Opponent Watch: Johor FA (Friendly Match)

As part of their round of friendly matches in Singapore, Malaysian Premier League side Johor FA will face Woodlands Wellington in a friendly match tonight. The southern Malaysian outfit is probably most famous for snaring Singapore soccer legend Fandi Ahmad as their technical adviser and team manager back in early February 2012. Tengku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim, the Crown Prince of Johor and also the president of Johor FA, was reported to have influenced Fandi's decision to join the club.

Singapore legend Fandi Ahmad in Johor FA's dugout.
Photo Credit:  Jengking Fan Club

Fandi's team has been a revelation against Singaporean opposition so far, gunning down SAFFC 2-1 two days ago at the Choa Chu Kang stadium and the Malaysians will be confident to continue their winning run in Singapore. While the scorpions (Johor FA's nickname) lost narrowly to a LionsXII team led by the in-form ex-Woodlands striker Agu Casmir in a friendly in Larkin about three weeks ago, they will still be a formidable opponent for the Rams, who are still licking their wounds after that defeat against Kanbawza which sent them reeling out of the RHB Singapore Cup.

Fandi's immediate concern is to help Johor FA gain promotion to the Malaysian Super League and the match experience obtained from playing teams in the S.League will no doubt be helpful for his charges. Despite his appointment with the Malaysian team, Fandi shuttles very often between Johor and Singapore, where he coaches the H-Two-O Ultimate Dream Team on Tuesdays and Thursdays and also coaches at the Fandi Ahmad Academy on weekends. So, in any case, the footballing legend is still very much connected to the development of football in Singapore.

The Johor FA squad which faced LionsXII in Larkin.
Photo Credit: Jengking Fan Club

Johor FA is currently in 4th place in the Malaysian Premier League with 16 matches played. Although the Scorpions play in the second tier of football, that does not dent their fervent support with over 6,700 likes on their fan club's Facebook Page - the Jengking Fan Club (Jengking is Malay for scorpion).

Ervin Boban in
Johor FA's colours

Like Woodlands Wellington, Johor FA is a club with a long history and rich tradition which used to lock horns with Singapore in the FAM Premier League in the early nineties. Ervin Boban (left), a Woodlands legend in his own right, also used to play for Johor before he crossed the Causeway to join us during our inaugural season in the S.League. The 47 year old is now a youth team coach for his hometown team, RKN Split, back in his native Croatia.

Other big names include Aussies Abbas Saad and Alistair Edwards, both whom also plyed their trade in Johor before switching sides to Singapore. The former is now a familiar face on TV as a pundit with Astro Supersports while the latter is an assistant technical director with the FFA (Football Federation Australia) youth team.

During those days in the nineties, Johor were often known as draw specialists and the media had a field day writing about how they drew almost every game. Well, they seem to have shaken off that tag in the last decade and to cement that fact, the Scorpions won their last 4 Malaysia Premier League games on the trot before edging SAFFC.

Johor boasts a team with a number of fast attacking players, with Argentinian striker Muriel Orlando one of their fastest and most skillful players. The 23 year old has been instrumental in Johor's attack and will have to be well marked. Johor's playmaker, André de Silva, will also have to be watched closely as the Brazilian is a midfielder in the same mould as KBZ's Nunes Tercio, who orchestrated the play so effectively duing our RHB Singapore Cup loss to the Burmese champions. Despite their foreigners' influence in Johor's play this season, veteran player Fauzzi Mohd Kassim is the one banging in the goals for them this season. The midfielder from Malacca has 4 goals to his name so far and he will be keen to get on the scoresheet once again.

Muriel Orlando (in red).
Photo Credit: Jengking Fan Club

Fauzzi Kassim (in white) shielding the ball during Johor FA's victory over LionsXII in a friendly in late 2011.
Photo Credit: Jengking Fan Club

The Scorpions play a typical wingback system and this has proven to be the winning formula for the Larkin-based team. This friendly will be a good opportunity for Woodlands Wellington to try out the new tactics (which assistant coach Clement Teo mentioned in the match before Kanbawza) against a very good Johor side to gauge and fine-tune the shape and playing style that best suits our team.

