Written by: Muhammad Yazid
Woodlands Wellington shared the spoils of a 1-1 draw with fellow bottom-table dwellers Harimau Muda in a Great Eastern Yeo’s S.League match at the Woodlands Stadium on Saturday evening.
A late goal by Syafwan Shahlan cancelled out Andy Ahmad’s second half strike and buried Woodlands Wellington’s hopes of grabbing their first win after five consecutive losses in all competitions.
Despite failing to win, the Rams still managed to overtake Courts Young Lions and Tanjong Pagar United in the Great Eastern Yeo’s S.League table to sit in ninth place, as the Jaguars lost out to Brunei DPMM on the same day.
The hosts started the game brightly as they seemed to be the ones showing more effectiveness upfront, with Moon Soon Ho leading the lines with the support of Stefan Milojevic.
Eight minutes into the game, Oswind Surya laid a short pass to Moon, and the South Korean’s finish was parried away by Ramdhan Hamid.
Moon had another chance on the 20th minute mark with a powerful drive from a tight angle which hit the wrong side of the net.
Woodlands came out hungrier for the opener in the first half as Chang Jo Yoon’s tame shot from outside the penalty box was easy for Ramdhan to handle.
The Rams broke the deadlock just minutes later through Andy, who scored his first ever goal for the Rams.
Having shifted from a left-back position to a left-wing position in the second half, the blistering 24-year-old made a clever run to beat the offside trap and get to the end of a well-placed through-ball by Chang before finishing it past the hapless custodian in the 54th minute.
The starlet could have bagged a brace eight minutes later if not for his effort which was palmed away by Ramdhan.
The goal seemed to have boosted the morale of the Woodlands team, as they did not sit back to defend the lead, but went in search for a second to put them in a comfortable position.
Moon had two brilliant opportunities to double the lead for his side but luck was not on his side.
He first latched onto a through ball by Chang and sent his low finish wide before his toe-poke whizzed inches wide.
It was heart-break for Salim Moin’s side as they unexpectedly conceded a goal in the 88th minute, which allowed the Young Tigers to snatch only their second draw of the season.
Azrul Nizam raced through the left flank before releasing a low cross towards the path of Syahlan, who simply guided the ball into Ahmadulhaq Che Omar’s bottom corner.
It could have been an inspiring comeback for Harimau, but Syawal Nordin’s header off a corner reached straight into the goalkeeper’s grateful hands.