| |
| |
![]() |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
SINGAPORE : Liaoning goalkeeper Dong Lei went into Wednesday's game with Woodlands Wellington without conceding a single goal in over 540 minutes of play.
But by the time referee Abdul Malik Bashir blew for full-time at the Woodlands Stadium, the 25-year-old had already picked up the ball from the back of his net thrice as the Rams ended the Chinese club's six-match unbeaten run with a 3-1 win in Wednesday's NTUC Income-Yeo's S.League 2007 match.
The Rams paid scant regard to Dong's impressive record, as Woodlands' top scorer Laakad Abdelhadi rose majestically to head home his 11th goal of the season to put the Rams in front in the 31st minute and the home team carried a slim 1-0 advantage into the break.
The match came to life in the second-half, with the Rams doubling their lead in the 55th minute when 21-year-old substitute Zulkifli Hassim headed past Dong Lei after good work by Korean winger Park Tae-Won.
Liaoning pulled a goal back four minutes later when 18-year-old striker Bu Xin placed his free-kick from 20m out beyond Yazid's reach. Surprisingly, coach Ding Zhe then took the young striker off just seconds after his goal.
Park then put the result beyond doubt with a well-deserved goal just two minutes after Bu left the pitch.
Liaoning poured forward in the last half-hour to try and get something out of the game but could not find the breakthrough.
And just when it seemed like it couldn't get worse for Liaoning, right-back Wang Lin was sent off in the last minute for a second yellow card.
Ding said he was upset with their first-half performance and felt his men did better after he gave them a stern telling off at the break.
"The last six games did not expose our team's weaknesses but Woodlands tonight adequately did that, especially in the first-half," he said.
Woodlands coach Jorg Stenebrunner was understandably elated with his team's win, snapping a run of six games without a win. The German said: "It's good we managed to stop our mini-slump, and I think tonight we showed what Woodlands is all about, at least in attacking terms." - TODAY /ls
|
