The 2013 S.League season is Woodlands Wellington's 18th competitive and consecutive season in the top flight of Singapore football and 26th year in existence as a football club.
22 November 2012: A report by The New Paper suggested that Woodlands may have fallen into financial hardship and could be the second club to sit out the 2013 S.League after Gombak United has announced earlier that it would not be taking part in the league in 2013.[3] This sparked off a supporter-driven "Save Woodlands" awareness campaign on the same day.[4] The club held an open meeting with the supporters and press at Woodlands Stadium later that evening and quashed the report, stating that Woodlands was financially in the pink of health. Team manager, Matthew Michael Tay, also said that the club was already preparing a pre-season tour of Malaysia, and that the club would be beefing up its squad with five foreigners and it would also be aiming for a minimum 8th spot in the table this season.[5][6][7]
23 November 2012: The club released a list of six senior players which were retained from 2012, as well as 7 players from the Prime League.[8]
28 December 2012: Following Johor United's 3-0 victory over Pahang FA on 27 December 2012, Woodlands faced the Tok Gajahs in the 3rd place playoff in which they fielded a side made up of mainly trialists and Prime League players, resulting in a 6-0 loss to Pahang.[11]
8 January 2013: Taufiq Rahmat becomes the seventh new player to sign for Woodlands Wellington after it announced that the former LionsXII player had put pen to paper for the Rams, marking his return to the S.League after featuring prominently for Tanjong Pagar United in 2011.[16]
15 January 2013: On 15 January 2013, a new logo (as seen below) of Woodlands Wellington, consisting of a Ram's head encased within a shield, surfaced on the Woodlands Wellington official website and Facebook page. The logo's poor design and seemingly similar appearance to another logo belonging to an American elementary school drew much flak from cyberspace. The logo was subsequently removed from both media platforms and The New Paper ran a feature on the logo change itself on 20 January 2013.[20] In the article, Woodlands chairman, Hussainar K. Abdul Aziz was quoted as saying that the club was looking to change the logo to signify a new beginning, but that (particular) logo had not been approved by the club's management, and that the club was investigating how it made its way onto the website. He also revealed that there are three other fan-designed logos that the Rams were considering as their new crest.
24 January 2013: Woodlands Wellington announced that it will be outfitted by Singaporean sports apparel maker Waga for the 2013 S.League season.[21] Woodlands team manager, Matthew Michael Tay, also believed that long time Rams' fans would be pleasantly surprised by the club's choice of colours for the upcoming season, stating that the yellow and green stripes down the middle for the new home kit bore a striking resemblance to the early home kit which the Rams wore between 1996 and 1997.
2 February 2013: Woodlands Wellington held its press conference at Woodlands Galaxy Community Club, where it unveiled its new club advisor, Ms. Ellen Lee Geck Hoon. The public also caught a glimpse of Woodlands' new Ram mascot, as well as the home kit for the 2013 season. In addition to that, Salim Moin also unveiled his new 20 man squad to the media, with the inclusion of his new signing, Shariff Abdul Samat. Midfielder Armanizam Dolah was also named as the team captain for the new season.[25]
5 March 2013: Woodlands Wellington beat Home United with a 2-0 scoreline at Bishan Stadium for their first win of the 2013 S.League season. The victory also marked a few milestones in the club's history, with the Rams winning at Bishan for the first time since 1997, while Goh Swee Swee earned his first captaincy in his senior career. Khalid Hamdaoui also scored his third goal in as many games to continue his fine scoring streak.[27]
15 March 2013: Woodlands Wellington's 'live' game against Hougang United saw a record local turnout of 3,108.[28]
18 May 2013: Woodlands Wellington ends up in 9th spot, their lowest since the start of the season, after their defeat to Harimau Muda B at Pasir Gudang Stadium in Week 13.[33]
11 June 2013: Woodlands Wellington progressed to the knock-out stage of the League Cup after finishing as runners-up in Group A.[35]
16 June 2013: Woodlands Wellington qualified for the semifinals of the League Cup after beating Geylang International 4-1 on penalties in the quarterfinals.[36]
Source: RSSSF Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored Notes:
^The three foreign clubs – Albirex Niigata (S), DPMM FC and Harimau Muda B – as well as the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) under-23 team, Young Lions, are not eligible for any AFC competition spots.
The Rams progressed to the quarterfinals after they finished as runners-up of Group A. They subsequently qualified for the semifinals after beating Geylang International 4-1 on penalties after the match ended 0-0 [36] and will face Brunei DPMM in the semifinals in September 2013.
Updated to match(es) played on 11 June 2013. Source: sleague.com[usurped] Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored. (A) Advance to a further round
Updated to games played on 16 July 2013
*Two of Woodlands Wellington's goals was scored via own goals from opposing players – Sheikh Abdul Hadi during the match against Courts Young Lions on 5 April 2012 and Lau Meng Meng during the match against Hougang United on 26 June 2012.
First team goal assist statistics
Includes all competitive matches. The list is sorted by shirt number when total goals are equal.
Updated to games played on 16 July 2013
*Two goals were not recorded with assists as they were scored via a direct free kick and a penalty kick respectively.
One of Jang Jo-yoon's assists was deflected by Sheikh Abdul Hadi into his own goal during Woodlands Wellington's match against Courts Young Lions on 5 April 2013.
One of Moon Soon-ho's assists was deflected by Lau Meng Meng into his own goal during Woodlands Wellington's match against Hougang United on 26 June 2013.
First team clean sheets
Includes all competitive matches. The list is sorted by shirt number when total clean sheets are equal.
Updated to match(es) played on 17 June 2013. Source: Standings[usurped] Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
