Woodlands Wellington vs Super Reds [1-0]

Hammond spot on as Bears left fuming

Ong Jiing Yih
info@sleague.com

Super Reds coach Jeon Kyeong Joon bemoaned a game-deciding penalty as his side went down 0-1 to Woodlands Wellington on Friday.

Daniel Hammond’s 54th-minute spot kick proved the difference as Woodlands triumphed at Jalan Besar.

“We are not sad or disappointed about the loss, rather (we are disappointed with) the match referee who didn’t see things properly nor knew when to make right decisions. It wasn’t a penalty,” said Jeon.

“With the rhythm of the game being cut off, the players were left discouraged. They are not yet calm at the moment, but we’ll try to control (their emotions) before the League Cup comes along.”

The penalty aside, Woodlands still had to work to preserve the victory at the other end, and the central defensive pairing of Hammond and Precious Emuejeraye repelled everything the Koreans could throw at them.

The first warning sign sounded after four minutes. Choi Dong Soo and his skipper Yu Hyun Koo played a one-two during a short corner, with the latter putting his snap-shot over Rezal Hassan’s crossbar.

Park Kang Jin then stole in unnoticed, almost exploiting the misunderstanding between Rezal and right-back Anaz Hadee.

As the Bears knocked the ball about with supreme confidence they forced as many as four corners already in the opening ten minutes.

One such came about after Kim Shin Yui seemed certain to latch onto Park Han Seok’s precise through ball, but Emuejeraye was in no mood to let slip.

Chances came in thick and fast, as Kim Tae Young popped out moments later to fire wide from 25 yards.

The Rams’ ambitions rarely extended beyond their half, but Kim Yoon Sik’s handball on the edge of the box gave Woodlands captain Azlan Alipah the chance to break the deadlock.

But Kang did not even move in his goal after Azlan’s freekick sailed inches off target.

Still it was the Super Reds who were patiently stitching play both through the middle and down the flanks, and Yu once again tested Rezal from range.

Woodlands were not keen to simply play second fiddle, however, and Mojtaba Tehranizadeh just failed to make clean contact off a 32nd-minute cross by Ismadi Mukhtar.

That was as good as it got for the hosts in an eventful first half, after veteran goalkeeper Rezal made his first important save to keep the scores level at the break.

A clumsy foul by Hammond on Park Kang Jin brought about the set piece which Yu looked set to bend in towards goal.

To his credit Rezal was equal to the task, reading the flight of the ball immaculately and touching it onto the post before it flew clear.

The second half saw the first change by the Koreans as Shin Dae Kyung came into the fray for Yun Bo Young, with them looking to build on their promising first-half showing.

But the departure of their half-fit talisman probably ceded the initiative to Woodlands, who attacked harder and gradually grew in stature.

On 50 minutes, good work by Tehranizadeh and Jamil Ali set up Azlan for the perfect opportunity to prise open Kang’s goal. But any hopes were diminished due to a lack of conviction on the shot.

The next minute then witnessed a piece of positive play by the energetic Ismadi, taking on Kim Shin Yui at the near post before flashing an effort that bounced just wide of goal.

As time passed, the defining moment of the match finally arrived in the 54th minute.

Tehranizadeh tumbled in the box, sandwiched between both Kim Yoon Sik and Park Chul Hyung after what seemed an innocuous coming together of bodies.

But to the Super Reds’ amazement, the linesman flagged and referee Zaid Hussein pointed to the spot.

Following a second attempt from the spot, Hammond sent Kang the wrong way to put Woodlands in the lead.

Having been under the cosh for much of the game until that point, Woodlands held the aces from then on and had the Reds on the rack.

But the away side refused to lie down, and after Lee Du Ri blasted his attempt skywards, Park Kang Jin spared Woodlands from embarrassment after failing to take proper aim, having chested down a Kim Tae Young cross.

The same player then drew a magnificent one-handed save from Rezal having found obscene amounts of space in the Woodlands box on 62 minutes.

Stout defending then saw the colossal Emuejeraye save the day with another crucial block.

Jalal was next to prove his worth to his team, standing between Choi and a headed goal as he cleared the ball off the line after 70 minutes.

Woodlands hung on grimly after another effort on goal saw Rezal cling onto Kim Yoon Sik’s diving header.

Unfortunately for the Bears, their cause was well and truly lost after a fatal lapse in the defence left them with ten men in the 83rd minute.

Shin failed to keep track of substitute midfielder Kamal Nasir, who seemed certain to run his way on goal, and as he stretched out a despairing arm to bring down the latter, the referee had no choice but to send him off for a professional foul.

The subsequent freekick saw Jalal pick his spot, but he sent the ball sailing harmlessly over the crossbar instead.

Try as Woodlands might to see out the four minutes of stoppages, they had to endure one last moment of discomfort after Choi swung his right foot and curled over from just inside the box.

Nenad Bacina was delighted with the win, against a Super Reds side which he pegged as the best in the S.League.

“First of all I’d like to congratulate the players including the bench. It is time for us to be lucky after recent games. The lads worked very hard and therefore deserved the win.

“The Koreans controlled for much of the game, and they tackled and passed perfectly. We couldn’t chase so we dropped back and waited for the counterattack," said the Croatian.

“A good thing to note was that we did not concede a goal, which is most important.”