For those who can make it down to the stadium, admission is free. We will also be updating live match highlights on both our Facebook page and Twitter account. (Twitter users, kindly note that the match updates will be tweeted under the #WWvJFA hashtag)


Match Information
Date: Tuesday, 22nd May, 2012 (5.30pm kick-off)
Venue: Woodlands Stadium
Admission: Free

Reaction: Kanbawza FC vs Woodlands

When Kanbawza FC coach PN Sivaji was approached by the swarm of reporters after his side's win over Woodlands Wellington, the former Lions coach certainly did not mince his words.

"I’m surprised at the luxury of space we’re given in an expected high-tempo Cup affair, Woodlands made us look good by sitting back and letting us dictate." said Sivaji. "If there was pressure in midfield from the start, then we would have found ourselves under real threat." [source: Goal.com & S.League.com]

Kanbawza coach PN Sivaji in a pre-match interview.
Photo Credit: Andrew Him (The Black Sheep)

Had the Rams started off with a more attack-minded approach, Soe Min Oo's early goal could have been prevented. Instead, Woodlands back-peddled from the starting whistle and allowed Kanbawza to run at them, giving Myanmar international Soe just enough space to cut through the defence and send a deflected shot past the stranded Ahmadulhaq, sending the partisan Burmese crowd into rapture as early as the third minute.

Soe Min Oo (left) scoring the first goal for Kanbawza
Photo Credit: Andrew Him (The Black Sheep)

Once again, we found ourselves in familiar territory, falling behind to a soft goal and spending the rest of the game looking to overturn the score.      

From Sivaji's post-match comments, it was evident that Kanbawza's Achilles heel lay in their midfield. Unfortunately, we failed to take advantage of that and allowed their influential Brazilian midfielder, Nunes Tercio, to control the game. We hardly troubled the Kanbawza goal in the first half and it was painful to watch the Burmese side send wave after wave of attack on our goal while Myanmar's first choice goalkeeper, Kyaw Zin Htet, was practically smacking mosquitoes around his six yard box.

Daniel Hammond was busy all night dealing with Kanbawza's crosses and punts
Photo Credit: Andrew Him (The Black Sheep)

Armanizam Dolah would have been a formidable opponent for Nunes, but he did not start the game along with winger Guntur Djafril. Both regulars were also not named on the subs bench for reasons unknown. Moon Soon-Ho cut a lone figure upfront as Hussein Akil was deployed as a deep lying playmaker. Akil's pace in the final third was sorely missed and Goh Swee Swee had to work doubly hard down the flank. Farizal Basri tried to hold up the ball for the rest of the team to push up on the occasional counterattack we had but he was outnumbered every time by the Kanbawza defence.

Fervent "home" support for Kanbawza
Photo Credit: Andrew Him (The Black Sheep)

Although the Burmese did not play pretty football, they were disciplined and played well as a unit, effectively shutting out the Rams for the entire first half. They came out for the second half continuing where they left off, their continued pressure on the Rams goal gifting them a penalty in the 61st minute which was subsequently converted by Nunes to give the Burmese side a two goal cushion.

Hussein Akil put in another tireless performance, but could have caused more damage upfront.
Photo Credit: Andrew Him (The Black Sheep)

Moon Soon-Ho did give the "away" crowd something to cheer about in the 65th minute when he sent his penalty into the top right corner of the goal after he was felled by goalkeeper Kyaw, bringing the Korean marksman's tally to 6 goals so far this season.

Moon sends Kyaw the wrong way.
Photo Credit: Andrew Him (The Black Sheep)

This seemed to have given the Rams some hope as they started firing on all cylinders in search for an equalizer. Duncan Elias and Goh Swee Swee starting pushing up the flanks, Han Yiguang was brought in to stabilize the midfield, while Daniel Hammond was pushed forward as a striker to take advantage of his towering frame. Han was particularly impressive, putting in a crucial challenge on Soe when the latter was clear on goal and preventing a larger deficit for the Rams.

Swee Swee piling on the pressure on Kanbawza's Nyana Lwin.
Photo Credit: Andrew Him (The Black Sheep)

The Rams were left disappointed by some dubious refereeing as Moon Soon-Ho, latching on to a dangerous through ball, was punched on the head by Kanbawza's Ghanian defender Samuel Hanson with a right hook that Mike Tyson would have been proud of. Referee Mohd Taqi stopped play to award a free kick to Woodlands but it should have been an immediately sending off for Hanson. Instead, Taqi kept his cards in his pocket much to the chagrin of the Woodlands supporters.

