Written by: Muhammad Yazid

An action-packed Prime League game was in store for spectators at Woodlands Stadium as Woodlands Wellington hosted Warriors FC, where a second half penalty by midfield starlet Suria Prakash was enough to seal all three points for the visitors.

It was a nervy start for both teams as Warriors were showing their superiority in penetrating the flanks, while Woodlands were equally impressive with their tight defending with the likes of S.League player Walid Lounis leading the backline.

However, the Rams were efficient in creating counter-attacks which did pose threats to the Warriors defence, especially in the first half.

A free-kick by Fa’aiz Adli was parried away by Amin Malik early into the game before Brendon Wong’s powerful shot from the right flew straight into the custodian’s arms in the 33rd minute.

Skipper Zulkarnain Malik also saw his low 25-yard strike roll just wide and that concluded the half as both teams went into the tunnel without breaking the deadlock.

Both sides’ hunger increased after the interval as they created more clear-cut opportunities.

Oskar Wallin did some good work on the right side before finding an unmarked Faizal Amin, who saw his finish saved by the goalkeeper in the 55th minute.

Six minutes later, Amin Rossady’s thunder-like strike was pushed wide by Ahmadulhaq Che Omar.

The game started increasing in intensity and things started getting more physical as players were not staying on their feet and threw themselves into unnecessary challenges.

Kevin Wee’s side eventually took the lead in the 73rd minute as a spot-kick was finally awarded due to the rash challenges being made.

A foul on 18-year-old Gautam Selvamany in the 18-yard box left the referee with no choice but to point to the penalty box, and Suria drilled his spot kick into the bottom left corner.

It got worse for the hosts minutes later as they went a man down when Aidil Malik was sent off after a second bookable offence.

Woodlands’ assistant coach Jasni Hatta summed up the evening’s result as ‘unlucky’.

“The boys put up a very good performance but the result was not on our side,” Jasni said.

“For us to limit their chances of scoring; I am proud of it

“This is part and parcel of football and we should learn to accept the fact that not everything comes our way.”

His counterpart Kevin Wee was satisfied and believed that the result was what mattered the most.

“My boys did well to grind up a result and we needed a little bit of luck, with regards to the penalty decision,” Wee said.

“Woodlands had three S.League players representing them and if we managed to win tonight, it sums up the hunger of my boys.”

“But of course, credits to Woodlands because they troubled us when we had the ball,” Kevin concluded.

Woodlands Wellington: Ahmadulhaq Che Omar (GK); Khamarul Abdul Hamid (Wang Wei Zhong, 49’ (Terry Lee 81’)), Firdaus Zin, Walid Lounis, Fa’azi Adli; Brendan Wong, Armanizam Dolah, Zulkarnain Malik (C), Alroy Chua (Aidil Malik, 57’); Oskar Wallin, Faizal Amin

Warriors FC: Amin Malik (GK); Al-Afiq Hamzah, Khadri Joffery, Basit Mansoor, Jamililul Hadi (Gavin Tan, 69’); Gautam Selvamany (Marcus Wheeler, 75’), Haiqal Noor, Asyidiq Sukarto, Amin Rossady (C), Suria Prakash; Raden Ishmadi (Aminshafie Sa’ad, 58’