Woodlands Wellington FC VS Home United FC

Home United FC came into this match two days after a heavy 4-1 defeat by Beijing Guoan FC. The result was a shock as many had favoured the star-studded Protectors against the young Chinese side. Conceding four goals in the last match, Home United had some relief for this one as key defender Valery Heik returned to the fold after being suspended against the Chinese side. Other personel changes were expected as Head Coach Paul Lee looked to freshen up the team. Shariff Abdul Samat, Nelson San Martin, and Prime League player Naufal Omar all earned starting spots.

Home United once again got off to a flying start, controlling match proceedings with Nelson San Martin sounding the first alert. The Chilean latching on to a good lay-off by Choi Chul Woo but saw his shot flew wide. Minutes later, Captain Sharil Ishak was denied by an alert Fajar Sarib as the custodian turned Ishak's goal-bound shot away to safety. The dominance paid off on 15 minutes when Nelson San Martin justified his return to the team by opening the scoring. The attacking midfielder unleashing a scorcher that flew past Fajar in a split.

On 22 minutes, referee Abdul Malik awarded a debatable penalty to the "home" side. Juma'at Jantan was adjudged to have raised his leg too high on Asraf Abdul Rashid. Justice was served as Lionel Lewis saved Kazuki Yoshino's penalty to keep the scores intact. Home United could have added to the lead but its profligacy in front of goal saw them entering the half with only a goal's advantage.

Minutes into the second half, Home United doubled their lead. Korean forward Choi Chul Woo headed past Fajar for his second goal of the season. 2-0 !and our Protectors were now cruising. On 66 minutes, Juma'at Jantan was surprisingly replaced by the offensive Firdaus Idros. Perhaps Home United looking for a third to kill off the match. If ever that was to be the plan, it certainly backfired as on 73 minutes, Woodlands Wellington replied with a goal. Moroccan Abdelhadi Lakkad nodding Yoshino's cross past Lionel Lewis. 2-1 and the goal somehow injected Woodlands Wellington as the Rams raised their levels. On 89 minutes, Home United were to pay for letting the Rams back into the match as Yoshino headed into an empty net to stun our Protectors.

Once again, terrible defending has resulted in points dropped. With the season only into its first phase, our Protectors have gone 8 points behind the leaders and certainly needs to start picking up wins if they are to be serious title contenders.

Line-up: Lionel Lewis, Juma'at Jantan (Firdaus Idros 66"), Shariff Abdul Samat, Zulfadli Zainal, Valery Heik, Nelson San Martin, Isa Halim (Rosman Sulaiman 76"), Sherif El-Masri (Ridhwan Osman 80"), Naufal Omar Ashiblie, Sharil Ishak, Choi Chul Woo.