In the stands, "Siapa Bilang Singapura LionsXII" rang out loudly as the Black Sheep sang their hearts out to voice their displeasure of S.League players being overlooked for the national squad in response to the largely criticised announcement of almost 60% of LionsXII players making up the Singapore team.

"Siapa Bilang Singapura LionsXII" - outnumbered but not outsung.
Photo Credit: FAS

Fight as the Rams could in the final quarter, it all came too little too late as Kanbawza held on for a narrow win to progress to the next round to play Loyola Meralco Sparks in the quarter finals.

As the curtain fell on a nail biting last 20 minutes, sportsmanship was the order of the day as the Black Sheep stood up and applauded the Burmese fans in the home stands, which was swiftly reciprocated with cheers and loud clapping back at us.

KBZ supporter Sean Hein had this to say after the game: "Even though I was supporting KBZ as a Burmese, I love the Rams' supporters. Hope they do well in S. League!"

The human spirit prevails above all.

We sincerely wish KBZ all the best in their Singapore Cup campaign!

The Rams will be taking a three week break before our next league next fixture against Courts Young Lions in the opener of the 2nd half of the Yeo's Great Eastern S.League. 

In the meantime, the team will also be taking on Johor FA in a friendly match on 22 May 2012 at 5:30pm at Woodlands Stadium. Stay tuned for our opponent watch!

Dimana mana kita saudara (We are brothers everywhere!)
Photo Credit: Aaron Chan (The Black Sheep)

Opponent Watch: Kanbawza FC

The boys take a break from the S-League this weekend to play Kanbawza Football Club (usually shortened to KBZ), one of five invited foreign teams in this year's edition of the RHB Singapore Cup.

The Burmese club is currently leading the MNL Myanmar League table after 13 games with 8 wins, 4 draws and only 1 loss so far and Saturday's match will see Kanbawza coach P.N Sivaji return home to our shores, albeit for a short while.

The Singaporean was recently appointed as the head coach of Kanbawza FC on 1st May 2012 after his two year stint at fellow Myanmar club Okktha United as their technical director and first team coach expired in January this year. Under his tutelage, Okktha United won the Myanmar FA Cup in 2010, a great achievement considering that his team was made up of relative nobodies at that time.

Kanbawza head coach - P.N Sivaji
Photo Credit: Singapore Press Holdings

Sivaji probably need no introduction to fans of Singapore football. The 60 year old was the former coach of Home United and has also held the reins at Balestier Central in the late nineties / early noughties, as well as the Singapore Lions when they were playing in the Malaysia Cup in the early nineties. Sivaji was also a technical director with the FAS in a long list of career accolades and he will certainly be looking to inspire the Burmese to a victory over Woodlands.

Kanbawza FC was only founded as recently as 2005 as an amateur club playing in the semi professional Myanmar League. The league was then refashioned as the Myanmar National League in 2009, which required all teams to turn professional, prompting the club to sign stars such as Myanmar national team captain, Soe Myat Min. Following that move, Soe had the honour of being the most expensive player in Myanmar National League when he moved to Kanbawza from the Ministry of Finance & Revenue Football Team (what a mouthful!) in July 2009.

Kanbawza in their all-white home strip.
Photo Credit: Kanbawza FC

Despite finishing in 4th place consecutively in the Myanmar National League for the past two seasons, Kanbawza seems to have got it right this year as they lead the table with last season's champion, Yangon United, trailing in 3rd place and one point behind them.

Kanbawza boasts a well organized team with 29 year old Soe captaining the side. The midfielder has an illustrious international career, having played 59 times for his country and scoring 16 times, among those were 2 goals in Myanmar's 3 - 4 loss to Singapore in the 2004 Tiger Cup semi finals. He is also the only Burmese international who has scored against Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia in international games, making him the clear dangerman for this fixture. Armanizam Dolah should have a busy time marshaling the midfield against the effervescent Soe, while Shamsurin Abdul Rahman should look to trouble the Burmese with blazing runs and crisp passes.

