but Hammond was in quickly to clear.

The hosts doubled their lead in the 64th minute through Jamil, as the livewire midfielder fired in on the second attempt after his first shot was blocked by DPMM skipper Sallehuddin Damit.

Barely a minute later, the visitors reduced the deficit when Abu Bakar cruised past the static Emuejeraye, and beat Rezal for 2-1.

Woodlands began to protect the lead by putting numbers at the back, and the Bruneians could find no way through en route to just their second defeat of the season.

But even in defeat, DPMM coach Vjeran Simunic did not pass up an opportunity to glorify his side.

“Look at Woodlands! They celebrated as if they beat Chelsea!” laughed Simunic.

“If Woodlands played like this every time, they would have been second in the league. But they don’t, they wait till we come.

“It was a tough pitch to play on, and I complained we were not given a penalty, not once but thrice during the game. If we got the penalties, the win will be ours.

“But we should be satisfied with our performance as we are still within our target (of a top three place),” added the Croatian.