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Misfiring Rams extend winless run against Beijing
Gary Koh
info@sleague.com
Ten-man Beijing Guoan Talent hung on to their second successive league win after overcoming Woodlands Wellington 1-0 at Woodlands Stadium on Sunday.
The only goal came midway in the first half when forward Zhang Ye netted off a cross inside the box to give the Talents a lead they never relinquished.
The visitors found themselves one man down just before half-time, when midfielder Liu Teng was sent off for two successive cautions in the space of a minute.
Despite dominating the second 45 minutes, the Rams could not find the target with all their attempts on goal, including a Kazuki Yoshino penalty which was saved by Beijing goalkeeper Su Boyang.
The result strengthened the Chinese’s secure position in mid-table, while last-placed Woodlands extended their winless run to nine league games.
Woodlands welcomed Japanese defender Yoshino back from suspension as he partnered Winston Yap at the heart of defence. Chilean midfielder Luis Eduardo Hicks was pushed up to resume his midfield partnership with Sazali Salleh.
Beijing were playing their fourth game in eight days, the latest culminating in a 3-1 home victory over second-placed Etoile FC.
Their coach Zheng Xiaotian kept faith with much of the lineup that performed impressively in that game, barring one enforced change.
The man who provided the assists for all the Talents’ goals that night, Meng Yang, was unavailable for this match due to suspension. Ding Haifeng, who played in left midfield in the recent friendly against Malaysia’s Under-23 side on Tuesday, took his place.
After a tentative start, it was the visitors who gradually took control by taking the game towards the home side.
They came close to threatening Fajar Sarib’s goal on a few occasions through efforts from Zhang Xiaolong and Ding.
The young Chinese boys’ pace and persistence finally got the better of Woodlands on 22 minutes, when Zhang Ye latched on to a low cross before firing home.
Beijing continued to threaten to increase the advantage until a moment of madness from Liu saw the tide of the match shift to the Rams’ favour.
After an initial booking for fouling a yellow shirt while attacking a set play in injury time, the Talents midfielder was taunted by Hicks and reacted in a way that saw him earn his second yellow and an early shower.
Referee Johan Jahari’s failure to caution the Woodlands midfielder for his antics, though, left the Beijing bench unamused.
Woodlands coach A. Shasi Kumar responded to the one-man advantage by making a bold half-time double substitution to beef up his side’s offensive line.
Navin Nigel Vanu and Asraf Abdul Rashid made way for Rizawan Abdullah, who partnered Moroccan forward Abdelhadi Laakkad up front, and Guntur Djafril, as the Rams went for broke after the break.
Their attacking pressure nearly paid off four minutes before the hour, when Laakkad’s shot outside the box beat Su but not the right post.
They finally had the ball in the net close to the hour mark, but Guntur’s header off a Sazali free kick was ruled out for an infringement inside the box.
Then it was Mohd Noor Ali’s turn to see his chance go begging as his header off Laakkad’s cross went over.
Beijing showed their resilience and determination not to give in despite losing a man as they exploited gaps in the Woodlands defence on the counter.
A through ball from substitute Tang Miao sent Ding clear on the left side of the box, but the latter’s finishing left much to be desired as his shot blazed over.
Woodlands were given another lifeline with 16 minutes to go when Noor Ali’s shot was allegedly handled by Zhang in the box, leaving Johan to point to the spot.
Yoshino stepped up, only to see Beijing captain Su guess the direction correctly and dive to collect his spot-kick.
The League Cup runners-up were given a scare on 80 minutes, but had Fajar to thank for his double save from Beijing leftback Jiang Tao inside the box in quick succession.
Another Tang-Ding combination on the left set up Jiang for another opportunity outside the box, only for the final effort to fly over the bar.
Laakkad was almost single-handedly spearheading the home side’s offensive rally as the minutes ticked away.
Running at the Beijing defenders at will, he was unselfish in providing the passes to his fellow forwards and equally opportune in taking several chances himself.
Like the rest of his colleagues, the final touch was lacking as he tried twice but failed to find the ball at the back of the net in injury time.
First his diving header off a corner in a crowded penalty box was cleared off the line by a Beijing defender.
Then after beating the Talents backline, his shot on the edge of the box was wayward as the ball trickled wide, giving the visitors their hard-earned win.
Beijing coach Zheng was pleased to see his boys show their determination and resilience in earning their second straight league win.
“We simply stayed united and refused to give in,” he said.
“When some players left in mid-season, it was difficult for us and we were down for a while. But we had had a very good pep-talk and managed to overcome the challenges, including injuries and suspensions.”
While he was not amused with the referee’s performance, he also felt Liu also had to shoulder the blame for putting Beijing in a difficult position in the second half.
“I was asking the fourth official whether the shove on Liu was deserving of a yellow card, and she said yes,” he continued.
“But that is no longer important now. We had the advantage, so we did not need to retaliate or fall into our opponents’ psychological trap.
“After what Liu did, I told him off. It was absolutely unnecessary and he had to learn from this lesson.”
After pulling seven points clear of ninth-placed Balestier Khalsa, Zheng shifted his focus to the remainder of the season.
“Now it is important for us to fight for points in the league as very little separates us from the others in mid-table,” he said.
“We lost points earlier in the season, as well as against teams we knew we could beat.
“With every game being important for us, I hope our players will remain united and their response can be even better.
“We can play even better, and teamwork will be the key in defeating our remaining opponents.”
Woodlands coach Shasi took solace from his side’s second-half performance, despite extending their winless streak.
“Whether it was against ten or eleven men, our second-half performance was brilliant and we absolutely killed them,” he said.
“We could have scored two, three, four goals in the second half. The post helped them, and (one) hit off the line. If we had done that in the first half, we would have gotten the points.
“The substitutions provided a little more spark. There was more movement up front. They are more attacking players so they provided more going forward.”
The former Gombak assistant urged his men not to give up despite their bottom placing in the league.
“It is always not good to finish bottom, but we have to take stock,” he added.
“We look at the 33-game season, and the table will not lie. The challenge for the boys is to keep on plugging away because if we are down at the table, there is nowhere else to go.
“Either we stay there or we try to move up. There is nothing else in terms of silverware, we need to keep on fighting. To be fair, the players have been doing that.
“If we had not fought, then the second-half performance would not be there.” |
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