By Koh Yizhe

Yishun Stadium, Tuesday, May 26, 2009 – In the clash of the top foreign teams in the S.League, Korea’s Super Reds and Brunei’s DPMM FC played out a goalless draw in a heated encounter at the Yishun Stadium. A total of seven yellow cards were handed out as the Super Reds dominated possession but were unable to find a key pass to unlock the plucky DPMM defense.

Gaining control of the game right from the kick-off whistle, the home team was clearly looking for their fourth consecutive win. A free kick in the 5th minute from a Yusof Salleh foul, which led to the first of seven yellow cards of the night, also gave DPMM's goal keeper his first touch of the night as the ball hit him full in the throat.

The Super Reds kept the pressure on the visitors and were soon presented with a glorious opportunity to snatch an early lead. Choi Dong Soo collected a wonderful through pass in a counter-attack and sprinted down the right for a shot at goal. The 24-year-old Choi was left with only the keeper to beat, but his first touch was too heavy and it allowed Wardun Yussof to deny his effort easily.

The Super Reds controlled the game with ease and never stopped creating chances for themselves. Kim Tae Young made a darting run into the box before exchanging a nice one-two with Choi Dong Soo, but Choi's shot from a tight angle again flew straight into Yusoff's arms.

On the other end of the field, Super Reds' midfielder, Kim Yoon Sik, was a solid pillar for his team's defence as he was kept busy throughout the night bailing his backline out whenever the visitors threatened to crack their defence.

Frustration then crept into the match for DPMM as two yellow cards were handed out in quick succession to Wardun Yussof and Rosmin Kamis at the 37th and 38th minute respectively, and brought their tally of yellow cards to three with more than half the game to go.

Minutes before the half-time whistle, DPMM's Algerian forward, Abdel Hamid Berguig, squandered a great chance to allow DPMM to go into the break a goal up. Instead of finding the net, Berguig found himself picking up DPMM's fourth yellow card of the night. Berguig's challenge on a defender was too strong for the referee's liking. The 35-year-old then kicked the ball away out of frustration and that invited his name into the referee's book at the 43rd minute.

A minute later, DPMM Korean striker Oh Ddog Yi was next to contribute to his team's yellow cards count just before the intense first half concluded with no goals and 5 yellow cards instead. The intensity of the game hit its climax just before the half-time whistle when an unsightly war of words broke out between Super Reds striker Yun Bo Yong and DPMM's coach Vjeran Simunic.

Yun was then substituted by Shin Dae Kyung for the second half, while DPMM brought on Suhaime Yussof for Sairol Sahari just two minutes into the second half. While DPMM kept their cool in the second half, it was the Koreans' turn to contribute two more yellow cards to the heated match and brought the count to seven.

The Super Reds continued to control the pace of the game for most of the second half, but chances for goals remained rare for both teams. Super Reds were still unable to break through the DPMM defence and a few speculative crosses from the wings were all they had to show for their possession.
Substitute Shin Dae Kyung had a chance to win it for the Korean side late in the match, but he seemed to have left his shooting boots as home as he was closed down and failed to make a decent strike. Park Chul Hyung then summed up the Koreans' night as he delivered the last chance of the match into the keeper's hands as the match ended in a goalless draw.

Having suffered a 1-2 defeat to Woodlands Wellington last week, DPMM coach Vjeran Simunic was pleased with the deadlock result in Yishun.

Simunic said, "I am very satisfied with the result! It is like a win for me! They were very unlucky as the match was more like 70-30 to them. I believe that five players from their team can play in Europe, so I am happy with the result."

Super Reds coach Jeon Kyeong Joon gave his analysis of what went wrong for his side.
"Soccer is like that. The players stepped up and wanted to win. So I felt we played well, even better than what we prepared for. I don't think it was the shooting or the formation that was to blame for our inabilities to score, but instead, we were unable to make the connection from the midfield to the strikers."

With this result, DPMM sit in third position on the league table with 26 points while the Super Reds are fifth with 19 points and have a game in hand. The Super Reds will next face Woodlands Wellington on Friday, while DPMM will not see S.League action with the start of the League Cup on June 1st.