Soe Myat Min playing for Myanmar in the 2004 Tiger Cup.
Photo Credit:

Soe is not the only international playing for Kanbawza. Myanmar defenders Moe Win and Khin Maung Lwin are part of a relatively solid backline. However, the young defence is suspect to lapses of concentration and this is something Hussein Akil, Moon Soon-Ho and Goh Swee Swee should exploit. Our attckers will also be looking to put the ball past first choice Myanmar keeper Kyaw Zin Htet. Striker Soe Min Oo completes the flock of international players in this Kanbawza side, and Daniel Hammond and Fabien Lewis must be wary of the striker's pace and trickery.

The winner of this fixture would go on to the RHB Singapore Cup quarter finals to meet the winner of the Loyola Meralco Sparks - Geylang United fixture and judging by the S-League's match awareness campaign going on in Peninsula Plaza, we can expect a huge turnout of Burmese fans at Jalan Besar. In fact, we will probably be dwarfed by them as they look set to turn out in huge numbers.

What do you say we travel to "Little Myanmar" and give them a roaring good time?

Match Information
Date: Saturday, 19th May, 2012 (7.45pm kick-off)
Venue: Jalan Besar Stadium

*Woodlands Wellington has been denoted as the away team for this fixture.

For the latest matchday info and other updates, you are encouraged to follow the Black Sheep on our Facebook page.

Never Surrender! We are behind you all the way.
Photo Credit: Andrew Him (The Black Sheep)

The Year So Far: A Candid Mid-Season Review

The 2012 campaign seemed to have started off positively for Woodlands as the Rams won their opening 2 fixtures and sat prettily at the top half of the table in 3rd position. There was real hope of the boys finishing this season with more wins than last year (we ended 2011 with only 2 wins and had the dubious honour of ending up as a wooden spoonist for the second year in a row) and heck, there was even talk of Woodlands becoming possible title contenders to the likes of Home United and Tampines Rovers. The team played a flowing game of attacking football, passing the ball around with confidence, and attacking our opponents with all-round conviction. There was teamwork, runs were made with determination, and tackles were put in with much gusto.

March, however, would prove to be a pivotal point for the Rams. Playing against a top-of-the-table Albirex side, Woodlands resorted to playing a defensive game, putting 8 men behind the ball and soaking up the relentless Japanese attack. We defended the nil-nil scoreline well and were hard done by a freakish incident which saw Albirex clinch a lucky late winner.  Since then, the Rams continued sliding down the table with a barren run of 10 winless games. Fast forward to the present day and we stand in the wake of yet another disappointing 1 - 0 defeat to a 10 men Tanjong Pagar team.

What had gone wrong to Woodlands, you may ask? Why have our battling Rams been playing like lost sheep since that defeat to Albirex?

I've been really baffled by the negative tactics we've been employing match after match. It seems like the team has been instructed to defend from the opening whistle. I do not understand why we need to start every game with 9 men behind the ball. We are not defending a 2 - 0 advantage from the kick-off, mind you. Where's the fire, the hunger to grab the goals we so badly need? Now I may not be a master tactician, but I believe even a layman knows that in order to win games, you have to score goals. However, the tactics employed by the team does make me scratch my head in utter confusion sometimes.

I do not understand why players are constantly played out of position. How can we expect someone to perform if they are not playing in their favoured position? And when they fare badly in that position where they are not used to, who can blame them?

I cannot fathom why we only have 2 to 3 men in the opponent's box when we are taking corners, while the rest are outside the box. Waiting to defend counter-attacks from the opponent? We have doubts in scoring from corners? Where's our self belief?

"Gunthor", Danny and Vincent in happier days after our league win over CYL.
What happened since then?
Photo Credit: Andrew Him (The Black Sheep)

I am confounded by the wingback system we are deploying. It does not seem to be working for the team. We have been exposed countless times by employing this system and we cannot expect our wingbacks to ply back and forth the entire match. Most of the time I see them defending in our own half than rather than bombing forward to support the occasional attack.

We may not have any star players in our team, but there is definitely plenty of talent around. Why aren't we playing more positively to tap on our strengths, rather than just to defend, defend and defend? What is our goal for this year? To end up in any position other than last place? Come on, we're much better than that. Where's the ambition? 

