Woodlands Wellington’s bunch of supporters went, “Who are you! Who are you!” Supposed to be questioning at the visitor Warriors FC’s players but let’s question the Rams – Who are you. We were looking at a different Rams this year – especially with this signing, Khalid Hamdaoui (no.5, pictured above).
How different is this year? Rams nearly drew the first blood where Moon SoonHo (no.10) missed his spot kick which was awarded by referee Fahad bin Mohammed in the 4th minute of the game. Although Warriors’ marquee player Kazuyuki Toda was more involved in the game this time round, Warriors couldn’t seems to cope with Woodlands’ high pressing game. Warriors’ defence was having a hard time coping with Khalid’s vision and passes too.
Game got incredibly interesting in the 27th minute, Woodlands taken a 1-0 lead when Moon SoonHo slotted home the second ball when their own version of marquee player Khalid Hamdaoui picked up a loose ball outside the penalty box, dribbled into the danger zone and unleashed a shot at Warrior’s Hassan Sunny (no.1)! Warriors nearly equalize when Shi Jiayi (no.20)’s direct free-kick floated just across the top of the Woodlands’ goal.
Second half got underway in the rain while Warriors equalized through former Lions XII’s Sufian Anuar (no.10) with a glancing header off a cross coming from the right flank in the 67th minute! Just when you thought Warriors was coming back into the game, Junpiter Futbol’s Man-of-the-Match player Khalid Hamdaoui scored his debut goal for the Rams after a quick-short pass from his Korean team mate Chang Jo Yoon (no.7) while the rest of the opponents were crying foul! A quick intelligent thinking and understanding between Khalid Hamdaoui and Chang Jo Yoon got the job done.
Warriors was certainly at the north to spoilt the celebration – Sufian Anuar scored another goal, a header which took a few wicked bounces off the crossbar and as well as Woodlands’ custodian’s hands 7 minutes from time. Although Warriors had a couple of great scoring opportunities, Woodlands’ another Korean import, Cho SungHwan (no.2) and Shahril Alias (no.4) marshalled the defence well to keep Warrriors at bay. Final whistle blown, both Woodlands and Warriors settled for a 2-2 draw to kick start their 2013 season at Woodlands Stadium.
It might be still early to determine how far the both Woodlands and Warriors would go this season, but the performance put on by Woodlands last evening was nothing but an indication on how hungry they were to regain their former glory days. On paper, Warriors supposed to be a better team but it wasn’t justified. And again, club history speaks nothing when it come to a football game. In our own humble opinion, Woodlands could have bagged all 3 points if not because of the lucky goal bounced off Yazid Yasin (no.18)’s goal. Warrior’s Shi Jiayi (no.20) certainly needs more time to blend in with his new team too. Sum it up, great game, great goals and great atmosphere! Kudos to the Black Sheep for the non-stop singing!
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