Woodlands
Wellington FC
Ground: Woodlands Stadium
Capacity: 4,300
Club Founded: 1988
Club Dissolved: 2014
Woodlands Wellington was a professional club that participated in the S League in
Singapore, which finished towards the bottom of the competition for several seasons before being absorbed into Hougang United FC in 2014.
Club History
Origins
Initially formed as Wellington FC in 1988 as a splinter
group of Delhi Juniors, their name deriving from playing at the Deptford
Ground on Wellington Road in the district of Sembawang. The team competed in both the Sembawang Group League and the National Island-Wide League before progressing to the National League.
In 1994, the 'Rams’ won promotion as champions before winning the Division One title twelve months later. The team were also beaten finalists in the Singapore Cup, before the club was invited to become one of eight founder
members of the S League.
A
move to Woodlands Stadium and a name change to Woodlands Wellington FC followed. The move paid dividends as the team often
played in front of capacity crowds in the north of the island, with Woodlands
finishing runners-up in that first season.
Park
Kung Guy became the fans' goalscoring hero in 2004, before the club reached the 2005 Singapore Cup final, where they were defeated 3-2 by Home
United.
Woodlands
made the headlines in 2007 when the team walked off the pitch during a game
against Tampines Rovers to protest refereeing decisions. The club was fined
heavily and deducted six points. Three
midtable finishes ensued, while the team reached the cup final again in 2008,
this time going down 2-1 after extra time to Singapore Armed Forces.
The new decade saw Wellington finishing at the bottom of the table. In 2012, rumours circulated that the club would drop
out of the S League because of financial problems.
Manager Matthew Tay quashed the reports as fans set up a ‘Save Woodlands’
awareness campaign.
A decent fifth-place finish was a good return in 2013, but the Rams
ended the 2014 campaign second from bottom under Head Coach Salim Moin, the
former Singapore international midfielder.
In November 2014, it was announced that the club would merge
with Hougang United for the 2015 S League season, keeping the name United
without any recognition of Woodlands Wellington.
My
visit
Woodlands
Wellington 3 Harimau Muda II 2
S League Relegation Round - Thursday 30th October 2014
👨👨👧👧 c300 🎟️ $5 (£3)
After
the previous day's huge groundhop, I’d gone for a more laid-back, relaxing
day using the free bus tour on my three-day tourist pass. I’d enjoyed seeing
what Singapore had to offer, and I was really impressed by the mixture of
heritage and modern architecture. After a siesta back at my hotel, I decided to have a pre-match beer.
Initially, I’d
considered Raffles for a Singapore Sling. However, the website was rather sketchy
about its prices, and as my dad always advised, don’t enter shops that don’t advertise prices. Instead, I opted to get off the train at Somerset, at one end of Orchard Road. Over the
busy thoroughfare, I found what would be as cheap as I’d find in the tourist
quarter.
My dark Warsteiner was $15 (£7.50). Thank God it was happy hour prices! To
be honest, the view and ambience were such that I nearly got stuck in for the
night, but common sense prevailed. Even though I was tired, the SMRT red line
ran from Orchard directly to Woodlands, making it easy, albeit taking the best part of forty-five minutes.
On
arrival, I saw a set of bright floodlights, not where I had imagined. Any confusion
was soon quashed when I spotted the brighter glow coming from Woodlands Stadium
just along the railway. I
missed the opening goal along with an older holidaymaker in front of me, as
Nurshamil Ghani put the visitors from Malaysia ahead in the first minute.
Muda was the Malaysian under-20 national team, and along with DPMM of Brunei and Albirex Niigata, offered overseas competition in the S. League. I
surveyed the scene of Woodlands Stadium. Once more, there was an athletics track
surrounding the pitch, providing the whole community with facilities to be proud of.
A
long Main Stand with plastic seating in the centre was the only covered accommodation.
The far side had semi-permanent open seating with the railway line running
above it. The
Rams fans cheered on their favourites using a drum banging out a beat. I
decided to have a spell on the far side to try and avoid the heat.
Around
the half-hour mark, the hosts drew level thanks to an effort from the Korean
Soon-Ho Moon. During the interval, I wandered out the back by the clubhouse and
ventured over to the excellent swimming complex in the hope of using a cash
machine. I had no luck. Opposite was a huge sports hall, all run by the
Singapore Sports Council.
After
the break, I was joined by the fan I’d gone in with. Richard was on holiday with
his wife, visiting their daughter. He was originally a Portsmouth fan before moving to Cullercoats and adopting Whitley
Bay as his team and following non-league football. We
were having a really nice chat, watching what turned into a really decent
second period.
The game turned on the sending off of the visitors, Afiq Faizal, for a straight red in fifty-five minutes, which we couldn’t quite work out.
Presumably, it was an off-the-ball incident? Within
three minutes, Wellington had taken the lead with a goal from Fadhil Noh. They
stretched it to 3-1 as Serbian defender Miloš Jevtić netted to the joy of the
vocal home youngsters.
We
were getting ready to leave when Muda grabbed a late consolation after building
up some pressure with the goal of the game as substitute Muhamad Bahari scored
with a bullet diving header. I
said my farewell on full time, but said we’d probably see each other at the
following evening’s game. To be honest, I was absolutely starving.
I went as
fast as my tired and blistered feet would carry me over the unlit open ground, to the huge malls surrounding Woodlands station, to withdraw some money and buy
delicious pizza and cheese straws. Eating was discouraged on all public
transport, but I broke pieces off on the quiet train.
After
one change, I alighted past my hotel at a stop called Dakota as I had a
particular nightcap venue in mind. I took the short walk up the path alongside
the Geylang River to a bar called The Tuck Shop on Gullemard Road, which
overlooked the water. It was just what the doctor ordered.
It had seating outside as well as plenty
around the bar itself. Bottles from all over the world were available while chilled-out music at just the right volume piped out. The staff were friendly
and knowledgeable. I went for the Summer Ale from the local Archipelago Brewery, and it was simply superb, coming in a proper glass, with its hoppy flavour.
Yes, it was the equivalent of £8, but that’s the local going rate. It was worth
every cent for the ambience and moment. Alas,
I was too tired to contemplate another pint. The price wouldn’t have deterred
me. I’d been ultra-careful on the trip to allow for a few pleasures. I walked
up to Geylang Road and caught the bus home, settling for a Magnum ice cream
before bed.
It
had been a wonderful day. Only a week or so later did I discover, for the second
successive evening, I’d seen the last game for a club in its current guise.
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