Prior to that, we were playing well as a unit. The team was brimming with confidence and the teamwork was brilliant. What went wrong? The last time I checked we were still the same team with the same players. Where has the hunger gone? Where has the spirit gone? Where is the congruent teamwork, the savvy confidence, the fearsome attack we displayed early this season?

Have we simply resigned to our fate as per the media's prediction of being perennial no-hopers?

The tactics desperately needed a change, but there wasn't any. Match after match, we played defensively and hoped to catch our opponents on the counter. It didn't work and we let in far more goals than we could score.

We are not technically superior like teams playing in the Serie A, crunching out low-scoring draws or one-nil victories. Week after week, I see our boys sitting in our own half and being attacked from the left, from the right and down the middle. More often than not, we let in soft goals. I think common sense tells us that the more chances our opponents have at our goal, the higher their chances of scoring.

Last week's match was no different than the ones before that. We stuck to defensive tactics, conceded a goal and then we tried to equalise. Why didn't we try to clinch that crucial first goal? Why did we start going forward only after we had conceded a goal? And when Tanjong Pagar lost Jonathan Xu at the half hour mark, we started plundering the Jaguars with wave after wave of attack but were unlucky not to score. That display in the second half has shown that we can attack as a team rather convincingly, so why are we not attacking?

Yes, Tanjong Pagar played poorly and were lucky to get away with a win, but the sad fact was that we lost because we were worse than them. If we had employed an offensive mindset, perhaps the scoreline would have been different. Nobody likes to watch their own team playing such negative tactics, or playing defensively from the first minute, and it is even more painful to see some of our players running tirelessly after every ball and try so hard to lift the team up, but to no avail due to the defensive nature of our game. If we play positive football and lose, we would be proud of our team for trying. But now, it seems that our Rams had given up hope of winning a match even before kick off. And that is bad. Really, really bad.

Why are we so low in confidence? Look at Courts Young Lions. The boys were in last place with no wins, but they turned it around and look where they are today. And I shall not get started on Tanjong Pagar as well.

We (the fans) could have simply acted like a lot of fair weathered glory hunters by switching to any other successful club in the S-League. But we are not. This is our club, a club with a long tradition and proud history, and we are seriously bothered by the recent string of results and the negative tactics the team has been employing. We, the fans, have the right to voice out our unhappiness, about how silly the team has been playing and humiliating themselves week in and week out.

Many have mocked me for supporting the wooden spoonists of the league, but I pay no attention to them. I know, one day, my beloved Rams will rise from the ashes once again to become the giants they once were.

And I sure hope it starts with the second half of the 2012 campaign.

Always remember our mantra.
Photo Credit: Andrew Him (The Black Sheep)

** The writer is a long time supporter of Woodlands Wellington Football Club since the inception of the S-League in 1996.

Opponent Watch: Woodlands vs Tanjong Pagar

Woodlands Wellington takes on Tanjong Pagar United in a Friday night clash tomorrow and it seems that the Rams will face a stiff test against a rejuvenated Jaguars side that posted two back to back wins in as many weeks. Dubbed the "giant killers" as of late, Tanjong Pagar have beaten both Home United and Balestier Khalsa on their home turf in recent weeks, lifting them out of the bottom three to 10th spot, two places above the Rams.

Playing in front of a partisan home crowd at the Woodlands Stadium for only the third time this season, the Rams have to go for the jugular the moment the match kicks off. The prospect of registering our third win against Tanjong Pagar will see us climbing above the Jaguars into the lower mid-half of the table.

Kambing Power - The boys will need lots of it to register our third win of the season.
Photo Credit: Andrew Him (The Black Sheep)

The recent form of Tanjong Pagar certainly flatters a side which has only won three games so far, the last two being narrow one-nil victories, and the reason for their poor season so far is their leaky defence. The Jaguars count Singapore international Delwinder Singh amongst their ranks but it seems that even the lanky defender has a hard time keeping the goals out. Tanjong Pagar is probably the only team in the league which employs an all-Singaporean defence, and captain Delwinder will be looking forward to notching the Jaguars' third consecutive clean sheet this week.

TPUFC's Delwinder Singh (Red) closes in on Home United's Franklin Anzite (White).
Photo Credit: Home United

The Jaguars' defence has been exposed many times this season by players with quick feet, and the return of Woodlands' lightning quick Lebanese-Australian Hussein Akil must surely be good news to Salim Moin's charges. The pacy midfielder, who played almost three quarters of last week's loss to Home United and scored a beautiful chip as well, will pose plenty of problems for the Jaguars. Hussein's telepathic understanding with Moon Soon-Ho, praised so many times by the media, will give us plenty of hope against one of the worst defences in the league. Tanjong Pagar has conceded 24 goals so far, only Geylang United has conceded more at 27 goals.

Akil's return gives the Rams plenty of hope.
Photo Credit:  Andrew Him (The Black Sheep)

Tanjong Pagar's dangerman would be the 23 year old Japanese "assassin" Takaya Kawanabe, who has scored in the last two games against Home and Balestier. The former Omiya Ardija man is known for his skillful touches and silky runs, something which Moon can emulate on the other end of the pitch. Fabien Lewis's continued absence in the Rams' defence means that Captain Daniel Hammond must soldier on with the help of Edward Tan, Duncan Elias and K. Sathiaraj, with promising players like Vincent Lee and Danny Chew waiting in the wings and looking eager to start.

Tanjong Pagar's "Little Master" Aliff Shafaein should have an interesting midfield battle with Armanizam Dolah, while the industrious Goh Swee Swee will be looking to score more beauties like the ones he did against Katong FC in the recent friendly, and the following week in a Prime League match. The tireless Shamsurin Abdul Rahman should also feature prominently, providing plenty of bite to the Woodlands attack against a porous Jaguars' defence.

Super Moon - 5 goals so far. Can he increase his tally against the Jaguars?
Photo Credit:  Andrew Him (The Black Sheep)

Jaguars coach Terry Pathmanathan certainly did a good job motivating his charges after that discouraging 5 - 0 loss to Courts Young Lions three weeks ago, and the Jaguars look refreshed heading into this fixture. On the other hand, Woodlands will be raring to go back to winning ways in front of the home crowd, bolstered by the return of their key players. The match will also see the return of the famed Woodlands Wellington cheerleaders to Woodlands Stadium, who injected plenty of life to the away stands last week against Home United at Bishan Stadium.

This should be a cracker. Go for goals, Rams. We know you can do it.

Are you ready for this one?  Hold on tight, it's gonna get bumpy.


Match Information
Date: Friday, 11th May, 2012 (7.45pm kick-off)
Venue: Woodlands Stadium

For the latest matchday info and other updates, you are encouraged to follow the Black Sheep on our Facebook page.

 

Photo Credit: Andrew Him (The Black Sheep)

Opponent Watch: Brunei DPMM

DPMM FC's eight game unbeaten run was smashed last week following a one-nil loss to Home United at Jalan Besar Stadium. That would come as a blow to Vjeran Simunić's team as they were the only unbeaten team in the S.League prior to that match, and the Bruneian outfit will no doubt be looking to get back to winning ways in front of their home crowd in Bandar Seri Begawan.

The impressive 30,000 seater Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium
Photo Credit: Wikicommons

The Rams can expect to play in front of thousands of Bruneian fans in the 30,000 seater Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium, in what may probably be the largest crowd they've ever seen in the S.League this season. The stadium, which was built to the tune of S$100 million in 1984, has seen an average crowd of 6298 [source] this season and it will be a hallowing experience for our boys to be playing in front of such a large, hostile crowd.

For doubters of Woodlands' ability to rough it out with the big boys, just ask Albirex Niigata's Koichi Sugiyama or Harimau Muda's Ong Kim Swee and chances are that they would tell you that the Rams are no easy pushovers. The boys showed plenty of character against both of these teams, and even though the odds were hugely stacked against the Rams, they fought hard, resulting in slim victories for both the White Swans and the Young Tigers. Hence, there is a fair chance that Woodlands would emerge winners from this fixture with the Bruneian Wasps.

Basiru Osman in action against Tanjong Pagar
Photo Credit: FAS

The main reason for the Wasps' success this year can be placed squarely on the shoulders of Ghanian striker Basiru Osman. The 22 year old has 4 goals to his name so far, netting against Tampines, SAFFC, Geylang United and Gombak United. Although Osman has drawn mainly blanks in his last 3 matches, his blistering pace is something that our defence has to look out for. Home United did a good job shutting out Osman and his Brazilian strike partner, the evergreen Rodrigo Gral, in their encounter last week and the Rams must look to do the same. While the Protectors showed clearly that they missed the services of the dependable Isa Halim, who policed (pun intended) their midfield with tenacity up to last season, the Rams can rely on the reliable pair of Han Yiguang and Armanizam Dolah to arrest any balls from DPMM's midfield to the duo of Osman and Gral.

DPMM's marauding winger - Shahrazen Said
Photo Credit: FAS

The boys will also need to contain the threat posed by Bruneian winger, Shahrazen Said. The bald 26 year old has scored 5 times already this season, and he was a handful for Tanjong Pagar the last time a S.League match was played here two weeks ago. A pale ghost of his usual self against Home United, Shahrazen was taken off after just 41 minutes last week (It was later reported that he was running a fever), and was replaced by his younger brother, Adi Said. The fearsome winger will be looking to bounce back and we will count on Duncan Elias and Guntur Djafril to snuff out this dangerman.

While the Wasps have been firing on all cylinders upfront, the same cannot be said of their defence, which seemed to have lost some confidence as of late. DPMM right back Shahrulrizal Rahman seems like the weakest link for the Bruneians coming into this match and it was his mistake that led to Frederic Mendy's goal last week.  

Moon will fancy his chances against the Wasps defence,
which seems to have lost their confidence as of late.
Photo Credit: Andrew Him (The Black Sheep)

Moon Soon-Ho should have the opportunity to have some decent chances at DPMM's goal. Although Hussein Akil is still doubtful for this match, the Australian's blazing pace and trickery would be a handful for DPMM if he should feature. Otherwise, Farizal Basri should start once again with Moon upfront and he will be energized by that exquisite chip he scored last week. Shamsurin Abdul Rahman, who played so well in last week's friendly against Katong FC, should also be encouraged to continue his fine form in Bandar Seri Begawan as well.

Although the Bruneians expect an easy win over the Rams, we know that it will be a tight game and a fight to the finish.

Come on you Rams! Never Surrender!

Match Information
Date: Friday, 27th April, 2012 (8.15pm kick-off)
Venue: Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium

For the latest matchday info and other updates, you are encouraged to follow the Black Sheep on our Facebook page.

Will we see this after tomorrow's match?
Photo Credit: Andrew Him (The Black Sheep)

Match Report: Woodlands Wellington vs Katong FC (Friendly)

There was never any doubt of a Woodlands victory over lower opposition, and the Rams did so in emphatic fashion, putting 4 goals past a courageous Katong side which just refused to give up.

Katong FC players huddling in their red strip before the match.
Photo Credit: Andrew Him (The Black Sheep)

Salim Moin rested a few regulars for this friendly match and opted for Danny Chew to make his home debut at right wing-back. Farizal Basri also started as a lone striker up front, supported by a five man midfield comprised of Armanizam Dolah, Duncan Elias, Shamsurin Abdul Rahman, Han Yiguang and Guntur Djafril.

Matthew playing in goal for Katong FC
Photo Credit: Andrew Him (The Black Sheep)

It was interesting to see Woodlands team manager and goalkeeping coach Matthew Michael Tay smartly decked out in his goalkeeper's outfit and starting between the sticks for Katong FC, a position he has made his own since he started playing for the NFL Division 2 side.

Farizal Basri was a joy to watch
Photo Credit: Andrew Him (The Black Sheep)

First Half

The Rams started off strongly with Farizal Basri constantly threatening the Katong defence with his testing runs and clever play. The accomplished campaigner showcased his experience by making timely runs to create space for his teammates and laying off the ball to players who were in better scoring positions, giving Katong defenders Nicholas Low and Jason Ng a torrid time .

Armanizam Dolah came close to scoring the opener for Woodlands
Photo Credit: Andrew Him (The Black Sheep)

Woodlands nearly drew first blood when Armanizam Dolah did well enough to cut through the Katong defence but his shot crashed against the upright with only Matthew to beat. Moments later, Shamsurin Abdul Rahman squeezed through the tight Katong defence but the alert Matthew managed to smother the ball before Shamsurin could pull the trigger.

With the relentless pressure growing on Katong, the Rams soon scored their first goal against the Division II side. Farizal Basri, picking up a pass in the opponent's half, started a promising run towards the Katong goal. The cultured forward then sliced through the defence like a hot knife through butter and finished off his fine run by pulling off an exquisite chip over the fully stretched Matthew from just outside the penalty box to put the Rams ahead.

Danny Chew plying the right flank for Woodlands
Photo Credit: Andrew Him (The Black Sheep)

Right wingback Danny Chew, making his debut for the first team, bombed forward together with his counterpart, Edward Tan, as the Rams went in search for more goals. Direct passes were sent down the middle via the dependable duo of Armanizam and Han Yiguang while crosses came in from both flanks from the two wingbacks.

Shamsurin - the driving force behind almost every Rams' attack
Photo Credit: Andrew Him (The Black Sheep)

The consistent cut and thrust seemed to be too much for the Katong players as they soon gave away a penalty. A cross from the right, whipped in by Han Yiguang, missed Farizal Basri by mere inches and was promptly cleared to the left flank. As Duncan Elias prepared to square another ball into the box, he was clipped by a defender, leaving the referee no choice but to point to the penalty spot.

Armanizam Dolah was tasked to despatch the penalty but his initial shot to the left of the goal was saved by Matthew, who dived in the right direction. However, there was no mistake from Armanizam the second time round as he banged home the rebound to the right this time to give the Rams a two goal cushion heading into the half time break. The break also saw Matthew being substituted with Katong reserve goalkeeper Tan Tah Jiun.

Second Half

The restart saw Woodlands continuing to pile on the pressure on Katong. Guntur, Farizal and Shamsurin all had chances on goal but they were let down with wasteful finishing. However, the trio made up for that when they orchestrated one of the moves of the game. A one-two between Farizal and Shamsurin was laid back to Guntur Djafril, who unleashed a beautiful low shot which blazed past Katong keeper Tan. Full credit to the fully-stretched keeper for attempting a save, but there was nothing much he could do about that accurately placed shot.

Guntur celebrates his beautifully taken goal
Photo Credit: Andrew Him (The Black Sheep)

The Woodlands dugout soon made multiple changes, bringing on Ang Ban Heng, Vincent Lee, K. Sathiaraj, Oswind Suriya, Aloysius Yap and Goh Swee Swee. It was the latter who made the biggest impact, making a fruitful run with the ball late in the game and curling a screamer past Tan for Woodlands' fourth and final goal of the night, capping a brilliant team performance from the Rams. Nothing as fancy as the screamer he scored against Geylang earlier this season, but still a gem of a goal, nonetheless.

Goh Swee Swee scoring the fourth goal
Photo Credit: Andrew Him (The Black Sheep)

Summary

It was good to see the Rams playing plenty of attacking football and I'm sure the scoreline would attest to the beautiful flowing football that was played at Woodlands on Friday.

Good to see Duncan back on the pitch.
Photo Credit: Andrew Him (The Black Sheep)

It's always nice to welcome players back from injury and Duncan Elias certainly did not lose his fitness despite being away for three weeks. The left footer was deployed in left midfield and he showed no signs of lethargy as he put in a spirited performance.

Promising youngster Oswind Suriya. Don't be fooled by the number, he was wearing Moon's kit.
Photo Credit: Andrew Him (The Black Sheep)

Oswin Suriya was another player who impressed with his tireless running and pacy dribbles. He showed plenty of promise when he was introduced to the pitch and we can be assured that the Rams have plenty of depth in the squad.

Shamsurin Abdul Rahman must be credited a swell for his hard work in the middle of the park and his prospective runs into the Katong defence. His passing was immaculate as well, and he would have gotten his name on the scoresheet as well if not for Matthew's save in the first half.

Despite the scoreline, the Katong players put up a resolute display and they can be proud of themselves for playing their hearts out. The stocky Adelard Teng, who was playing at left back, was particularly impressive and although he was facing S.League players such as Danny Chew and Han Yiguang, he continued running and battling to the end.

The Rams face Brunei DPMM next, and let's hope the boys can bring forward their positive play and give the Bruneians the match of their lives. Never Surrender!